Has the Han Solo movie found its villain?

Ron Howard has posted another photo from the set of the still untitled Han Solo movie and it looks like Star Wars fans may have their new villain.

Howard tweeted a photo of himself with actress Thandie Newton, with his hand strategically covering what io9 speculate to be the Empire logo on her arm. Does this mean Newton is going to be Han Solo’s baddie?

If the rumours are true, this will make Newton only the second high-profile woman we’ve seen working for the Empire, the first being Captain Phasma, played by Gwendoline Christie in The Force Awakens.

However, as io9 also pointed out, her outfit definitely doesn’t look like traditional Empire garb. Her red scarf especially looks lightyears away from the clean cut lines of Grand Moff Tarkin.

Could this mean that her loyalties lie elsewhere? Could she be undercover? Or perhaps she’s a hired mercenary for the Empire, bound by their rules but not their dress code?

More women in the galaxy

Whatever her affiliation, it is exciting to have Newton appearing in the Star Wars Universe. As Newton herself said, in conversation with Oprah for Variety’s Actors on Actors series,

“To be taken seriously, a women of color at 44-years-old and be in a dope-a– franchise. It’s when you just let go.”

And at the very least, we can be sure her role isn’t minor. “To be part of a legacy like ‘Star Wars,’ it’s loved for a reason,” she said, in the same interview with Variety. “I could have been in it for a brief little nothing, and I would have been thrilled and delighted.”

So Newton looks set to have more than a brief part to play even for or against Alden Ehrenreich’s Han Solo.

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Whilst I hope we’re finally going to see a woman rival the villainy of the Old Empire’s Tarkin, with Newton on board, we can be sure that she’ll be equally as iconic whatever side she’s on.