As the “Star Wars” galaxy continues to expand with new trilogies and film series outside the main saga, you’re going to need a flowchart to keep track of where the (new) canon stands. As you might recall, when Disney purchased Lucasfilm, any developments in the expanded universe were scrapped, and a new canon was created going forward from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Disney didn’t waste much time turning on the licensing machine, and there has already been a plethora of books and more that fill in the gaps between movies. This all brings us to this spring’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and you might be wondering where it lands in the chronology.
Well, DelRey books has created a handy timeline that clears things up, revealing that ‘Solo’ is set in the three year gap between the books “Star Wars: Tarkin” (which is set 14 years before “Star Wars: A New Hope“) and “Star Wars: A New Dawn” (which is set 11 years before ‘A New Hope’). Luke Skywalker is about eight years old at this time, in case you’re wondering. Another way to look it: ‘Solo’ takes place before the events in “Star Wars Rebels” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and is currently closest of the new films to the events of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” and the Empire’s rise.
Thankfully, you don’t actually need to know this knowledge before going to see the film, but if you’re a “Star Wars” dork (as many of us around The Playlist are), it’s the kind of deep intel that we dig.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” opens on May 25th. [THR]
