- "It was right there on the Endor moon after everything. We had a small ceremony, just those we trust. We don't keep it secret, but we didn't make it public, either."
- ―Leia Organa, about her wedding
The wedding of Han Solo and Leia Organa,[4] also known as the wedding of Han Solo and Princess Leia,[5] took place on Endor[3] in 4 ABY[2] following the Rebel Alliance's victory over the Galactic Empire during the Battle of Endor.[3]
As a wedding gift to Organa, Solo reconfigured the crew quarters of his starship, the Millennium Falcon, to include a galley.[6] After the wedding, the couple took their honeymoon on the Halcyon luxury Star Cruiser.[1]
The two eventually had a son, whom they named Ben Solo.[7] After losing their son to the dark side of the Force both spouses went separate ways. Although they still loved each other and remained husband and wife, Organa and Solo did not see each other for many years, until the Cold War briefly reunited them on D'Qar.[8]
Prelude[]
When Solo met Organa[]
- "Can't get out that way."
"Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route."
"Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, Your Highness." - ―Solo and Organa's first meeting
Han Solo and Leia Organa met[9] in 0 BBY[10] aboard the Death Star, an Imperial battle station, when Han took part in rescuing the princess, who was captured by the Empire and a secret member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, alongside his co-pilot Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker.[9] Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Leia ventured to Naboo to locate surviving Alderaanians with Evaan Verlaine where she used the alias First Minister "Solo".[11]
Han stayed with the rebellion and took part in several missions alongside Leia, one such mission not long after the Battle of Yavin led to Leia meeting Sana Starros who introduced herself as "Sana Solo" and claimed to be Han's wife despite his protests.[12] Han later revealed that his 'marriage' to Starros was part of a con.[13] On another mission between 1 ABY and 3 ABY,[14] Leia and Han met with Leia's ex-boyfriend Dar Champion who mistakenly thought they were a couple and lent them the honeymoon suite of the Grand Regent, where Han and Leia changed their clothes and loudly objected when a droid attempted to light the room's pheromone enhancers.[15]
Han eventually decided to leave the rebellion to pay off his debt to Jabba the Hutt, following a run in with a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell, much to Leia's displeasure. Han was forced to put his plans to leave on hold and ended up running through Echo Base during the Battle of Hoth to get Leia out of the command centre and the pair were eventually forced to flee the Imperials on Han's ship the Millennium Falcon alongside Chewbacca and the droid C-3PO. While the Falcon rested, unknowingly in the stomach of a exogorth, for repairs Han and Leia shared their first kiss before they were interrupted by C3-PO causing Leia to leave. The group attempted to seek refuge with Han's friend Lando Calrissian, the Baron Administrator of Cloud City, on Bespin but the Empire had beaten them to Cloud City and forced Lando into a deal in order to protect his people. During their imprisonment Darth Vader personally tortured Han[16] as he'd had done to Leia during her imprisonment on the Death Star.[9]
In order to test the equipment on Cloud City, Vader ordered for Han to be frozen in carbonite and would then be given to the bounty hunter Boba Fett to deliver Solo to Jabba. Before being frozen Han and Leia shared another kiss and Leia confessed her love to Han with him responding that he knew.[16] While being forced to watch Han being frozen Leia figuratively felt like her insides were being torn apart by Alderaaian wolf-cats.[17]
Separated[]
- "You know what I think, Chewbacca? Not to sound to much like Lando, but…hope is for suckers."
"Hroo?"
