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Light freighter · Independent
Millennium Falcon
A scruffy Corellian freighter with a hyperdrive far better than it looks, and a long list of owners.
- Model
- YT-1300f Corellian light freighter
- Maker
- Corellian Engineering Corporation
- Length
- 34.75 m
- Height
- 7.8 m
- Crew
- Pilot, co-pilot and 2 gunners
- Top speed in atmosphere
- 1,050 km/h
- Speed in space
- 75 MGLT
- Hyperdrive
- class 0.5, backup: class 10
- Shields
- yes
- Armament
- 2 quad laser cannon turrets · Concussion missile launchers
IndependentRebel AllianceNew RepublicResistanceCompare on the scale
Overview
The Millennium Falcon is a Corellian YT-1300 light freighter that has been patched, rebuilt and upgraded so often that little of the stock ship is left. Seen from above, it is a flat disc with two prongs at the front and a cockpit set off to one side[1][5].
Han Solo is the captain who made it famous. A smuggler, he won the ship from Lando Calrissian and flew it with his co-pilot Chewbacca[2]. The hull looks like scrap, but it hides a class 0.5 hyperdrive, a class 10 backup and two quad laser turrets[7].
The Falcon runs through the whole saga. It appears in Solo, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the sequel trilogy, with Lando, Han, Chewbacca and Rey all taking the controls at different times[1][3].
Length 34.75 m
How it flies and fights
The layout is simple: a wide disc, two prongs at the bow, a gun turret on top and another underneath. Each turret is a quad laser cannon, and the ship is built to be flown by two and fought by two more at the guns[7]. It also carries concussion missile launchers for heavier work[3].
Speed is where the Falcon outclasses its looks. The hyperdrive is rated class 0.5 — the lower the number, the faster the jump — and a class 10 backup waits for the moments when the main drive fails[7]. In normal space the ship manages 75 MGLT, and in an atmosphere about 1,050 km/h. Deflector shields cover the hull in combat[7].
Who flew it
Han Solo
Owner
A smuggler who won the Falcon from Lando Calrissian, made the Kessel Run in it and flew it for years as its captain[2].
Chewbacca
Pilot
Han's co-pilot and mechanic, a Wookiee who keeps the ship running and later flies it with Rey[1].
Lando Calrissian
Owner
The Falcon's earlier owner, who remodelled the ship and lost it to Han in a card game. He flies it again at the Battle of Endor[3].
Rey
Pilot
A scavenger from Jakku who flies the Falcon off her home planet and keeps it in the air through the sequel trilogy[1].
Nien Nunb
Pilot
A Sullustan who sits beside Lando in the cockpit during the attack on the second Death Star[1].
L3-37
Pilot
Lando Calrissian's droid co-pilot in Solo, who handles navigation and plots the routes of his Falcon[4].
Chronicle
Key moments in the ship's life, in story order. Spoilers stay hidden until you mark the title as watched in the timeline.
-
19 BBY
Episode III — Revenge of the Sith
A YT-1300 freighter that looks just like the Falcon drifts through the Coruscant traffic in Revenge of the Sith[1].
-
10 BBY
Lando's Falcon carries Han and the heist crew away from Kessel, threading the Maelstrom to finish the run in about 12 parsecs — the origin of Han's boast[1].
-
≈ 10 BBY
Spoiler from Solo: A Star Wars StoryShowyou've watched it
After the Kessel job, Han wins the Falcon from Lando in a sabacc rematch on Numidian Prime[2].
-
≈ 10 BBY
Spoiler from Solo: A Star Wars StoryShowyou've watched it
L3-37 is fatally damaged in the revolt on Kessel. Lando uploads her mind into the Falcon's navigation computer, which helps the ship plot faster routes[4].
-
0 BBY
Han and Chewbacca fly Luke, Obi-Wan and the droids out of Mos Eisley past the Imperial ships. Later the Death Star's tractor beam drags the Falcon in[1].
-
0 BBY
Spoiler from Episode IV — A New HopeShowyou've watched it
Han returns in the Falcon at the Battle of Yavin and drives Vader's TIE fighter away from Luke, who then fires the shot that destroys the Death Star[2].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
The Falcon flees Hoth with a failing hyperdrive, hides in an asteroid field and slips away from Vader's fleet[1].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
Spoiler from Episode V — The Empire Strikes BackShowyou've watched it
Lando delivers Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO into Vader's trap on Cloud City. Han is frozen in carbonite, and the Falcon escapes with Lando, Leia and Chewbacca aboard[1].
-
4 ABY
Episode VI — Return of the Jedi
Spoiler from Episode VI — Return of the JediShowyou've watched it
Lando, with Nien Nunb beside him, flies the Falcon through the second Death Star's superstructure and fires missiles into the reactor, clearing the blast by seconds[3].
