The finale of Solo: A Star Wars Story has some of the most compelling moments in all of Star Wars. Wrapping up an origin that fans around the globe had been waiting on for over 40 years, the film is a love letter to a certain smuggler that needs no introduction.
Han Solo’s transformation from an impressionable young man into the roguish outlaw we all love was as entertaining as it was introspective — providing a look at the events that forged Han’s iconic personality. Throw in the introduction of everyone’s favorite Wookie, Chewbacca, and this romance-turned- bromance lends heartfelt believability to a lifelong friendship.
Yet, before cementing Han and Chewie’s partnership, one of the more mysterious aspects of Solo has to do with Han’s first love — Qi’ra. The enterprising young street girl-turned-lieutenant of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, Qi’ra’s ultimate fate was left rather open-ended.
In a heart-stopping sequence, Qi’ra contacts the leader of the Crimson Dawn, revealing him to be none other than the tortured Sith Lord Darth Maul. During his time on screen, Maul commands Qi’ra to join him on his homeworld of Dathomir and says little else about his plan. So what ended up happening to Qi’ra after Solo: A Star Wars Story?
What became of Qi’ra?
Building on the groundwork laid out by Solo, the Star Wars comics are shedding new light on Qi’ra’s life after Solo. In 2021’s War of the Bounty Hunters, and the 2022 sequel Crimson Reign, Qi’ra finds herself in a much different position than the one she was in at the end of Han Solo’s spinoff film.
After the death of Maul, the Crimson Dawn scatters across the galaxy, leaving Qi’ra in charge of the failed crime group. Using her brains and powers of persuasion, she slowly rebuilt the Crimson Dawn and received a new title — Lady Qi’ra. As leader, she announced Crimson Dawn’s return by stealing Han Solo — in carbonite form — right out from underneath Boba Fett.
Employing a vast network of spies, smugglers, and bounty hunters, she shakes up the Star Wars underworld and becomes a true power player in that galaxy far, far away. Qi’ra eventually takes on Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader in an effort to gain more power and dethrone the Sith, which becomes one of the most ambitious moves ever seen in Star Wars.
Those decisions inevitably reunite Qi’ra with Han, and introduce her to his new flame — Princess Leia. Interestingly Qi’ra and Leia get along quite well, with Qi’ra conceding that Leia is a perfect match for the smooth-talking smuggler.
In the end, Qi’ra aids the rebellion but retains her criminality, proving that she’s a lawbreaker with good intentions, from time to time at least. With her story still unfolding on the pages of countless comic books, only time will tell what the future holds for one of the most interesting characters in Star Wars.