Early in Solo: A Star Wars Story, the young Han Solo runs afoul of the reptilian alien thug Moloch. Han and Moloch are both underlings of the worm-like crime boss Lady Proxima on Han's home planet of Corellia.
The name "Moloch" appears in the Bible, apparently referring to a deity who demands child sacrifice. The Old Testament forbids the Israelites to worship Moloch by offering him their children. As such, it is apt that Moloch works for Lady Proxima, who preys on children like Han and his love interest Qi'ra, pressing them into the service of her criminal enterprise.
The name "Moloch" also appears in Fritz Lang's Metropolis, one of the primary influences on Star Wars. The Moloch of Metropolis, like the Moloch of the Bible, is an evil god who requires terrible sacrifices. Moloch appears to the film's protagonist, Freder, in a vision. In Freder's vision, the gigantic, churning "heart machine" which the workers of the city must serve becomes a giant, monstrous temple devouring human slaves. Later in the film, the workers rebel and destroy the heart machine, but this action causes a flood that threatens to drown their children, who are trapped in the watery depths of the city.
Corellia, like the city in Metropolis, is an industrial world with two levels: the brighter, more pristine "upper" world and the dark, murky "lower" world. Han, Qi'ra, and a host of other orphaned children are trapped in this underworld, enslaved to Lady Proxima and Moloch.
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Films: Solo: A Star Wars Story
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Concepts: children / names / slavery / underworld
Influences: Bible / Metropolis
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