Han Solo’s Complete Chronological History in Star Wars | Wealth of Geeks

Like most main characters in Star Wars, Han Solo has become a hallowed figure in the continuity of George Lucas’s expansive universe. A dashing smuggler, a reluctant Rebel leader, and a struggling father and husband, Han serves as one of the series’ original breakout characters, alongside fellow heroes Luke Skywalker and his principal romantic interest, Leia.

A criminal smuggler by trade, Han has evolved significantly over the years, growing beyond simple pragmatic self-interest into becoming a key figurehead in the Rebellion’s fight against the Empire and, later, the First Order. The husband to Leia, the father to Ben Solo, and the best friend/brother-in-law to Luke, the famed captain of the Millennium Falcon has been depicted in numerous Star Wars-related media over the years, appearing in books, movies, video games, and more.

From his earliest chronological appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story to his posthumous appearance in The Rise of Skywalker, here is every major movie, comic book, and novel featuring the famous space jockey, Han Solo.

The Complete Linear History of Han Solo

Born in 32 BBY (around the same time as The Phantom Menace), Han Solo would go on to play a central role in numerous Star Wars adventures. For a straightforward list of his complete chronological appearances, we put together the following guide for every movie, game, and comic to feature the roguish Corellian captain.

• Han Solo – Imperial Cadet (Robbie Thompson)

• Han Solo & Chewbacca (Marc Guggenheim)

• Smuggler’s Run (Greg Rucka)

• War of the Bounty Hunters (comic)

• Shattered Empire (Greg Rucka)

• Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel (novel)

As handy as this guide might be to get a general sense of Han Solo’s importance in Star Wars, we also decided to provide more in-depth details surrounding his life, from his troubled youth up to his days in the Rebellion and the Resistance.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

 

Raised as an orphan on the streets of Corellia, a 19-year-old Han attempts to flee the impoverished conditions of his homeworld with his best friend, Qi’ra, in 13 BBY. Nearly escaping together onboard a galactic transport, Qi’ra is captured by a notorious gang they occasionally worked for. Upon Qi’ra’s urging, Han leaves the planet alone, joining the Imperial Flight Academy and earning the surname “Solo” from his recruiting officer.

Three years later, having been ousted from the academy for insubordination, Han serves as an Imperial infantry soldier in the bloody Mimban Campaign in 10 BBY. There, Han meets and befriends a trio of criminals masquerading as Imperial troops, led by the veteran thief, Tobias Beckett. Unsuccessfully trying to blackmail the gang into letting him join them, Han is nearly killed after he’s forced to face the imprisoned Wookiee warrior, Chewbacca. Having gained a useful handle on the Wookiees’ language, Han manages to dissuade Chewbacca from harming him, impressing Beckett and effectively earning him a place in their crew.

With Chewbacca by his side, Han participates in a botched heist on an Imperial coaxium shipment, antagonizing Beckett’s employer, the Crimson Dawn gangster Dryden Vos. Informing Vos of the news, Han is reunited with Qi’ra, who’s since joined the Crimson Dawn as a high-ranking enforcer for Vos. Led by Qi’ra, Han and his team then recruit skilled smuggler Lando Calrissian for another planned heist, using Lando’s ship – the Millennium Falcon – as their main means of transportation.

Personally piloting the ship through the calamitous Kessel Run, Han and his group are successful in stealing away the valuable coaxium from Kessel’s mines. Fearful about the prospect of handing over so much coaxium to the Crimson Dawn, Han and Qi’ra instead decide to give the shipment to the freedom-fighters known as the Cloud Riders. Killing off Vos and Beckett after the latter tries to betray them, Han and Qi’ra part ways, Qi’ra assuming Vos’s role within the Crimson Dawn and Han delivering the coaxium to the Cloud Riders.

Once again encountering Lando, Han challenges his former associate to a game of sabacc, the Falcon’s ownership laying in the balance. Outsmarting Lando and using his own trick card to win, Han and Chewbacca depart with the Falcon in their possession, having become the freighter’s new owners.

Han Solo – Imperial Cadet (Robbie Thompson)

Shortly after leaving Corellia, Han joins the Imperial Flight Academy. Hesitant to learn under what he views as the Empire’s strict, bureaucratic regime, he tries hard to get himself expelled, something that he manages to do within a short time of his enrollment in the school.

Han Solo & Chewbacca (Marc Guggenheim)

After gaining ownership of the Millennium Falcon in 10 BBY, Han and Chewbacca embark on a lucrative career smuggling goods for various criminal affiliates. At some point between 8 to 2 BBY, Han and Chewie accept a job from Jabba the Hutt, partnering with Greedo and Corbus Tyra (a criminal impersonating Han’s father, Ovan) in an attempt to steal the supposed ashes of Jabba’s deceased rival, Krestrel D’Naran.

