While we’re far from the days when we knew absolutely nothing about Star Wars Han Solo prequel (remember when we hadn’t even seen a trailer or a single image?), there are still one or two characters from the upcoming space opera that we know very little about.

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Take Val, for example, the character played by Thandie Newton who has appeared in a few teasers and images for the new film carrying some pretty hefty weaponry.

We can surmise that she’s part of the crew brought together by Beckett (Woody Harrelson) that also includes Han and Chewie (Alden Ehrenreich and Joonas Suotamo), but apart from that she remains a complete mystery.

Now Newton has shed some new light on the significance of her part for the first time, pointing out the groundbreaking nature of her casting while hinting at the crucial role Val may play in the story of the finished film.

“I’m the first woman of colour to have a prominent role in the Star Wars legacy,” Newton says in the latest issue of Radio Times, on sale from Tuesday 17th April.

“There have been others with one line and Lupita Nyong’o was a computer-generated character [in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi], but you didn’t get to see the colour of her skin. I’m the first.

“I’m going to have a toy and everything," she adds. "It’s exciting, but that’s all I can say. It is a big deal.”

Sounds like Val will be one to watch when Solo is released next month.

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Read the full interview with Thandie Newton, where she talks about her experience with sci-fi fans, her TV favourites and the perils of bingeing, in the latest issue of Radio Times

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