Ben Solo was a normal baby. Before turning into Kylo Ren, he didn’t spit venom or give Leia premonitions about the Dark side of the Force while she was pregnant. But, when Princess Leia was with child, her and Han Solo’s marriage started to unravel. But don’t blame the soon-to-be evil child. It’s all because Han’s work resume wasn’t super-diverse.
On Tuesday, a new excerpt was published on Star Wars.com from the forthcoming Chuck Wendig novel Empire’s End. The third in his Aftermath trilogy, these books chronicle everything going down right after the Empire’s defeat at the Battle of Endor, but long before the days of The Force Awakens. After a previous excerpt showed Lando looking for some baby gifts, this new slice from the book focuses on Han and Leia’s post-nuptial bickering. Han refers to the unborn child as a “little bandit,” which annoys Leia. But more tellingly, Leia is concerned that Han is “bored.” And that boredom leads to fights … a lot.
“Han Solo’s got nothing to smuggle, nowhere to gamble, no foolish Rebellion to fight for.” These are Leia’s thoughts about her own husband, thoughts which readers know will eventually result in the pair not being able to work it out, and the aftermath of their breakup means Han goes back to being a criminal who can’t manage his finances. Though Empire’s End probably won’t show the birth of Ben Solo and Han and Leia’s subsequent breakup, all the attention being paid to the future-Kylo Ren in these pages is tantalizing. Fans will know more about baby Kylo, Han and Leia’s marriage, and the last days of the Empire when Star Wars: Empire’s End hits bookstores later this month on February 21.
