While Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra was Han Solo’s first love as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story, what happened next in the Star Wars timeline after she left him? Although Qi’ra’s story hasn’t been featured in any subsequent films or streaming series, her story has continued in other Star Wars media, most notably in the current pages of Marvel Comics’ canonical series taking place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Across a full trilogy in the comics, Qi’ra’s fate with the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn has been revealed.
In the financially unsuccessful Solo, Qi’ra joined Han, Chewie, and Tobias Beckett in their job to collect coaxium for Dryden Vos, the public figurehead of the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn. However, Qi’ra stayed behind after she killed Vos, desiring to take his place as second in command to Dawn’s true leader Darth Maul, former Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious. Now, a trilogy from Charles Soule reveals what happens to Qi’ra after Solo. Not only does Qi’ra technically reunite with Han Solo, but she also makes enemies out of Boba Fett and the Empire while planning to take Crimson Dawn to greater heights as its new leader.
Qi’ra’s Star Wars Future After Solo Explained
In War of the Bounty Hunters, Qi’ra has become Lady Qi’ra, leading a reborn Crimson Dawn in the days after Empire Strikes Back. After Obi-Wan Kenobi killed Maul in the years preceding A New Hope, Qi’ra restructured and greatly expanded Crimson Dawn, having agents embedded all over the galaxy. Furthermore, she stole Han Solo in his carbonite prison from Boba Fett while he was en route to deliver him to Jabba the Hutt, auctioning the smuggler off in a master scheme to pit the Hutts and Empire against each other. However, Fett naturally retrieved Solo and handed him over to Jabba who has the smuggler in Return of the Jedi.
Lady Qi’ra then moved on to the next phase of her plans with Soule’s Crimson Reign, using her vast network of agents and assassins (including the Knights of Ren) in a campaign against Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, wanting to cut off the head of the Empire itself by destroying the Sith Lords. Using her contacts to create mass chaos with assassination attempts and tricking rival crime syndicates into warring with each to gain Palpatine’s favor, Qi’ra effectively destabilizes the order and control maintained by the Empire, including sending the Knights of Ren to rob the fortress of Darth Vader himself.
The final chapter brought forth the culmination of Qi’ra’s plans with the Hidden Empire. Having obtained the ancient artifact known as the Fermata Cage, Qi’ra seemingly hoped to unleash a Sith Lord against Palpatine and Vader, one who’d been suspended within the artifact for centuries (a plan first conceived by Darth Maul himself). In truth, the Fermata Cage was empty, allowing Qi’ra to spring her trap and successfully time-lock Vader and Palpatine within. However, the Knights of Ren feared Palpatine more than Qi’ra, resulting in their decision to save the Sith. Having risked and lost everything in her goal to destroy the Sith, Qi’ra fled and disappeared in her failure.
Qi’ra Didn’t Kill Vader Or The Emperor (But Still Matters)
During the Crimson Dawn trilogy, Lady Qi’ra did interact with Princess Leia, conceding that Han Solo was better off with Leia than with Qi’ra herself. She argues that Leia brings out the best in Han, while she would only bring out the worst. This could be seen as a way of justifying why Han thinks of Leia as the love of his life instead of Qi’ra, therefore never mentioning Qi’ra in the main Star Wars movies.
It’s Luke Skywalker who ends up being responsible for the deaths of the two powerful Sith. That said, Qi’ra’s Star Wars story still has a significant effect on the universe. Qi’ra’s work resulted in massive upheaval to the criminal underworld, a chaos that kept the Empire busy which in turn gave the Rebellion time to reform after the Battle of Hoth. Likewise, two of Qi’ra’s Crimson Dawn agents embedded within the Empire were responsible for alerting the Rebellion about the existence of the second Death Star. For all of her failures, Lady Qi’ra made a major impact on the galaxy and the events that followed.
Why Is Qi’ra Not In The Original Trilogy?
While Marvel’s Star Wars comics reveal that Qi’ra was alive during the time of the original trilogy and interacted with Han and Leia, her preferred methodology of handling matters from the shadows justifies her lack of an on-screen presence during the actual movies. Likewise, her failure and lack of resources after her own war explains her absence in Return of the Jedi. However, the epilogue of Hidden Empire confirms she survived into the dawn of the New Republic and the Empire’s fall.
Just as Qi’ra moved on from Han Solo, it seems as if Han moved on from her before (or when) he met Leia. Likewise, the fall of Crimson Dawn and Qi’ra’s believed demise help explain her absence and lack of references to her character as well. While Qi’ra’s career with Crimson Dawn after Solo: A Star Wars Story is seemingly over in the comics, it’s possible she could return in a future Star Wars project taking place after Return of the Jedi.
