Like many of the other Corridor Chat posts, this one could be considered to contain spoilers and therefore I suggest that everyone who does not want to be spoiled reads one of our other posts!

Today the sixth installment of the new Star Wars comics, written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by John Cassandy, came out, and it caused quite a stir due to what feels like a major character twist being introduced. As a reminder, these comics are officially canon and are set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. When they were announced in 2014, it was said that their purpose was to fill in the backstory of the Original Trilogy’s main characters and fill in some of the story gaps. Well, today we got exactly that.

This is your last warning to stop reading!

In the latest edition of Star Wars (2015) we find Han Solo trying to woo Princess Leia with the help of some wine, when they are rudely interrupted by… Sana Solo. And no, this isn’t a daughter, a mother or a sister, this is a brand new wife that no one ever knew off. See the panel below:

This is quite a predicament, not just for the characters but also for the comic writers. If we think back for a moment, Lucas’ decision to make Han shoot first in A New Hope led to endless criticism and complaining from the fans since it changed Han’s characterization in their eyes. He was no longer just a scoundrel but also someone who firmly believed in aggressive negotiations, something which I actually believe to be quite in character for Han. If something as relatively minor as who shot first could lead to major outrage, I wonder what this will do since having a wife while trying to woo a princess is, let’s say, morally suspect.

The Mary Sue has already expressed their unhappiness over this twist since it could change Han from a relatively honest person into a cheater. Has he suddenly become an older, married man who is preying on a younger girl? It’s not quite that drastic. However,as we discussed in a recent Scene It? post about the ‘I love you’ – ‘I know’ moments between Han and Leia, Han doesn’t seem to be the type to be frivolous about his love life and who he keeps close. There will have to be a good resolution to and explanation for this in order to make it work.

A number of things could happen in the next issue. It could turn out to be an in joke between friends since we’ve already seen that Han’s friends have a strange sense of humour. I’m talking to you, Lando Calrissian! This would be an easy way out of this and would make it all seem a bit sensationalist. On the other hand I have already seen other theories floating around about Sana maybe being mistaken, the marriage not being legal, etc. etc. I would like to thank the writer and illustrator for including a female POC character although it’s a shame that it is in such a questionable position. All I hope for is that we don’t end up with a cat fight between Leia and Sana, since the last thing that Star Wars needs is to make strong female characters fight over men when there is a Rebellion to lead.

If Disney wanted to show that things are about to change then this was one hell of a way to start. Fans will have to accept that a new generation of artist, directors and writers are now at the helm of Star Wars and that it won’t be what it has been. Unlike any other franchise Star Wars is one which grows and evolves over time and that is the key to its success. Personally, I am excited to see what is next in the future of Star Wars but there will be many debates to come.