Here’s how Solo’s gangster reference connects to Jabba the Hutt, and why it’s important

This gangster just so happens to operate out of Tattooine, a desert planet where we first meet Han in A New Hope. Han pops up in a Mos Eisley cantina, where he encounters Greedo and, more importantly, Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker.

While Solo doesn’t namedrop Jabba the Hutt, it’s pretty easy to put two and two together. It’s an important reference because Han eventually forges a pretty significant relationship with Jabba in the original trilogy. Their relationship isn’t a good one by any means, but Solo provides a breadcrumb for how they link up in the first place.

Employed by a crime boss

When the first trilogy hit, Jabba didn’t appear until 1983’s Return of the Jedi, where we see him in one of the best scenes in Star Wars. But his presence looms large long before that, as the mention in Solo proves.

When the special edition of A New Hope was released, we find out that Han owed Jabba a large sum of money after a job gone wrong; it was actually this dispute that forced Jabba to send Greedo after Han, in which the two duel in the Mos Eisley cantina.

Han tells Jabba that he’ll repay the debt—with interest—after successfully delivering Obi-Wan, Luke, R2-D2, and C-3PO to Alderaan. Jabba agrees to Han’s terms and parts with a threat:

“If you fail me again, I’ll put a price on your head so big, you won’t be able to go near a civilized system,” Jabba tells Han.

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2018/05/30/han-solo-jabba-the-hutt-connection/