"I had Han in my hands, Chewie. I touched him. After everything, I finally had him, and if I'd had another sixty seconds, I could have gotten him out of that carbonite. Just one more minute. That's all. For a while now, I've felt like…a droid, I guess. I walk, I talk, I do what the rebellion needs, but inside…it's just programming. Then we got that message from Holdo, we put the mission togther and I saw Han-he was right there and I touched him. I felt like a person again. I almost gave up hope, Han. I'm so sorry. And then he fell, and now he's dead. And I just don't know what to do." - ―Leia, and Chewbacca, following the attack on the Executor
When Lando found out that Vader had no intention of honouring his promise, to let Leia and Chewbacca stay at Cloud City, under his protection, Lando turned on the Sith Lord, with the help of his aide and chef, Lobot, and helped free the others. The group raced towards the landing pad where Fett was loading Han onto his ship, Slave I, but Fett managed to get away in time and the group were forced to retreat to the Falcon. The group was also forced to turn around to rescue Luke who was dangling from the city's weather vein, following a lightsaber duel with Vader. Once Luke and Leia were returned to the rebellion, Lando and Chewbacca left in the Falcon to find Han, with Lando promising Leia that they would find him.[16]
After the emerging Crimson Dawn syndicate under Solo's old flame Qi'ra stole his entrapped body away from Fett,[19] Organa came within sight of Solo's frozen form during the attack on the Executor, but Fett reclaimed his carbonite trophy shortly after and delivered him to Jabba.[20]
Following the events on the Executor, Leia believed Han was dead and was angered when Qi'ra came onto the Falcon to talk to her. Leia was angry that Qi'ra could have sold Han to his enemies when they had a past togther but Qi'ra revealed that she had attempted to return Han to Leia by ensuring word reached Leia's friend and ally Amilyn Holdo and attempting to distract Vader so that he wouldn't get Han. Qi'ra also told a Leia a story about when she and Han were younger, when they were Scrumrats under the White Worms, and Han nearly got himself killed trying to stand up for a young boy that he barely knew, but Leia didn't care to hear about the story as she already knew that there was good in Han, clamming that she saw it a hundred times, and it didn't surprise her that he would do something like that. Qi'ra then revealed to Leia that Han was alive and that he had been taken by Fett to Jabba.[18]
A year after his capture,[1] Leia was able to free Han from carbonite in Jabba's palace, greeting him with a kiss, and the pair returned to the rebellion shortly after in time for the briefing for the rebels attack on the second Death Star with Han being promoted to general and leading the strike against the shield generator on Endor.[21]
The proposal[]
- "Han?"
"I want you."
"Me? For what?"
"Forever. Marry me." - ―Han's proposal to Leia
Following the Battle of Endor, the destruction of the second Death Star and the deaths of Darth Vader and Galactic Emperor Palpatine, Han offered to step aside for Leia, mistakenly believing that she was in love with Luke Skywalker, but Leia told him that Luke was her twin brother and the two shared a kiss before joining the others in celebrating.[21] Shortly after, the two spent the night together.[1]
Han proposed to Leia Organa shortly after his discovery of an Imperial base on Endor. Though Leia was happy, she took the moment to tell Han about Luke's recent revelation that she was the biological daughter of Darth Vader. Leia was relieved by Han's calm reaction and the two separated with Han going to tell Chewbacca and Leia staying to tell Luke who had approached her. Luke was happy for the couple with him claiming that Chewbacca was already threatening to kidnap the two and drop them off on some deserted planet until they could both figure out how right they were for each other.[1]
Han and Leia both took part in a meeting about the future of the Alliance now that Palpatine was dead with them glancing at each other during the meeting. After Leia told the news of the engagement to Mon Mothma, her former mentor, as well as friend and ally of her late adoptive father Bail Organa, who was happy for Leia though she regretted that Bail and Leia's adoptive mother Breha weren't there. This sadden Leia as she thought of the loss of her homeworld of Alderaan and how Breha would never attach the Rhindon Sword to her waist and Bail would never meet Han causing Mothma to reassure her that her parents would be proud of Leia.[1]
The night before the wedding Han threw a party which was attended by both Luke and Lando. The party was temporarily interrupted by the arrival of a condor dragon at the village but it left quickly. The Ewoks discovery of the party caused many of the single males to join in as well as the droids R2-D2 and C3-PO annoying Han but amusing Luke who thought the Ewoks were somewhat adorable. At the same time Leia came across Vader's funeral pyre and let out her anger at it.[1]
The wedding[]
- "About time."
"For what?"
