One of the most anticipated moments of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens was finding out the status of Han Solo and Leia Organa‘s relationship. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, it took four years after the events of the original trilogy for Han and Leia to get married. Since The Force Awakens paved the way for the new Star Wars canon, fans were eager to see what happened to Han and Leia in the three decades after Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
In The Force Awakens, Han and Leia had to overcome their estrangement in order to save their son, Kylo Ren (birth name Ben Solo), from the dark side grip of Supreme Leader Snoke. The film’s novelization confirmed what many fans had been wondering: Han and Leia got married. Yet, when did that happen? And how did Han and Leia find time to spend together over the decades? Here’s a glimpse into what we know so far.
A Lot Happened on Endor
The novel Aftermath: Life Debt revealed that Han and Leia had a small wedding on the Forest Moon of Endor, shortly after the Rebel Alliance‘s victory in Return of the Jedi. Leia recounts to Rebel pilot Norra Wexley, “We had a small ceremony, just those we trust. We don’t keep it secret, but we didn’t make it public, either.” (For curious fans, the Legends version of Han’s courtship of Leia had more fanfare. It spanned an entire novel and involved a kidnapping, a rogue Imperial warlord, and the Witches of Dathomir.)
Thus, it’s interesting to read Shattered Empire, which takes place between Return of the Jedi and Aftermath: Life Debt. Han and Leia’s relationship has gone long-distance since their duties in the nascent New Republic tend to keep them apart. Their marriage is paralleled to that of Poe Dameron‘s parents: Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, who also sacrifice their time together to help the Rebel Alliance win the Galactic Civil War.
However, that’s not all. Within a few months of their wedding on Endor, Leia is pregnant with Ben. In Aftermath: Life Debt, Leia uses the Force to sense that her unnamed child is a boy. Unfortunately, that boy will grow up to kill his father, as well as his uncle Luke Skywalker‘s new order of Jedi… But it’s important to just live in the moment, isn’t it?
So… Who’s My Father-in-Law?
Marrying into the Skywalker family must be a nightmare. For Han, that must have been the case when he found out that Darth Vader was his (late) father-in-law. The novel Bloodline reveals that Leia, who learned about her true parentage from Luke, told Han before they got married. Though Vader cast a long shadow, Leia’s parentage never came between her and Han. Instead, it came between Leia and the New Republic.
You’ll have to read Bloodline to get the full story. Suffice it to say that Leia’s political career in the New Republic Senate doesn’t benefit from the public revelation of her birth father’s identity. Furthermore, Han and Leia have decided to wait to tell Ben that he’s descended from Vader. Yet, by The Force Awakens, Ben (or Kylo) is aware that he’s the grandson of Vader. Could that be part of the reason that Ben joins the Knights of Ren and becomes Snoke’s apprentice? We’ll just have to wait and see.