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Solo: A Star Wars Story was Disney’s second and final attempt at a Star Wars spin-off film, at least until The Mandalorian and Grogu makes its way to theaters in 2026. Solo underperformed for several reasons, chief among them being a general lack of interest in seeing Han Solo’s backstory explored on the big screen. 42 years prior, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope had established everything that fans needed to know about the lovable scoundrel, so a prequel starring him seemed unnecessary. Despite that, the context provided by Solo lent further layers of meaning to certain moments from the original Star Wars trilogy.
A notable example of this is an argument between Han and Princess Leia Organa from A New Hope. Han explained that he had no interest in joining the Rebel Alliance and that he was only “in it for the money,” to which Leia indignantly replied, “You needn’t worry about your reward. If money is all that you love, then that’s what you’ll receive.” She then said to Luke Skywalker, “Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything. Or anybody.” Han went silent for a moment, staring off into the distance. After Leia left, Luke asked Han what he thought of her, and he dryly responded, “I’m trying not to, kid.” This scene and specifically Han’s final line were recontextualized by Solo.
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Han Solo’s History With Qi’ra Left Him Jaded
Image via Lucasfilm
Theatrically Released Films Including Han Solo
Year(s) Set
Year Released
Solo: A Star Wars Story
10 BBY – 13 BBY
2018
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
0 BBY
1977
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
3 ABY
1980
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
4 ABY
1983
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
34 ABY
2015
Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (as a vision to Ben Solo)
35 ABY
2019
In Solo, Han was far from the heartless hired gun whom Leia accused him of being in A New Hope. Love was his primary motivation. Han had a strong bond with Qi’ra, a fellow thief working for the White Worm Gang on Corellia. Early in the film, he tried to escape Corellia with her, but she was captured by the White Worms. Qi’ra told Han to leave without her, and he reluctantly did so, promising that he would “come back.” He returned three years later, at which point Qi’ra had joined the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. She still had feelings for Han, but she now cared more about rising through the ranks of Crimson Dawn than reuniting with him. After a few missions together, Qi’ra betrayed and abandoned Han, flying away to meet up with Crimson Dawn’s leader, Maul.
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Han was left heartbroken, and for the next decade, Chewbacca was his only true friend. Leia’s comment in A New Hope must have struck a nerve, because Han used to care deeply about other people. Solo implied that his cynical attitude in later life was a defense mechanism that he used to deal with what he viewed as a cold and merciless galaxy. Han telling Luke that he was trying not to “think of her” was meant to refer to Leia at the time, but this line could also be interpreted as him trying not to think about the painful memories of Qi’ra that Leia stirred up. Throughout the original Star Wars trilogy, Han opened his heart up once more and eventually fell in love with Leia, a relationship that went much better for him — at least at first.
Han Solo’s Romances Never Ended Well
Image via Lucasfilm
Han and Leia married shortly after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi and had a son whom they named Ben in honor of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s alias. Ben turned out to be Force-sensitive like his uncle, and he joined Luke’s new Jedi Academy. However, Ben later fell to the Dark Side of the Force, taking up the name Kylo Ren.
This drove a wedge between Han and Leia, and by the time of the sequel trilogy, they had separated. Han and Leia reunited in Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, but only briefly, and Kylo killed Han soon after. Indeed, Han’s backstory did not need to be explored, as his character arc in the original trilogy worked perfectly well without Solo, but knowing more about Han’s past makes his story in the Skywalker Saga all the more tragic.
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