Star Wars: Outlaws will fill quite a few gaps in the Star Wars canon when it arrives later this summer. The game’s new story trailer not only revealed the many criminal factions rogue protagonist Kay Vess will cross paths with on her galaxy-spanning adventure but teased several cameos from iconic characters like Jabba The Hutt and a frozen Han Solo.
But the trailer excluded at least one mysterious character set to play a major role in the upcoming game, one fans haven’t seen on screen since 2019’s underrated Star Wars heist caper Solo.
In Game Informer’s April cover story all about the open-world action title from Massive Entertainment, the magazine confirmed that Lady Qi’ra, Han Solo’s love interest turned enforcer for the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, will be ever-present in Star Wars: Outlaws. She is one of several criminal leaders that players will need to delicately maintain their relationship with (or not) throughout the game.
In Solo, Qi’ra was portrayed by Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke. Game Informer confirmed that the actress will not be returning to reprise her role, though it appears that her likeness has been retained for the game.
If you’re someone who sticks to the films, you may be wondering what happened to Qi’ra since Solo. She was last seen taking orders from Darth Maul, who himself returned from the dead and schemed his way to becoming leader of the Crimson Dawn enterprise in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.
Avid comic book readers, however, have a leg up on understanding what Qi’ra’s been up to in the 13 years between Solo and Outlaws.
The first issue of a 2021 limited comic series shows that after the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo’s frozen carbonite body was stolen from bounty hunter Boba Fett while en route to Jabba The Hutt on Tattooine. By the end of the issue, it's revealed that Qi’ra was the person behind the plan. Her story is expanded on in two additional limited series, 2022’s Crimson Reign and 2023’s Hidden Empire.
Qi’ra reunites with Han Solo.
While it first seems like Qi’ra’s sentimental ties to the smuggler may have something to do with her actions, readers find out that it is part of a larger plan to lure Crimson Dawn’s enemies in both the Empire and Jabba Hutt Cartel against one another, weakening both.
It’s an exciting prospect for fans of the Star Wars comic. Disney has been known to play fast and loose with some of the continuity from the comics. In The Clone Wars spin-off series The Bad Batch, for example, Disney retold Kanan Jarrus’ experience during Order 66, contradicting the version of the events featured in his comic series from 2015.
Here’s to hoping that Outlaw follows through on bringing to life the action-packed events of Qi’ra’s appearances.
Star Wars Outlaws launches on August 30 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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