Making Star Wars has a wonderful little piece on the rumors surrounding Han Solo and his pal Chewbacca’s backstory between the events at the of Return of the Jedi and the beginning of The Force Awakens. Apparently, the 30 years, since last we saw him, have not been kind to Han. MSW posits that Han and Chewie have in fact lost the Millennium Falcon and Captain Solo now pilots a different ship. This would explain that no famous line from the end of the second The Force Awakens teaser, “Chewie…we’re home.”
But wait, there’s more. Despite not debuting a new trailer for the movie, J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy did give some insight into how Han and Chewbacca met. According to the new Star Wars canon, Chewbacca is captured and enslaved by the Empire, at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
"“Chewbacca is captured and put into slavery in the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith and the invasion of Kashyyyk. Han Solo frees the Wookiee and therefore Chewbacca owes Han Solo a life debt.”"
MSW goes on to say that thugs want the Millennium Falcon, and Han Solo disagrees and refuses. However, what isn’t clear, is what happens to the ship and if Han is tracking the old bird down before the movie starts, or if Rey and Finn somehow find the Falcon while it is docked on Jakku.
There is also a different look to Han, besides his obvious aging. Apparently he is a sad and bitter man, and he and Chewie hang out in space bars on the reg. It seems as if a group called Ducain and the Irving Boys are hunting Han and want him dead. And, as far as the original three go, Leia and Luke are doing their own thing. It would appear as if Leia and Han’s relationship has soured greatly.
Hopefully the event Journey to the Force Awakens will shed some new light on Han and Chewbacca’s past and what they’ve been doing since Return of the Jedi. It would also be nice to know why Han and Leia aren’t together, and if Han’s wife has anything to do with that. December 18 needs to hurry up and get here already.
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