He is a deceptive and tyrannical person who works closely to Crimson Dawn and their leader, Dryden Vos, serving as Han Solo's mentor at first. However, Beckett secretly plots to steal an Imperial coaxium generator and use both Solo and Vos against each other so he can rob money from many gangs, including the Crimson Dawn.
Tobias Beckett was from the planet Glee Anslem and at one point met the bounty hunter Aurra Sing and pushed her to her death. Beckett traveled with his crew, composed by his love interest Val and an ape called Rio Durant, on his own pirate ship. Beckett attempted to steal blank I.D. chips from Rebellion property, however, at the end he was caught by Enfys Nest. He tried to kill Enfys but Enfys has escaped, and thereafter, Beckett swore his revenge and became an ambitious, ruthless crime lord.
Stealing the Coaxium
Tobias Beckett at first employs Han Solo to The Imperial Academy. He reveals to Han that he was pretending to be an Imperial officer, just to steal a coaxium generator. He then sends Han to be eaten by Chewbacca, only to rescue him secretly later. He then discusses with Han and his crew around the bonfire, and Han reveals about Qi'ra being his girlfriend, once upon a time. Later, Tobias and Han steal the coaxium. Beckett reveals that he is planning to transport it to a crime gang called The Crimson Dawn, led by his ally, Dryden Vos. He explained to Han that if they don't transport it to Vos, then the Crimson Dawn will kill him for breaking their deal, but that if he does, they will both be rich. Later, Beckett meets with Dryden Vos, who is disappointed about his failure to transport the coaxium to the Crimson Dawn. Han Solo, however, reveals a location of unrefined coaxium, which they can use to create a new generator. Dryden gave Beckett another opportunity to transport it and gain the money in return. He sent Han Solo as a pilot and Qi'ra to accompany them both.
Betraying Han and The Crimson Dawn
During the start of the journey, Beckett told Han not to trust anyone, specifically not Qi'ra, so he could manipulate Han into becoming his best friend, and therefore, he can use him to rob the Crimson Dawn and transport the coaxium to another crime gang on Tatooine. Han used fake coaxium for creating the generator; however, Tobias, who seemed to support his plans to cheat Dryden Vos, has actually reported to Vos and the Crimson Dawn about Han's tricks and plans. Tobias then sent Vos's Hylobon Enforcers to find the generator of the real coaxium. However, it was revealed that Han stole it on time from the Cloud Raiders before Beckett could take it from them. Beckett then revealed that he has been using Crimson Dawn and Solo to rob Vos' money, and to make a profit from something he wouldn't really sell. He then took Chewbacca as hostage, and went off to transport the coaxium to the gang on Tatooine.
Han Solo ran after him and eventually he caught up with Beckett, who was on his way to a Crimson Dawn ship. Beckett told Han once again not to trust Qi'ra, as she does not love him and is only surviving for herself. Han, however, replied that Beckett has a problem; he manipulates everyone and causes them to distrust everyone, to gain all the money - and therefore the only one who cannot be trusted is Beckett. He then admits that he manipulated Solo, and adds that they weren't really friends. He tried to tell Han the most important thing about his scheme, but Han shot him to death out of anger and putting an end to his goals for good. As Beckett fell on the floor dying, Han came closer to hear the important thing which Beckett had to tell him. Beckett revealed that he would have killed Han, but that he still appreciates Han's "problem"; Han is a good person who does not cheat or murder others for money before succumbing to his wounds.
Personality
Although he seemed like a good man and father figure to Han Solo, Beckett was a greedy, egotistical and ruthless individual who manipulated Han, as well as many different crime organizations for his own benefit. Although Dryden was seemingly the direct threat during the film, Beckett revealed a far worse and more threatening plan which was to transport the coaxium generator to many different gangs and gain money by not selling it properly. At the end, although he did pay his price, he also got to show some remorse towards Han. However, that was only because he was dying and he had no other chance.
