Disney CEO Bob Iger today referred to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s 2018 standalone as “an origin story about Han and Chewie,” our first official word that the Wookiee will be part of the film. Is this what Peter Mayhew’s script bonanza on Twitter been leading up to?
In the old Legends universe, the two met while Han was serving in the Imperial military and Chewbacca was a slave. Han’s refusal to kill the Wookiee led to their eventual partnership and Chewbacca’s life debt – elements that may or may not be incorporated into the film. (I’d bet on not, but stranger things have happened.) In the current canon, there’s nothing on record about Chewbacca’s life between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. – or Han’s before ANH, though he was in consideration for ROTS.
So, the next question: Young Lando?
Wouldn’t surprise me if they kept that as part of Han’s origin since Lucas has stated that for decades and it wasn’t simply created for the old EU. I imagine it would have something dealing with Han being at the Imperial Naval Academy and him rescuing Chewie from slavery. I spoke with the late Ann Crispin at a book signing for one of her Han Solo books and she said the only things she was told by Lucasfilm she could not write about were Han’s parents, his time at the Imperial Naval Academy and his rescue of Chewbacca from slavery because they had other plans for all those things.