-
34 ABY
Episode VII — The Force Awakens
Spoiler from Episode VII — The Force AwakensShowyou've watched it
Rey and Finn steal the Falcon on Jakku to escape. Han and Chewbacca reclaim it and fly it to Starkiller Base, where Kylo Ren kills Han[1].
-
34 ABY
Spoiler from Episode VIII — The Last JediShowyou've watched it
The Falcon, flown by Chewbacca, lifts off from Crait with the last Resistance fighters aboard and escapes into space[1].
-
35 ABY
Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker
Spoiler from Episode IX — The Rise of SkywalkerShowyou've watched it
The Falcon helps lead a huge fleet of civilian ships into the Battle of Exegol, joining the fight against the Sith Eternal[1].
Where it flew
- TatooineThe Falcon waits in Docking Bay 94 at Mos Eisley, where Luke and Obi-Wan hire it.
- KesselThe spice-mining world where Han and Lando's crew go after a load of coaxium.
- HothThe Falcon is one of the ships that leave the ice base as the Empire closes in.
- BespinThe Falcon docks at Cloud City, the floating mining colony that Lando Calrissian runs.
- EndorThe Falcon joins the rebel fleet above Endor's forest moon for the attack on the second Death Star.
- JakkuA scrap dealer's yard on Jakku is where Rey and Finn find the Falcon and fly it to escape.
- TakodanaHan and Chewbacca take the ship back near Maz Kanata's castle on this forested world.
- CraitThe Falcon is among the Resistance ships at the old rebel base on Crait, a salt-covered world.
- ExegolThe Falcon flies with the large fleet of civilian ships that gathers over Exegol.
Where to see the Millennium Falcon
Films, series and games with the Millennium Falcon, in story order.
Episode III — Revenge of the SithMovie · 2005The Clone Wars come to an end, and Anakin Skywalker's turn to the dark side changes the galaxy forever.
Solo: A Star Wars StoryMovie · 2018Young Han Solo becomes a smuggler, meets Chewbacca and Lando, and joins a risky heist.
Episode IV — A New HopeMovie · 1977Farm boy Luke Skywalker, smuggler Han Solo and Princess Leia take on the Empire and its Death Star.
Episode V — The Empire Strikes BackMovie · 1980The Empire hunts the rebels across the galaxy, while Luke trains with Jedi Master Yoda.
Episode VI — Return of the JediMovie · 1983The rebels attack the second Death Star, and Luke faces Darth Vader and the Emperor.
Episode VII — The Force AwakensMovie · 2015Thirty years after the fall of the Empire, the scavenger Rey and the stormtrooper Finn are drawn into the war with the First Order.
Episode VIII — The Last JediMovie · 2017Rey seeks out Luke Skywalker, while the Resistance tries to escape the First Order's fleet.
Episode IX — The Rise of SkywalkerMovie · 2019The final chapter of the Skywalker saga: Rey, Finn and Poe make their last stand against the First Order.
Variants
Lando Calrissian's Falcon (Solo era)
Under Lando the ship is a showy, spotless freighter with a cape closet, which Han later walls off as a hidden safe. Its engines and rear interior are redrawn for Solo[6].
Sequel-era Falcon (Rey and Chewbacca)
The same ship after decades of repairs: the round radar dish of the first films gives way to a rectangular sensor array, and the interior gains escape pods. Rey and Chewbacca fly it in the sequel trilogy[7].
Behind the scenes
- The first Falcon design looked too much like the Eagle transport from Space: 1999, so it became the Rebel blockade runner of A New Hope instead. Joe Johnston redrew the Falcon as a saucer with an off-centre cockpit; Lucas called it a hamburger with an olive on the side[5].
- ILM built the 1977 effects model by kit-bashing tank and car model-kit parts from Revell and Tamiya, in sizes from palm-sized to over four feet (1.2 m). For The Empire Strikes Back, a near full-size exterior more than 60 feet (18 m) long was built[5].
- The hyperspace sound combines two recordings of a DC-9 jet engine played out of step with the hum of cooling fans from ILM's motion-control camera rig[7].
Did you know
- A parsec measures distance, not time. Solo shows the Kessel Run covering about 12 parsecs, so Han's boast is about a short route rather than a record time[1].
- A pair of fuzzy dice hangs in the Falcon's cockpit in A New Hope[5].
- Before it ends up in a scrapyard on Jakku, the Falcon is taken from Han and Chewbacca by Gannis Ducain and passes through other hands[1].
Millennium Falcon: questions and answers
How big is the Millennium Falcon?
The Millennium Falcon is about 34.75 metres long — roughly half a Boeing 747, or three city buses end to end. It is classed as a light freighter, flown by two and armed with turrets that need two more crew[1][7].