Powers and Abilities
Skilled Combatant- Beckett is a good skilled fighter and hunter. He is also a skilled marksman, being quick and precise in shooting multiple enemies. One of his blasters is his only dominant weapon is a fancy blaster. In fact, Han knew he could defeat Beckett in a fair fight.
Master Manipulator - Tobias manipulated Han Solo throughout the entire film (until he was about to die) and used him for his own purposes. He was also very manipulative towards Dryden Vos and using Vos and Han against one another as part of his ultimate scheme.
Intelligent Conspirator - He would conspire to sell his items to many gangs, instead of one ally, and he would make them war over the coaxium generator, just so he could rob other people's money.
Expert Thief - Beckett had a career of being an expert thief. He is also a skilled in data slicing or slicer. According to Lando he is an expert at taking off a fortified infraction restrain that was on the Millennium Falcon's landing gear.
Equipment
Blasters: Like most Star Wars characters, Beckett is capable with blasters and wields several of them. He primary uses a RSKF-44 heavy blaster, a double-barreled pistol, in his right hand and in his left hand a DG-29 heavy blaster pistol. Beckett also had a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol in rifle configuration and a A280-CFE convertible heavy blaster pistol which he configured it stock on the Falcon.
Collapsible blade/Fusioncutter: Beckett had what appeared to be a self-made knife that featured a channel to store the collapsible blade and an ionizing fusioncutter with plasma bore bits built in according to Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide. He only showed this when he turned it in when reporting to Vos, claiming it is all he has.
Weakness
Arrogance - Beckett is a very arrogant and selfish person who does not care about anyone, and therefore, he manipulates Han in a way that he won't be able to trust anybody. Beckett's arrogance eventually led to his own failure. Han eventually realized that Beckett was manipulating him all along for his own benefit, and Han stood against him, and then managed to kill him before he could kill Han.
Reception
According to several film critics, Beckett is described as Han Solo's darker and more ruthless version as Han and Beckett are total opposites; while Han is a decent child, Beckett would do anything to take control of the underworld and gain lots of money. Beckett is described as a ruthless, treacherous, megalomaniacal and ambitious criminal and even his good traits are either faked or only shown towards the end of the movie, in which he dies and shows remorse. His battle scene with Han is similar to the battle scene between Han and Greedo, as both scenes have caused a debate on whether Han or his enemy would have shot first.
Trivia
Solo: A Star Wars Story came out on the same year as Venom (2018), where Harrelson also played a villain.
Tobias Beckett is based on Bill Sikes from Oliver Twist, a treacherous criminal who uses many people for his own wealth. The Kasdans have disclosed that one of Beckett's main inspirations was Long John Silver from Treasure Island.
In Legends, Han Solo's mentor was an bounty hunter named Garris Shrike, who serves a similar role to Tobias Beckett.
Solo co-screenwriter Jon Kasdan has disclosed that Beckett's return to confront his allies and Dryden after supposedly running away in the film's climax was meant to evoke how Han returns in the climax of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope to help the Rebels to destroy the Death Star, only that while Han does so to redeem himself and save Luke Skywalker from Darth Vader, Beckett returns to betray his allies and his superior.
Ironically, Beckett's warning to Han about never put his faith on anyone eventually proved to be almost right: in The Empire Strikes Back, Han trusts Lando Calrissian, who betrays him for the Galactic Empire and Boba Fett under the Empire's pressure; and in The Force Awakens, Han lets his guard down while talking to his son Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in an attempt to redeem him, and is ultimately killed. However, both of them eventually redeem themselves: in Lando's case by helping his friends to escape Cloud City and save Han from Jabba the Hutt, and in Ben's case, he learns from his mistakes and decides to turn back to the light side of the Force and saves the woman he loves, Rey, proving that some of the people who betray Han feel remorse, including Qi'ra (who does not tell Darth Maul about Han's involvement and whereabouts).
Also His old classmate Beilert Valance had took a bounty on him, despite Han saving his life and Gannis Ducain stole the Falcon to make a name for himself. However like Lando and Ben, both regretted their actions and redeemed themselves.
