Many have started predicting some of the major plot arcs in the upcoming seventh season of The Clone Wars. The siege of Mandalore. The abduction of Palpatine. Order 66. All of these and many more are really interesting and are making us anticipate February 21 when we can (finally) start watching more of this amazing show. And although we can make predictions about season seven, there is still plenty more to explore and expand upon in canon this season. That’s why we wanted to dedicate this blog post, not to going over what we think is likely to happen in season seven, but a character we would love to see in the new season: Han Solo.
As seen in early concept art of Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas played around with the idea of a young Han showing up on Kashyyyk with Chewbacca during the Clone Wars. While this idea didn’t matriculate given Lucas’ shift to focus more on Anakin’s journey in the film, it’s completely possible that a young Han could appear in The Clone Wars. Han was born approximately 32 years before the Battle of Yavin and the Clone Wars began 22 years before the Battle of Yavin, making Han approximately 10 years old at the time of the war’s onset. Solo: A Star Wars Story and the Imperial Cadet series add substantially to Han’s back story, but, prior to his involvement in the criminal gang White Worms and fellow scrumrat Q’ira, there’s relatively little information about Han. We know his father worked in the Corellia shipyards building freighters. Corellia’s role in the galaxy during the Clone Wars is relatively vague in canon as well. In the Old Republic era, Corellians exploded and colonized the galaxy, but their next substantial inclusion in canon is during the era of the Galactic Empire. It is entirely plausible that the war reached Corellia in some way. It is plausible that the Republic or the Separatists ventured to Corellia for some reason during the war, potentially to access their shipyards. It is plausible that a band of clone troopers got stranded on Corellia during the war. Regardless of how the war, and therefore the show, could reach Corellia, if it does, Han and his father’s inclusion seems natural. Given Han’s stance on the Force in A New Hope, it wouldn’t make sense for him to bump into Jedi or Sith or any Force-sensitive individual during this time. But, given how far reaching the war is, Han’s inclusion is entirely possible and something we’d love to see. We’d like to think that more of Han’s pre-Q’ira backstory would’ve been explored in Solo sequels (fingers crossed for a Disney+ show!), but the Clone Wars is a really interesting platform to shed a little light on Han’s childhood, his relationship with his father, and a pre-Galactic civil war Corellia free of the oppressive empire. Han mentions his father in Solo and the Imperial Cadet series by saying he wasn’t close to him, that he took him to the shipyards one day, and that he said he’s destined to fly, rather than to build ships. Little moments like this would be really interesting to explore in the broader context of the Clone Wars in a story still relevant to the central arcs of the show. It would also be a poetic tribute to a concept Lucas played around with by finally including Han in the Clone Wars.
This is by no means a prediction or an expectation, but just something we thought we’d throw out there to see what others think. Han is one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars saga and his inclusion in future projects, including The Clone Wars, is something we’d welcome with open arms.