Star Wars Legends Characters Debut in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Deleted Scene

Solo: A Star Wars Story is headed to Blu-ray later this month and delivering audiences a number of deleted scenes, including a scene in which he is confronted by his superiors while attending the Imperial Academy. Not only do we get to see more of the pilot’s time in the Empire, but we also get brief glimpses of Star Wars Legends characters Tag and Bink. Check out the scene above.

After seemingly demonstrating his impressive piloting abilities, Solo is confronted by a Commodore for the destruction he caused, with Tag and Bink looming in the background. These characters had their own series from Marvel Comics before Disney purchased Lucasfilm.

The novelization of Solo featured even more involvement from the bumbling pair. The story confirmed Han’s history with the duo, reading, “Once upon a time, Han had attempted to befriend them, but they turned out to be such colossal screwups, Han started to avoid them before they got him or themselves killed. Still, he needed all the friends he could get. He gave them a little wave and a grin. They looked back at him wryly and said nothing.”

With director Ron Howard having teased that Tag and Bink were appearing in the film, fans were disappointed that we didn’t see them in the finished film. The film’s co-writer, Jonathan Kasdan, claimed that all versions of the script included more time with Han at the academy, though the finished film omitted the interaction. Kasdan himself even portrayed half of the duo for the film.

“We were so sure, too, that Ron actually put his wife, Cheryl, who has to be in all his movies because it’s his only superstition, into the scene because he’s like, ‘Well, this is the one thing that isn’t coming out,’” Kasdan confirmed to ComicBook.com. “And then it did come out, and Ron had to get Cheryl over to Disney and CGI her into another shot just so we weren’t cursed. So, when I think you’ll see Tag and Bink is on the Blu-ray, because no way we’re putting that on Blu-ray without the Imperial Academy sequence. It’s a great sequence, too.”

The appearance of Tag and Bink aren’t the only connections to the larger Star Wars saga in the deleted scene, as we also witness Han cutting an intercom interaction short, similar to the scene on the Death Star when he’s helping rescue Princess Leia and blasts the communication controls when questioned by an Imperial superior in Star Wars: A New Hope.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is available instantly on September 14th digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD and on Movies Anywhere and on Blu-ray 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and On-Demand on September 25.

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[H/T Collider]