10 Things That Make No Sense About The Millennium Falcon

Summary

Lando’s naming of the Millennium Falcon remains a mystery due to its unusual choice and lack of explanation.
The Millennium Falcon’s reputation as “junk” contradicts its legendary status and pivotal roles in the Star Wars universe.
The ship’s design flaws, like impractical hidden compartments, raise questions about its effectiveness as a smuggling vessel.

The Millennium Falcon is one of the most iconic ships in Star Wars and all science fiction, but there are still some things about the legendary ship that don’t make any sense. The Millennium Falcon is one of the most prolific starships in Star Wars. It’s appeared in several Star Wars movies, comics, books, and shows, and it should continue to be important to the future of the franchise thanks to Rey Skywalker and the upcoming New Jedi Order movie. The Millennium Falcon has long since earned a spot as an icon of Star Wars.

While the Millennium Falcon is one of the most prolific ships in Star Wars, it’s also one of the most confusing. From the various pilots who have flown it to the various modifications those pilots have made to it over the years, the Millennium Falcon has never really been the same ship in its various appearances. There are 10 things in particular that make no sense about the Millennium Falcon, but even they can’t detract from such a legendary vehicle.

Related All 20 Times The Millennium Falcon Has Appeared In Star Wars Canon

From a brief cameo on Coruscant to a crucial role in the Battle of Exegol, the Millennium Falcon has appeared over 20 times in Star Wars canon.

10 Why Did Lando Calrissian Name It The Millennium Falcon?

Though Solo: A Star Wars story served as an origin story for Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and the Millennium Falcon, it failed to explain a rather important part of the ship’s backstory. By the time Solo picks up with Lando’s story, he had already named his ship the Millennium Falcon, and the film didn’t explain how he landed on such a unique and iconic name. The ship’s name is made even odder because before Lando owned it, it was called the Stellar Envoy. The Millennium Falcon has had quite a few names over the years, but Star Wars hasn’t explained why that one stuck.

Lando Calrissian

The smooth-talking Lando Calrissian enjoyed a successful criminal career during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign. Winning the title of Baron-Administrator of Cloud City, he settled there for a time – until Han Solo came asking for favors, pursued by the Empire. Lando initially betrayed Han, fearful of Darth Vader’s power, but became an important asset in the Rebel Alliance – and helped rescue his old friend too. Although Lando tried to settle down, his family was targeted by the First Order, and his daughter was kidnapped. Lando returned to action toward the end of the Resistance-First Order war.

Created By George Lucas Cast Billy Dee Williams , Donald Glover First Appearance Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back Alliance Rebel Alliance, Resistance

Adding to the mystery of the Falcon‘s name is the fact that falcons are a very rare sight in Star Wars. Falcons have only ever appeared twice in both Star Wars Legends and canon: once in Splinter of the Mind’s Eye and once in Dark Disciple. Both of those instances only referenced falcons as being similar to real-world birds of prey, and neither of them had any connection to the Millennium Falcon. It’s not clear why Lando picked that bird as his ship’s namesake, or why he bothered to change the name at all.

9 Why Does Everyone Think The Millennium Falcon Is A Piece Of Junk?

In almost every Star Wars story that the Millennium Falcon appears in, someone calls it “trash,” “garbage,” or “junk.” The Millennium Falcon certainly had some problems – its hyperdrive was spotty at best, for example – but it was far from junk. In fact, the Millennium Falcon was just as legendary in-universe as it is to Star Wars fans. It was commonly called the fastest ship in the galaxy, it set the Kessel Run record, and it was instrumental in both the Galactic Civil War and the First Order-Resistance War. Even with its problems, the Millennium Falcon should have been one of the most envied ships in the galaxy.

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When he first saw the Millennium Falcon, Luke Skywalker called it “a piece of junk.” But the plucky ship has since proven that statement wrong.

The only reason the Millennium Falcon could have been written off as junk is because of its haphazard and slapped-together appearance. Even that isn’t a compelling reason to slander it, though, as most of the ships in Star Wars have the exact same design aesthetic. The history of the Millennium Falcon makes its comparisons to junk even worse, considering how many modifications have been made to it and how much abuse it’s endured. Lesser ships would be in a junkyard if they had to face half the things the Millennium Falcon went through. The seemingly common opinion that it’s a garbage ship seems especially confusing.

8 How Does The Millennium Falcon Fool Anyone As A Smuggling Ship?

The Millennium Falcon‘s main purpose – to serve as a smuggling ship – also adds to its confusion. Based on what’s known about the Millennium Falcon, it should be a terrible smuggling ship. The main cargo hold is used, seemingly exclusively, for the Star Wars version of chess known as Dejarik, passengers, and the occasional Jedi training session (when the need arises). An empty cargo hold should be a red flag for any official inspecting a ship under suspicion of smuggling, and its measures to get around such officials are even worse.

