Han Solo movie director shares cryptic set photo

Time to speculate wildly, Star Wars fans. Director Ron Howard released another set photo from the upcoming Han Solo prequel film, but this one is a head-scratcher.

“Can anybody translate for me?” Howard asked on Twitter. The image is of a piece of crumbling ruins with three symbols carved into the stone. Adding to the intrigue is the hashtag #McQuarrie, no doubt a reference to Ralph McQuarrie, the legendary concept artist who designed initial looks for the characters of the original Star Wars films.

Among early treatments for R2-D2, C-3PO, and Chewbacca, McQuarrie designed an iteration of an older Han that was said to be more of a mentor. While many of his concepts went unused, some served as inspiration for later films. For instance, the Jakku market where we find Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens seems to be influenced by McQuarrie’s illustration of Jabba the Hutt’s palace gate.

Could that be the case with whatever’s being teased below? As further food for thought, McQuarrie designed a concept for a location called The Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster. Might these symbols have something to do with the ones adorning the column? There were also similar symbols in the Temple of Lothal from Star Wars Rebels.

Howard previously released photos of something “Spicey,” which many fans took as a reference to Kessel, the home of the dangerous spice mines and where the Millennium Falcon completed the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs (or so Han says). Given the red hue of this latest photo, it could pertain to the planet.

Now, watch it be something far more simple than all these theories.

Alden Ehrenreich stars in the untitled film as young Han Solo, opposite Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Joonas Suotamo, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Paul Bettany, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Warwick Davis, and Clint Howard. The film is scheduled for release on May 25, 2018.