"You once promised me a good kiss. I've been waiting." - ―Leia Organa and Han Solo, during their wedding
The wedding ceremony took place at the Bright Tree Village, at the village temple,[1] and was attended by just those trusted by Han and Leia[3] including Mon Mothma, R2-D2, Chewbacca and C-3PO, who also worked as a translator. The wedding was officiated by Luke Skywalker.[1]
For the wedding, Han wore a jacket, given to him by Lando, who claimed that it was Alderaanian in order to get Han to wear it. Han went the temple with Lando and Chewbacca. Initially, Han was put off by the large number of people present for the ceremony, wishing that they had instead gotten married where no one could see them in the woods, in the morning, but calmed down when he saw Leia walking towards him, wearing a green dress with her hair mostly down, who Han felt looked more like a nymph than a princess.[1]
The two then joined hands and the ceremony began with a speech from Chief Chirpa, which was translated by C-3PO. Luke attempted to start the service but was interrupted the Ewok elder, Logray, who began banging his staff and shouting "Yub nub!", along with the other Ewoks. Logray then attempted to have C-3PO lead the service, who the Ewoks viewed as a type of god, but C-3PO, under Luke's suggestion, told the Ewoks that he had appointed a human to perform the ceremony and that the Great Tree willed it. Luke then used the Force to cause the amber orb, that stood in the middle of the temple, to glow, so that the Ewoks would allow him to perform the ceremony.[1]
Luke began by talking about the first time he saw Leia, saying that she spoke of hope, then spoke the words that Obi-Wan Kenobi had once spoken to him, "that those we love are never truly gone", he then asked for a moment of silence for the people who weren't alive to join in the wedding. Leia thought of her parents and then felt as though her mother was attaching the Rhindon Sword to her waist and her father was pressing a kiss to the right of her forehead.[1]
The ceremony was then interrupted, again, by Logray, who wished for the couple to take part in a Ewok tradition that he was unwilling to relinquish from the ceremony. Logray, with the help of Chirpa, grabbed the couple's hands and interwove a piece of frosted pale-green vine between their fingers. Then, after more chanting, Logray pulled Han and Leia's wrists apart, causing the vine to snap and out came a golden nectar, which then hardened around the fingers and created an amber like ring for each of them.[1]
The Ewoks then engaged in more chanting and the couple kissed. As the chanting stopped, and the couple broke apart, the yellow flowers that surrounded the temple, and that the Ewoks had decorated themselves with, turned out to be flower-fliers, insects that were a part of a traditional Ewok wedding ceremony that fed off the sap from the Great Tree, which were woken by the vibrations of the chant and began floating around the temple.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
It's rumored that Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi originally ended with the wedding. It has even been said that these scenes were filmed but never used.[22] In Star Wars Legends the wedding of Han and Leia was seen in the novel The Courtship of Princess Leia by David Farland[23] though there was a previous version of their wedding shown in the Jedi Prince novel Prophets of the Dark Side by Paul Davids and his wife Hollace Davids.[24]
Jason Fry, author of The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections, explained the notion Han Solo built a galley as a wedding present was to provide an in-universe rationale for the Millennium Falcon's new layout in the film, and to canonize the ship's galley. "Floor plans of the Falcon from the early days of Star Wars publishing included a galley, but there isn't one in recent original-trilogy diagrams of the ship," he said. Fry's explanation was made in response to criticism that Han's present for his wife would be a kitchen reinforced gender stereotypes. Apologizing, he said he imagined "it was a gift from Han meant as a humorous make-do for months of terrible food, and an awkward attempt at making his rusty, decrepit home a bit more welcoming."[25]
Appearances[]
- The Princess and the Scoundrel (and audiobook) (First appearance)
- Someone Who Loves You
- Ewoks (2024) 1 (Mentioned only)
- Aftermath: Life Debt (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Aftermath: Empire's End (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Force Collector (and audiobook) (Indirect mention only)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections (First mentioned, simultaneous with Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary (First mentioned, simultaneous with Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections)
- Princess Leia: Royal Rebel
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- You're Invited to Han and Leia's Wedding in Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel – Exclusive Reveal on StarWars.com (backup link)
- This Week! in Star Wars Acolyte Casting News, San Diego Comic-Con, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
- Star Wars: Best of 2022 on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars Valentine's Day Gift Guide 2023 on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: Timelines
- "After Endor" — Star Wars Insider 222
- Our Star Wars Reads Picks For Every Type of Reader in Your Life on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 228 (First identified as wedding of Han Solo and Princess Leia)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 The Princess and the Scoundrel
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: Timelines
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Aftermath: Life Debt
- ↑ This Week! in Star Wars Acolyte Casting News, San Diego Comic-Con, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
- ↑ "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 228
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections
- ↑ Aftermath: Empire's End
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ Princess Leia 2
- ↑ Star Wars (2015) 6
- ↑ Star Wars (2015) 12
- ↑ This event occurs between assault on the Mako-Ta Space Docks, which has been placed in 1 ABY by Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, and the events of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas places in 3 ABY. Therefore, this event must take place between 1 ABY and 3 ABY.
- ↑ Star Wars (2015) 69
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Star Wars (2020) 18
- ↑ War of the Bounty Hunters 1
- ↑ War of the Bounty Hunters 5
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ DVD Monthly, July 2006.
- ↑ The Courtship of Princess Leia
- ↑ Prophets of the Dark Side
- ↑ Jason Fry's Dorkery — Folks seem to like Star Wars The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections, the book I wrote and Kemp Remillard illustrated. on Tumblr (backup link)