The interior of the Millennium Falcon makes it wild that it ever passed a routine inspection at a blockade.

In the original Star Wars, Han Solo explained that the Millennium Falcon has hidden compartments in its floors that are meant to hide illegal goods. Unfortunately, those floor compartments are terrible hiding places. They’re covered by metal grating that can easily be seen through, and it seems like the first place someone would check when searching a ship. The slapdash appearance of the Falcon can only do so much in making it look like a normal ship. The interior of the Millennium Falcon makes it wild that it ever passed a routine inspection at a blockade.

7 Why Didn’t Lando Calrissian Ever Try To Get L3-37 Out Of The Falcon?

Solo, once again, added to the confusion surrounding the Millennium Falcon in a failed attempt to explain its speed. Towards the end of Solo, after Lando’s droid companion L3-37 had been mortally wounded and the crew needed a way out of the Maw Cluster before their coaxium cargo became destabilized. To plot that course, Qi’ra integrated L3 into the Millennium Falcon‘s computer system, keeping her alive but without a body. Solo also established that Lando was incredibly close to L3, though, which raised a few questions about his inaction following that mission.

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Even though Lando had an incredibly close, and potentially even romantic, relationship with L3-37, he never tried to get her out of the Millennium Falcon. It would have been extremely difficult, but not impossible. Other droids, like C-3PO and R2-D2, have survived catastrophic damage with their memories and personalities intact. It just seems odd that Lando would never even try to find a way to save his beloved co-pilot and friend. There is one reason he might have failed at that attempt, but as far as Star Wars canon has revealed, he never even got that far.

6 How Does The Millennium Collective Even Work?

The main reason Lando’s attempts to free L3-37, if he had made them, would have failed is because she was essentially gone. In the novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story, L3-37’s fate got a bit more detail, but it also created a new wealth of questions. That novel explained that when L3 integrated with the Millennium Falcon, she became part of the Millennium Collective. Evidently, two other droids had integrated with the Falcon in the past, and their consciousnesses had joined together into a single entity that erased their former identities. L3-37 joined them, and her personality was also lost in the Millennium Collective.

There are dozens of other questions the Millennium Collective raises, and it’s one of the most confusing explanations in Star Wars.

Though that helps explain why Lando might not have tried to free L3, it also raises some frankly astounding questions about the Millennium Falcon and Star Wars in general. The concept of the Millennium Collective never explained how a droid’s mind can be subsumed into a larger collective, or even how that works. Is the Collective a separate entity, or do each of the three droids contribute parts of their old personality in a kind of melting pot? There are dozens of other questions the Millennium Collective raises, and it’s one of the most confusing explanations in Star Wars.

5 Why Did Lando Risk Losing The Falcon By Gambling?

The ending of Solo and L3-37 managed to make the Millennium Falcon‘s history even more confusing yet again. The end of Solo saw Lando lose a game of Sabacc to Han Solo, and since he had wagered the Falcon, he also lost his ship. The confusing part is not Lando’s loss, but the mere fact that he would wager the ship at all after L3’s sacrifice. Lando, of course, thought he could win because of the device up his sleeve that fed him cards, and he only realized that Han had taken his cards too late. That helps explain why he would wager the Millennium Falcon, but not completely.

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In many ways, the Millennium Falcon was the most important thing in the world to Lando during Solo. It was his pride and joy as a ship, and it was the last vestige of L3-37, his friend and co-pilot. Even if he did think he could win the Sabacc game, it just seems odd that he would risk it at all. The Millennium Falcon was the only way he could connect with L3 anymore, and it’s hard to believe that Lando would ever gamble with it after all the trauma he went through in Solo.

4 How Many People Have Owned The Falcon?

The Millennium Falcon had some notable owners over the years, from Lando Calrissian to Han Solo and Chewbacca to Rey Skywalker. It also had a whole host of other owners, though. A reference book mentioned that the Millennium Falcon was built around 60 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin), yet Lando only took possession of it sometime before 13 BBY. That means there were decades when the ship was being used by unknown pilots. Lando did make most of the modifications that turned the Millennium Falcon into the legend it is, but those early pilots still remain a curious blank spot in the ship’s history.

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Han Solo also lost the Millennium Falcon between Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, meaning there were years afterwards where it was owned by less notable criminals. Comics have since explained how Han lost the Falcon, and Rey mentioned that it was stolen by two more criminals before ending up on Jakku. Star Wars has, rightfully so, been more interested in telling the stories of the Falcon‘s most legendary pilots, but there’s no telling what those lesser-known owners used the ship for, or what they did to it.

