Who Is Thandie Newton Playing in the ‘Han Solo’ Movie?

As we all know, Thandie Newton is in the Han Solo movie. We don’t know who she’s playing, though a new image of her in costume with Ron Howard seems to be throwing us a hint or two.

Howard has been posting these fun, spoiler-free photos from the set of the movie for some time now, and usually there’s nothing in them to indicate anything plot-wise (not that that stops any of us from speculating about it). But this one in particular may offer some information about Newton’s mysterious character — take a look at where Howard’s hand is, covering up that shoulder patch on her jacket. Yep, that’s the Imperial Crest.

So, there are a few things that could be going on here. It could be that Newton is playing one of the good guys — the Rebels do so love to infiltrate the Empire any chance they get, and Han Solo is bound to inspire some of his buddies to cause a little mischief. But, Newton could also be playing a character on the Empire’s side — her accent would fit right in with the original trilogy’s posh overlords. She could be an entirely original character, or she could be playing a character who already exists in the universe, perhaps from the books. /Film’s Star Wars historians seem to be putting their money on Aftermath character Rae Sloane, an experienced Imperial Admiral who helped keep the pieces of the Empire together after the events of Return of the Jedi.

We’re so used to watching Newton play a character in Westworld who, while a little bloodthirsty, we still root for, so it may be strange to see her playing a villain. On the other hand, I can’t wait to see Thandie Newton play a Star Wars villain.

The untitled Han Solo movie hits theaters May 25, 2018.