Star Wars is finally telling the full story of Han Solo’s first love, the Lady Qi’ra, who was played by Emilia Clarke in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Leia Organa may have been the love of Han Solo’s life, but she wasn’t his first love. Solo: A Star Wars Story – an anthology film presenting Han Solo’s backstory, starring Alden Ehrenreich as the young scoundrel – revealed he grew up as a street urchin on Corellia, and fell in love with a girl named Qi’ra. Fate was not kind to this romance; the two were separated during an attempted escape from Corellia. Qi’ra was sold to the crime cartel named Crimson Dawn, and it was years before Han met her again – by which time she’d become a major figure in the organization.
The end of Solo: A Star Wars Story set Qi’ra up to continue rising through Crimson Dawn’s ranks, but the film’s disappointing box office performance meant her story has gone uncompleted. All that looks set to change, with New York Times bestselling author E.K. Johnston revealing she’s written a new book exploring Lady Qi’ra, Crimson Climb.
Johnston has revealed no further details about Crimson Climb, although she has expressed a hope she will be attending this year’s Star Wars Celebration to talk about the book. This will most likely deal with Qi’ra’s initial rise through Crimson Dawn, although it could potentially pick up from the cliffhanger ending, exploring how she went on to become the ultimate leader of Crimson Dawn – a role she’s since confirmed to occupy by the time of the original trilogy.
Lucasfilm Is Trying To Redeem Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo was Star Wars‘ first box office failure, largely a result of a lackluster marketing campaign combined with a poor release slot. Production had already been troubled, meaning the film had a bad press right from the start, but poor marketing – which failed to put Ehrenreich and Clarke front-and-center – doomed the project. Bizarrely, Lucasfilm seemed to assume the performance was purely linked to recasting a young Han Solo, learning quite the wrong lesson. The studio has now pivoted away from recasts, instead depending on deep-fakes and CGI. For years, the story of Han and Qi’ra seemed to have been abandoned.
Lucasfilm Publishing has developed a reputation for fixing the franchise’s problems, though. An ongoing project has seen books and comics improve Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while other novels have added tremendous new depth to George Lucas’ prequel trilogy. It’s now clear Lucasfilm Publishing is attempting to do the same with Solo: A Star Wars Story; an ongoing comic book arc has revealed Qi’ra as leader of Crimson Dawn during the original trilogy, and she’s set her criminal empire against Palpatine in an ill-advised attempt to destroy the Sith. The young-adult novel is sure to develop Qi’ra as a character, adding subtlety and nuance to Clarke’s portrayal in the movie itself.
E.K. Johnston is one of Lucasfilm’s best and most reliable authors, and she’s become best known for a series of books exploring Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens. These have really helped make each one of the handmaidens a distinctive character, particularly Sabé, and no doubt Johnston will do the same for Lady Qi’ra. Darth Maul’s Crimson Dawn has been transformed into something of a power player in galactic affairs, and hopefully Johnston will turn this novel into the beginning of a series, in which she reveals just how that came to pass. It will be thrilling to see Solo: A Star Wars Story improved in this manner.
Source: E.K. Johnston