Dodging Imperial forces, rival gangs, and even each other, the heist proves successful, even as they learn there’s more to D’Naran’s ashes than meets the eye.

A New Hope

For the next several years, Han continues working for Jabba as one of his most talented smugglers, even after falling out of the gangster’s favor for abandoning valuable cargo before Imperial forces could apprehend it. As a result, Han has worked up a substantial debt to his feared employer, something he hopes to pay off by transporting Imperial fugitives Obi-Wan, Luke, C-3PO, and R2-D2 to Alderaan.

Fleeing from the Empire, Han becomes caught up in a rescue mission after the Falcon is captured by the Death Star. Disguising themselves as Stormtroopers, Han helps Luke free the imprisoned Princess Leia from Imperial confinement. Witnessing the death of Obi-Wan at Darth Vader’s hands, the group narrowly manage to flee from the battle station, regrouping with the Rebellion on the planet Yavin IV.

Having earned his reward for rescuing the princess and bringing them to Yavin IV, Han prepares to depart from the planet and settle his debt with Jabba, despite pleas from Luke and Leia to remain behind. During Luke’s fateful trench run on the Death Star, Han and Chewie intervene moments before Vader can destroy Luke’s Fighter, buying Luke precious time to destroy the Death Star. For their bold actions, Han and Luke are awarded ceremonial medals honoring their bravery, personally bestowed on them by Leia with Yavin IV’s Rebel Army in attendance.

Smuggler’s Run (Greg Rucka)

Earning the trust of the Rebellion thanks to his part in the Death Star’s destruction, Han and Chewbacca serve in the Rebel Alliance for the next few years. In 0 ABY, the two take part in a secret mission personally assigned to them by Leia, rescuing influential Rebel Caluan Ematt from the planet Cyrkon. Avoiding bounty hunters and the relentless ISB agent Alecia Beck, Han and Chewie are successful in their mission, although they once again put off paying Jabba his debts, further straining his already fragile relationship with the infamous Hutt gangster.

Star Wars (Marvel)

From 0 ABY to 3 ABY, Han becomes a key figure in the burgeoning Rebellion, helping them expand and recruit new planets to their cause, all the while leading combat missions against the Empire in space and on the ground.

During his service to the Rebellion, Han is confronted by his former criminal acquaintance, Sana Starros, a professional thief who once masqueraded as Han’s wife, now out for revenge against her old partner after Han stole her cut of the loot. After an acrimonious reunion, Starros eventually settles into becoming a grudging member of the Alliance, at one point even saving Luke from Imperial Stormtroopers and Grakkus the Hutt’s criminal forces on the planet Nar Shaddaa.

The Empire Strikes Back

By 3 ABY, Darth Vader – who’s since become aware of Luke Skywalker’s identity – scours the universe in search of the Rebellion, who have taken refuge on the ice word Hoth. Saving Luke from a ravenous Wampa, Han departs from the planet with Leia, C-3PO, and Chewie after Vader’s army lands on the planet, devastating the Rebel forces in an all-out assault.

Fleeing into space, Han pilots the Falcon through a lengthy chase, barely keeping ahead of Vader’s Imperial fleet. With the Falcon facing several major maintenance issues, Han decides to reunite with Lando, who’s since become an influential figure on Bespin, and who he hopes will be able to provide some much-needed repairs to the ship. Around this time, Han expresses increasing romantic interest in Leia. Though she initially appears disinterested, Leia eventually returns Han’s romantic favor, the two of them sharing several intimate moments onboard the Falcon together.

Landing on Bespin, Han and the group are initially greeted warmly by Lando. Not long into their stay on the planet, however, Lando betrays Han, handing him over to the Empire. Tortured by Vader, the Sith Lord orders Lando to test his facility’s carbonite freezing process on Han, ensuring the procedure can be duplicated on Luke once he arrives to rescue his friends. Bidding goodbye to Chewie and Leia, Leia confesses her true feelings for Han, telling him, “I love you,” to which Han replies, “I know.”

Now encased in carbonite, Han’s body is taken away by Boba Fett, who leaves Bespin with the frozen Han in his possession, departing for Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine.

War of the Bounty Hunters (comic)

Shortly after he’s imprisoned in carbonite, Han’s body is fought over by several different parties, all of whom try to acquire the famous smuggler for their own purposes. While the Empire, Rebel Alliance, rival bounty hunters, and even Han’s first love, Qi’ra, all come close to stealing Han away from him, Boba manages to hold onto Han’s body, delivering it to Jabba on Tatooine.

