Solo cameos: All the surprise appearances in the new Star Wars film

All the big names playing small roles in the latest saga in the sci-fi franchise

The latest Star Wars film, a prequel charting the formative years of Han Solo, has been released with Alden Ehrenreich playing a younger version of the character made famous by Harrison Ford.

Critics are throwing humble praise the way of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the second spinoff after 2016's Rogue One (not Ford though - apparently he "adores" it), but it seems audiences will flock to cinemas this weekend to make their own minds up.

Starring alongside Ehrenreich in the film is Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian - not to mention numerous cameo appearances which you most likely missed (and one you most certainly did not).

WARNING - this post includes a massive spoiler so if you're yet to see Solo, do no read on

Jon Favreau

Disney favourite Favreau, director of The Jungle Book and the guy who kicked of the MCU with Iron Man back in 2008, plays early Solo highlight Rio Durant, a miniature four-armed alien who pilots at Imperial AT-Hauler. He's part of the team of bandits we meet early on, including Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and Val (Thandie Newton), and is the one who convinces them to trial Han and Chewbacca's smuggling skills. Favreau was recently announced as the one who'll oversee the first live-action Star Wars series.

Anthony Daniels

Solo marks the first Star Wars film that won't feature C3-PO, however, there's still room for the man behind the robot, Anthony Daniels, who marks his 10th appearance in the long-running sci-fi franchise albeit in a completely different role. He plays the liberated Wookie who befriends Chewbacca and attempts to convince him to join him. But Chewie remains loyal to his new compadre Han before saving the life of Lando.

Linda Hunt

Lady Proxima is presented as the first antagonist Han faces, a giant alien creature who lives in a darkened room on Corellia, wallowing in water and hiding from the sunlight. She's voiced by Linda Hunt, the Oscar-winning star of 1982 film The Year of Living Dangerously. Unofficially, Hunt is also the inspiration behind The Incredibles character Edna Mode.

Warwick Davis

Warwick Davis has long been part of the Star Wars furniture having appeared in six previous films but here, not only does his face get screen time (no prosthetics!), he gets some dialogue to chew on too. He plays a member of Enfys Nest's crew and boasts perhaps the most impressive hair of anyone in the whole film.

Clint Howard

What would a Ron Howard film be without a cameo from his brother, Clint? Here, he plays the proprietor of the robot battles we see shortly after the introduction of Lando which his sassy droid L3 (Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge) is none too pleased about.

Ray Park

The biggie: towards the end of Solo, Ray Park is seen reprising his role as The Phantom Menace villain Darth Maul. It turns out he's the true leader of the Crimson Dawn, not Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany who replaced Michael K. Williams following the departure of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller). Maul hasn't been seen on the big screen since that 1999 film and, instead of Peter Serafinowicz, he now has the voice of Sam Witwer, who played the character in The Clone Wars, Rebels and several video games.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is in cinemas now. You can read our review here.