Ahead of the release of Star Wars prequel Solo, one question has haunted fans above all others.

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No, it’s not the mystery of how Han earned his name, how he met Chewbacca, what terrible heartbreak caused him to become such a cynic or even where he picked up his line of snazzy jackets – it’s how on EARTH he managed to turn the beautifully pristine, pure-white interior of the Millennium Falcon as it appears in Solo into the smoker’s yellow, dirty and shambolic ship we first saw in 1977’s original Star Wars.

The Millennium Falcon in Solo: A Star Wars story (Lucasfilm, HF)
The Millennium Falcon in Solo: A Star Wars story (Lucasfilm)

I mean, look at the contrast – did he let Jabba the Hutt slide around in it for a few weeks or something?

The Millennium Falcon interior in Star Wars: A New Hope (Lucasfilm, HF)
The Millennium Falcon interior in Star Wars: A New Hope (Lucasfilm)

But now this mystery may have finally been solved, because Solo star Alden Ehrenreich – who plays the younger version of Harrison Ford’s character – has revealed exactly why Han let the ship get in such a state, telling RadioTimes.com that there may be more method to his slovenliness than first appears.

“Well, the real deep cut Star Wars answer to that..." Ehrenreich begins in a video interview (below). "I mean you see some of that go on [in Solo], you see a little bit how it became the way it looks now,” he explains.

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“But you know, if you're flying and you're trying to avoid Imperial Guards or something, it's better to be driving a Pinto than it is a red Lamborghini.

“And that rule of logic is part of the world of space. You want to be underestimated a little bit so nobody is thinking, 'Is that guy up to no good?'

“And it's part of Han's aesthetic,” he added. “Han's aesthetic is a little rougher.”

So there you have it – Han intentionally roughed up the Falcon so that nobody would think the ship was anything special, and considering that people are still calling it “garbage” by the time of The Force Awakens we’d say he definitely succeeded.

Now, if we can only work out where Lando first picked up his love of stylish capes we reckon we’ll be all caught up by the film’s release.

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Solo: A Star Wars story is released in UK cinemas on 24th May

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