Return of the Jedi

Spending a year frozen in carbonite and hung as a decoration in Jabba’s Palace, Han is unfrozen in 4 ABY by Luke and his friends, reuniting with Leia. Han’s freedom proves short-lived, as Han, Luke, and Chewie are quickly captured again by Jabba’s henchmen and sentenced to die via the Sarlacc Pit. Wielding a new lightsaber, Luke interrupts their execution, defeating most of Jabba’s enforcers. As Leia personally kills Jabba, Han saves Lando from the Sarlacc, accidentally knocking Boba into the Pit in the process.

Together again for the first time in a year, Han and his friends regroup with the Rebel Fleet, who are preparing to launch a massive offense against the Empire and their newly-built Death Star II. Learning that the Death Star’s shield generator is located on the nearby moon of Endor, the group volunteers for a dangerous mission to sabotage the generator, allowing the Fleet to destroy the station in space.

Arriving on Endor, the Rebels encounter a furry tribe of natives known as Ewoks, befriending them and leading to a close-knit alliance bent on fighting the Empire. With Luke surrendering to the Empire in order to face Vader in person, Han and Leia lead the Rebel assault on the shield generator. Fighting side by side with the Ewoks, they are able to overcome the moon’s Imperial garrison, destroying the generator and giving Lando time to destroy the Death Star. With the Rebels victorious, Han and Leia – now officially a couple – celebrate the Empire’s defeat with the Ewoks on Endor.

Shattered Empire (Greg Rucka)

Devastated by the loss of the Death Star II and the death of the Emperor, the Imperial Fleet attempts a counteroffensive against the Rebels on Endor. Their celebrations cut short, Han and his fellow Rebels lead a defensive measure against the Empire. Though they survive the battle, it becomes clear the Galactic Civil War is not yet finished, in spite of the Emperor and the Death Star’s loss.

Forces of Destiny

In 4 ABY, around the battle of Endor, Leia convinces Han to negotiate with fellow Rebel pilot General Hera Syndulla, striking a deal so that the local Ewoks receive rations and supplies vital for their tribe’s survival.

Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel (novel)

Driving off Imperial forces on Endor, the Rebels are once again able to celebrate their decisive victory over the Empire. With the Civil War seemingly winding down, Leia makes the decision to marry Han in lieu of assuming her Jedi training with Luke, the two formally marrying each other in 4 ABY.

Battlefront II

Some time after the Empire’s defeat on Endor, Han has temporarily left the Alliance, embarking on a humanitarian mission with Chewie to free the enslaved Wookiees on Kashyyyk. Meeting with his close associate, Maz Kanata, in her castle on Takodana, Han meets with Imperial defector Ralsius Paldora. Working together, the two locate hidden datacubes detailing Admiral Versio’s involvement with Imperial operations Bespin and Sullust, leading Leia to dispatch Versio’s daughter, Iden, to capture her father and bring him back to the Alliance.

The Force Awakens

In the three decades after their victory on Endor, Han and Leia raise their son, Ben, born to the couple in 5 ABY. In 28 ABY, the 23-year-old Ben falls to the Dark Side, turning on his uncle, Luke, destroying his newly-rebuilt Jedi Order and taking the alter ego of Kylo Ren. Devastated by Ben’s fall, Leia and Han separate, Leia investing her time in leading the Resistance, Han and Chewie returning to their careers as smugglers.

In 34 ABY, the now 66-year-old Han comes across his beloved Millenium Falcon in deep space, the ship having been stolen from him some years prior. Discovering Rey, Finn, and BB-8 onboard, Han agrees to help them locate the Resistance, taking them to the planet Takodana and getting in touch with Maz. As the First Order attempts to capture the group, the Resistance saves them in the nick of time, allowing Han to reunite with Leia for the first time in some years.

Despite his personal skepticism at whether any good still remains in Ben, Han assents to Leia’s request to bring him home, volunteering for a rescue mission with Finn to save Rey from the First Order. Piloting the Falcon, Han and the group land on Starkiller Base, sneaking into the First Order’s facilities. There, Han confronts Kylo, pleading with Kylo to come back with him. Battling his dueling emotions, an emboldened Ben ignites his lightsaber, fatally impaling his father and throwing him off a bridge to his death.

The Rise of Skywalker

In 35 ABY, a conflicted Kylo grieves the loss of his mother, having sensed Leia’s death during his duel with Rey in the wreckage of the Death Star II. Realizing the mistakes he’s made in his past, Kylo sees a vision of Han, who comforts Kylo and encourages him to once again embrace his identity as Ben Solo. Reassured by Han’s love and support, Kylo throws his lightsaber into the sea, reclaiming his father’s surname and redeeming himself by once again returning to the Light Side of the Force.