Since the Han Solo movie will show how the eponymous protagonist became the notorious smuggler we met in A New Hope, it's to be expected that we'll explore what the Star Wars universe's criminal underworld has to offer in the next Anthology spinoff. However, this story will also take place when the Empire is at the height of its power, and thanks to director Ron Howard, we've learned that some of the action will take place on an Imperial vessel.
That helmet balanced on the console belongs to an Imperial Navy Trooper, who were seen in the original Star Wars trilogy and Rogue One on the Empire's starships either working behind consoles or handling security. It wouldn't be surprising to see a stormtrooper or two on patrol during young Han's adventures, but thanks to Ron Howard's latest social media tease for next year's Star Wars installment, it appears we'll be seeing some Imperial activity above ground, too. The question is what kind of ship these troopers and their officers will be on.
The most logical answer would be an Imperial Star Destroyer, as those vessels were commonplace when the Empire ruled the galaxy far, far away with an iron fist. Who knows, maybe part of the Han Solo movie involves Han and Co. having to sneak aboard a Star Destroyer to carry out a mission. However, the buttons on that console also look like the ones seen on the Death Star in A New Hope, specifically the room where C-3PO and R2-D2 were holed up. Even though the space station is still under construction during the Han Solo movie's time frame, it's plausible that one of the finished and habitable portions of the space station could be visited. However, because Han didn't know about the Death Star's existence until he discovered the remains of Alderaan, we wouldn't see Alden Ehrenreich's iteration of the protagonist aboard the monstrosity.
We also shouldn't discount that Han Solo could have direct ties to the Empire in his standalone movie. In the original Star Wars Expanded Universe, which was declared non-canon in 2014 and is now referred to as Star Wars Legends, the young Han Solo joined the Imperial Navy, but he was dismissed when he refused to skin Chewbacca, who had been captured when he tried to take over a ship full of Wookie children who were intended to become slaves. This was the origin of Chewie's life debt to Han in that continuity, and since recent Star Wars media projects have been fine with incorporating elements from the EU (like including Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels), perhaps the Han Solo movie may adapt Han's Imperial past for its own needs, showing what he was up to before becoming fully enveloped in the criminal lifestyle.
The Han Solo movie blasts its way into theaters on May 25, 2018.
