Released in cinemas on May 25, Solo: A Star Wars Story could be one of the best Star Wars films yet to be put on the silver screen.

Sure, we all know about the production problems, but Solo has many advantages on its side. So here are five things that could make it the best yet.

Chewie being awesome

It’s easy to forget this really is Chewbacca’s film just as much as it’s Han’s. If Chewie spoke English his role would be the equal of Han Solo. After all Chewie put himself in danger every time Han did.

Chewie, just as much as Han, was a famous smuggler and and both were well known to the crime syndicates and Empire.

It was great to see Chewie get some deserved screen time in the Force Awakens but it’s time we see some really cool Chewie moments.

Whether that’s fighting hand to hand, causing mayhem with his bowcaster or just taking the lead now and again.

This time let Chewie EAT the PORG!

Lando Calrissian

What is there to say about Lando? Actually, quite a lot.

The original trilogy introduced Lando in Empire Strikes Back before featuring him as one of the Rebel leaders in Return of the Jedi. But other than establishing that Lando was a good administrator of Cloud City and the previous owner of the Millennium Falcon we didn’t learn very much.

Rebels fans will remember Lando’s brief involvement but we need more.

Surely Lando’s story should be just as exciting and rich in detail as Han’s. So where does he come from, who are his allies, how does he know Han and Chewie and why oh why does he risk the Falcon in a card game!

Millennium Falcon

As a child, if you didn’t want to be the captain of the Millennium Falcon then you really weren’t trying hard enough.

The Millennium Falcon is without doubt one of the coolest spaceships – ever.

Han’s relationship to the ship was what made it so special. Both had clearly gone through many adventures together where the Falcon had literally held together long enough to allow Han and Chewie to escape.

But the Falcon was also a home. Other than being from Collellia and Kashyyyk respectively neither Han nor Chewie had a place to call home, so the Falcon was their adopted home.

This is clearly expressed in Return of the Jedi when Han is so reluctant to leave ‘her’ in Lando’s care.

Because of this the Falcon was a massive character in the original trilogy and could be again.

Hutts

Quite possibly the coolest while at the same time the most disgusting crime lords ever put on film have to be the Hutts.

Jabba in only two scenes (Jabba’s palace and the Sarlacc) became, and is still to this day, a term used in popular culture for something vile, disgusting or just plain fat. That was his impact.

The fact that he didn’t speak English was brilliant as his subtitled speech made him all the more exotic. Via Clone Wars we met other Hutts, which were just as evil, twisted and deplorable.

Which is exactly why a Hutt pulling the strings of this story would be awesome. Particularly if that Hutt was someone called Jabba?

Where there are Hutts there’s danger, excitement and of course Bounty hunters.

Bounty hunters

Star Wars’ bounty hunters represent one of the canon’s character groups with the biggest screen time to impact ratio of them all.

The Empire Strikes back introduced us to some of the of the most fascinating characters such as Dengar, IG-88 and of course Boba Fett and his ship Slave 1.

Even though we didn’t see them in action Han’s fear of the bounty hanging over his head carried through episodes 4 to 6. If Han was worried then we should be too.

Novels and comics as well as both Clone Wars and Rebels TV series have done a great job of introducing and expanding our knowledge of bounty hunters and we see how important they are to how the galaxy works. Yet, in film, we haven’t seen the bounty hunters in action.

Star Wars Explained outlined a theoretical storyline where Boba Fett could make an appearance. Whether it’s Dengar, Zuckuss, or even Cad Bane, an opportunity for Han to upset a bounty hunter is surely too good to miss!

Conclusion

Solo will be different to Rogue One in that the basic storyline of the latter was mapped out in the first instance – a group of Rebels steal the plans to the Death Star and deliver them to the Rebel Alliance at great cost.

Solo is different – it doesn’t have such a clear narrative or timeline. What is in Solo’s favour is that much of Star Wars lore is based on elements that took place in and around Han’s timeline. Chewie’s life-debt to Han, the Kessel run, smuggling under the nose of the Empire and never telling the odds are all great examples of the history at the movie’s disposal.

So in conclusion Han’s back story in itself might not be the story we wanted to see the most, but facor in a good dose of the these 5 special elements and we could have a classic.

Right now, May 25 can’t come soon enough.