Solo: A Star Wars Story gave us a lot. Yes, there are the naysayers in the world who don’t like the movie, but one thing about Solo is that it gave us some pretty great characters as well as more in depth looks at characters we know and love. It brought in a new and fresh take on Han Solo, his relationship to Chewbacca, and we got to see his life on Corellia before he became part of the rebellion.
One of the characters that we met throughout the film was Qi’ra. She was, for lack of a better term, Han’s first love. She was a character he was fighting for and trying to save, but like Han’s wife and other love, Leia, Qi’ra is also a woman who doesn’t need Han to save her. And it is one of the reasons why I’ve been so fascinated by her.
And we haven’t gotten a lot of Qi’ra in the world of Star Wars. She appeared in Solo, and then many of us have been asking to have her back. Now, we’re getting a new novel about her, and it seems as if it might be about how Qi’ra came to be associated with Darth Maul (given the title). Right now, there isn’t a lot of news about it—just that E.K. Johnston is writing the novel titled Star Wars: Crimson Climb—but it’s enough for me and my love of Qi’ra!
The novel instantly sent Star Wars Twitter into an excited frenzy because we’ve all been waiting for some kind of information on the character, and while this is just a picture of the cover and a title, it’s enough to get us excited and show us that there’s still interest in the character out there.
The appeal of Qi’ra
From the moment that I met Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story, I wanted more of her. She’s a fascinating character who was born in the idea of a rebellion and turned to doing whatever she had to to survive. Han (Alden Ehrenreich) saw the lengths that Qi’ra was willing to go to in order protect herself, and it even extended past her own feelings and former relationship with Han.
Qi’ra clearly worked with Darth Maul. We saw it by the end of Solo, and then we didn’t get to really explore anything about it because we haven’t seen Qi’ra since. With this book, we might get answers as to how Qi’ra came to work with Maul and what she was doing prior to Han coming back into her life and even after when they were separated once again.
I hope we get a lot more about Qi’ra and her life outside of Solo, and while it is not an announcement of Clarke returning to the role, this book is a step in the right direction. We love Qi’ra and want to see more of her, and at least Star Wars: Crimson Climb is a start—and what looks like a great one.
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
