Han Solo—The Conspiracy Theory

What?  Me a spy!? C'mon, trust me!

Han is secretly a double-agent and a villain?  I LOVE this theory.  It tracks too.  With special thanks to my friend, Roy Upton, at every point, you can see how a slight twist, and Han is in the shadows:

The Long Game.

In the Solo movie Han willingly joins the Empire’s forces. He wants to be a pilot but ends up as a front line soldier.

Or does he?

It’s noticeable that wherever Han goes the Empire isn’t far behind, scooping up rebels while, somehow, Han escapes.

So let’s entertain the possibility Han was an agent for the Empire. Recruited when he first joined the military, placed on Mimban to run into Beckett, join his crew and infiltrate Vos’ part of the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Innocuously teamed up with Chewbacca.

Through various escapades Han manages to smash Vos’ organisation and kill Beckett. The Rebellion is so insignificant it’s not even a target so with Chewbacca he returns to smuggling.

Years Later Han appears on Tatooine as a marginal smuggler still working for the Empire and infiltrating underworld syndicates. He is contacted by a couple of wannabe rebels with some droids, all on the wanted list. The rebels are more of a threat now so he co-operates willingly. He also kills a contact who may be about to expose him prior to easily smuggling the rebels off planet.

He ensures the Falcon comes out of hyperspace in the Alderaan system close

Alderaan was going to blow up anyway.  It's not my fault!

enough to the Death Star to be captured. There, in a series of actions that, viewed in hindsight, are farcical, he is able to rescue Princess Leia and also, by destroying the Death Star, embed himself so deeply in the rebellion to be above suspicion. He is careful not to kill Darth Vader in the battle around the first Death Star.

Having betrayed the rebels on Hoth, Han escapes with Leia and brings her to Vader on Bespin. There he hands her over and, under the guise of being sent into hibernation, has a long debrief by his handler, Snoke.

Han is again embedded with the rebels after they seem to rescue him from a wealthy but expendable member of the Hutt clan.

The Emperor deals a major blow to the rebellion, destroying much of its forces in an attritional space battle Han helped plan but did not take part in. Conveniently he once again falls into Imperial hands and manages to easily escape.

A second Death Star is destroyed, the Emperor killed but Han’s handler, Snoke, remains. The rebellion has been dealt a heavy blow, its military forces unable to recover from the losses suffered fighting the Empire.

Han, after a suitable period with Leia, goes back to his deep cover as a smuggler, Chewbacca remains at his side. There is a period of instability as the First Order is established but Han remains in touch with Snoke, awaiting further orders.

The Resistance grows and Han is ordered to infiltrate it.

Picking up Finn and Rey in the Falcon as they leave Jakku is no coincidence.

On Takodana, having led the First Order there and, predictably, having been captured and escaped, Han is able to make contact with the elusive General Organa and, through her, find the location of Luke Skywalker.

Han’s mission is now complete and he is killed by Kylo Ren.

Snoke sacrifices his Starkiller base having, earlier, ensured that it destroyed the

Rawr-rawr-rr-rawr-rawr-rrrr!

only military and economic power that rivaled The First Order for galactic supremacy.

Chewbacca, significantly, only wounds Kylo Ren prior to escaping with Finn and Rey. Together Chewbacca and Rey locate Luke Skywalker and, through various strategies, lure him to his death. Kylo Ren supplants Snoke and takes over the handling of Chewbacca who, through more than 200 years, has been at the heart of the defeats of the Republic, The Rebellion and The Resistance.

What’s your favorite fan-theory?  What theory was proved false but that you wanted to be true?  Tell me in the comments below!