Exploring Han Solo's Past and Future in the Latest Star Wars Novel

theverge.com

Solo: A Star Wars Story is set to premiere in just over a month. This standalone entry in the Star Wars universe follows the path laid by Rogue One, presenting a narrative separate from the main saga that revolves around the Skywalker family and their galactic struggle against evil. However, unlike Rogue One, which introduced a completely new set of characters, Solo centers on one of the franchise's most iconic figures: Han Solo.

As the film's release draws near, a notable sentiment surrounding Solo is the apparent lack of enthusiasm from audiences. Unlike The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi, this movie is one I repeatedly overlooked, forgetting it would be the second Star Wars film to debut in under six months. Several factors contribute to this: the well-publicized production difficulties, a trailer released only months before the premiere, and, most significantly, a prevailing question: "Do we truly need to learn more about Han Solo's backstory?"

Han Solo's origins were thoroughly explored in the Expanded Universe novels, but with those stories no longer considered canon, Daniel José Older's new book, Last Shot, steps in. It revisits the younger days of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, as well as their later years, through dual adventures set before and after the upcoming film. The novel is an enjoyable, light read filled with humor, Ewok hackers, deadly robots, and thrilling action sequences as Han and Lando navigate one scrape after another while hunting a long-forgotten enemy. What sets this book apart is Older's narrative structure, which spans four distinct timelines. This technique contrasts the impulsive, youthful Han and Lando with the older, more mature men they become.

Within the Expanded Universe media, certain aspects of Han's life were consistently established. He endured a tough childhood on Corellia, joined the Empire as a pilot, was discharged for freeing Chewbacca from slavery, and ultimately became a notorious smuggler. He is fundamentally good-hearted but disinterested in the larger battle between good and evil, preferring to simply get by and protect his own circle.

Given that the Star Wars franchise is essentially an epic saga of good versus evil in the galaxy, reconciling this with the adventures of a solitary outsider proves challenging. Han is a character who doesn't fit—and doesn't want to fit—into civilized society. He prefers to operate by his own code, yet his conscience repeatedly pushes him to do the right thing. This pattern emerges throughout the films: he returns to save Luke Skywalker above the Death Star in A New Hope, stands by his friends against the Empire in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and reluctantly rejoins the Resistance long after reverting to old habits in The Force Awakens.

These traits also appear in the Expanded Universe novels, such as A.C. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy, which delves into Han's life before his debut in A New Hope. We first encounter him in The Paradise Snare as a bold 18-year-old raised under a harsh local crime lord named Garris Shrike. He escapes to become a pilot for a religious cult on the remote world of Ylesia. The book solidifies his earlier backstory: he is a cocky yet earnest character who falls deeply for Bria Tharen, a brainwashed pilgrim, and helps rescue her from her captors. Only toward the end do we see the beginnings of a harder edge forming: he kills Shrike in a confrontation, and Bria leaves him, struggling with her conditioning.

The subsequent novels build Han's reputation as a smuggler. In The Hutt Gambit, he is expelled from the Empire and ingratiates himself into the galaxy's criminal underworld, meeting familiar figures like Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett, as well as acquiring the Millennium Falcon. Despite living outside the law, he retains a virtuous streak.

When Bria returns in Rebel Dawn as a member of the Rebel Alliance, she appeals to his generous side to secure his help in freeing slaves on Ylesia, only to betray him. This betrayal solidifies the cynicism we see in him during A New Hope. The entire trilogy serves as a transformation, turning a good person into the criminal we meet in the films—someone fundamentally self-interested, yet never fully abandoning the goodness within.

This is what makes Older's novel so compelling: it explicitly explores the two opposing directions pulling at Han (and, to some extent, Lando). Star Wars novels have traditionally been cautious about experimenting with form, but Older spreads his narrative across multiple timelines. The main storyline is set two years after the Battle of Endor, and it alternates between Han and Lando's adventures from a decade earlier (around the time of Solo), as they pursue and acquire a mysterious package from a villain named Fryzen Gor, whose own origins unfold twenty years before the main events.

The Han of the post-Galactic Civil War era is adrift: he is married, has a child, and is a prominent figure in the New Republic. He constantly longs to escape his domestic life, even as he strives to be a devoted father and husband. When Lando arrives with a problem, he eagerly jumps at the chance to help—even after Lando greets him with a punch to the face. This contrasts sharply with earlier timelines, where we see a younger, freer Han navigating life as a smuggler and starship captain. The book illustrates how reckless and willing he and Lando were to take risks in their youth.

Ultimately, all these novels offer different perspectives on who Han Solo and his associates are: confident, generally decent characters who struggle to fit into the broader galactic civilization. He exists on the fringes, where rules are scarce and no clear path dictates where he should go. Despite some flaws, Crispin's novels effectively depict the transition from the Han Solo we first met to the person who grew into him, while Older's novel captures Han Solo well on his way to becoming the weary man we saw in The Force Awakens, as well as the younger, enthusiastic version we'll meet next month in Solo.