Known Owners of the Millennium Falcon
Lando Calrissian
Han Solo
Gannis Ducaine
The Irving Boys
Unkar Plutt
Rey Skywalker

3 Why Has No One Tried To Replicate The Millennium Falcon?

For all intents and purposes, the Millennium Falcon is an icon to most of the Star Wars galaxy. It was infamous to villains like bounty hunters, the Galactic Empire, and the First Order, and it was a symbol of hope and legend to the Rebel Alliance, the Resistance, and aspiring pilots and smugglers. Despite the Millennium Falcon‘s legend, however, no one tried to replicate it. For some reason, none of those people who idolized the Falcon as the pinnacle of ships ever thought that finding another model and making similar modifications to it would be a good idea.

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It’s not as if no one knew how to recreate the Millennium Falcon. The ship was constantly being repaired and changing hands, so someone could have figured out what exactly all the Falcon‘s owners had done to it to make it such a fantastic ship. It’s also not like the Falcon was purpose-built and not useful to anyone but Han and Lando: its armor, maneuverability, sub-light speed, and navigational capabilities would have been useful for dozens of purposes. Despite all the potential benefits of creating another Millennium Falcon, no one ever tried it.

2 Why Did Han Solo Never Replace Lando’s Auxiliary Ship?

Yet another question Solo raised about the Millennium Falcon came from one of Lando’s older modifications. While trying to escape the summa-verminoth in the Maw, Han jettisoned the Falcon‘s escape pod that Lando had fashioned between its mandibles. While that revealed the Millennium Falcon‘s most iconic design, it also raised the question of why Han never replaced it. Han did eventually get another escape pod for the Falcon, but he fitted it on top of the ship instead of between the mandibles, and he never used the full potential of the ship’s mandibles.

Han Solo

Hailing from Corellia, Han Solo deserted the Empire to become a smuggler, and he spent years working for the Hutts as a spice runner. Han’s life changed forever when he agreed to transport Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker to Alderaan from Tatooine, and he soon became an important member of the Rebel Alliance. Han’s romance with Leia Organa became the stuff of legend, and they married shortly after the Battle of Endor. Sadly, their relationship ended in tragedy when their son Ben fell to the dark side – eventually killing Han. Still, memories of Han helped bring Ben back to the light.

Created By George Lucas Cast Harrison Ford , Alden Ehrenreich First Appearance Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope Died Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens Alliance Rebel Alliance

The escape pod Lando originally put on the Millennium Falcon was actually an entire independent ship, a YT Dart that he had modified. The fact that the Millennium Falcon was, at one point, capable of holding an entire smaller ship in its mandibles meant that Han could have replaced it with another ship, but never did. Han could have used it in much the same way the characters of Star Wars Rebels used the Ghost and its smaller ship, the Phantom. The Ghost crew got quite a bit of utility out of the Phantom, and it’s confusing that Han missed such a huge opportunity for the Falcon.

1 Why Didn’t Anyone Use The Falcon’s Mandibles Properly?

Even though Han never put another ship between the Millennium Falcon‘s mandibles, he still could have used them for their intended purpose. The Millennium Falcon began its existence as a YT-1300 light freighter. That type of ship was designed to transport cargo and other ships around Corellia, Han’s homeworld, yet no one who has piloted the Falcon in Star Wars has ever used it for that purpose. The carrying capacity of a YT-1300 was yet another missed opportunity to make the Millennium Falcon even more useful than it already is.

Solo: A Star Wars Story 3.0 pg-13 Where to Watch

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Solo: A Star Wars Story is a spin-off of the Star Wars franchise that focuses on the early years of Han Solo, with Alden Ehrenreich replacing Harrison Ford as the iconic smuggler. The movie explores how Han met Chewbacca, acquired the Millennium Falcon, and became the roguish smuggler fans know and love. Donald Glover brings back Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson plays Tobias Beckett, Emilia Clarke portrays Qi’ra, and Paul Bettany embodies the crime lord Dryden Vos.

Director Ron Howard Release Date May 10, 2018 Runtime 135minutes Budget $275–300 million

There are dozens of ways any of the pilots of the Millennium Falcon could have put the ship’s mandibles to good use. Lando and Han could have used them for smuggling, either to carry legitimate cargo and ward off inspections, or to smuggle more illegal goods than the ship normally could. The Millennium Falcon also could have become a key part of both the Rebellion’s and the Resistance’s logistics by transporting supplies between the various bases. There are many parts of the Millennium Falcon that remain a mystery, and hopefully, Star Wars will continue to solve them for years to come.

Star Wars

Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.

Created by George Lucas First Film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope