Before Han Solo, the Empire, and the actual Rebellion, the Star Wars saga’s iconic Millennium Falcon had a longer history with rebellion than ever revealed in the movies. The full timeline of Star Wars movies and TV shows includes a lot of world building and universe development, but nothing compares to the depth that Star Wars books go to when developing the history of the galaxy. A great example is the history of the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars Legends, a part of which has now made its way into the new canon.
Following the landmark Legacy of the Force series – which featured Han’s and Leia’s son Jacen Solo turning to the dark side – famed Star Wars author James Luceno’s book Millennium Falcon was released in 2008. This book dives into the famous ship’s backstory, original crew, usage, and pilots, before getting into its future following the Second Galactic Civil War. A key element of this backstory has now entered canon, though, and hints that it may have been the Falcon‘s destiny to be part of the Rebel Alliance.
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The Millennium Falcon Was Used By The Republic Group Before The Clone Wars
The Early Corellian Group Resisted Palpatine’s Influence
This is the fact that the Millennium Falcon was not always called the Millennium Falcon, and was once known as the Stellar Envoy. The Envoy was built on Corellia, and eventually wound up in the service of a movement called the ‘Republic Group’. This group operated even before the Clone Wars, focusing on their distaste for Palpatine’s growing power and influence in the Galactic Senate. They noticed how a lot of his efforts were undermining democracy, and wanted to covertly combat this. In fact, the Envoy was even chased by members of the Republic government.
The Stellar Envoy was used by the group in smuggling efforts for years, before continuing to be active during the Clone Wars itself. In fact, the famous freighter even found itself in the Battle of Coruscant near the end of the war, leading to its iconic cameo in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, approaching the Republic Executive Building docking bay. This means that before there was a Rebellion, even before there was an Empire, the Millennium Falcon was a rebel in its own right, fighting against the earliest precursors to Palpatine’s tyranny.
The Republic Group Foreshadowed The Actual Rebellion
Republic Era Groups Helped Form The Rebel Alliance
The Falcon‘s former organization, the Republic Group, highlights the amount of foreshadowing there was towards the birth of the Rebel Alliance. The rebels didn’t just come about from nowhere, there were always those willing to rebel against tyranny, they just eventually joined together to become a formal alliance. The Republic group specifically reflects the loyalists of the Republic Senate during the Clone Wars era, like Padmé Amidala, Mon Mothma, and Bail Organa. The Loyalists were those who were committed to democracy and the ideals of the Republic, hence the Republic Group’s name and connections.
The Rebel Alliance’s origins being so diverse has also been highlighted in a lot of Star Wars stories, some very recent. The Bad Batch has shown the small uprising of former clone troopers, fighting the Empire in its earliest stages while connected through an underground rebel network. Andor, in exploring the origins of the Rebel Alliance, has also touched on this concept, with various rebel cells eventually uniting together. Despite playing such a large role later on, it’s interesting to think that even in canon, the Millennium Falcon‘s first rebel efforts were long before the original Star Wars movie.
Star Wars
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- The Mandalorian , Andor , Obi-Wan Kenobi , The Book of Boba Fett , Ahsoka , The Acolyte , Star Wars: Skeleton Crew , Lando , Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Star Wars Rebels , Star Wars: The Bad Batch , Star Wars: Resistance , Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures , Star Wars: Visions
