star wars han solo

For anyone who is an avid ‘Star Wars’ fan who consumes every book, comic book, episode of ‘Star Wars: Rebels,’ and basically every piece of media out there for the beloved franchise, the question that often comes up when a major new piece of the franchise gets released is, where will this fit in the current continuity? Especially with something like ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story,’ which is set to take place between ‘Episode III’ and ‘Episode IV,’ a timeline currently being filled with books and novels and where we just watched 4 seasons of ‘Rebels,’ not to mention ‘Rogue One‘ 2 years ago, it is a solid question. Luckily for everyone, Del Rey recently released a handy new timeline (no pun intended), which easily lays out all of the most recent books novels, TV shows and movies in chronological order, putting ‘Solo’ squarely between the upcoming tie-in novel ‘Last Shot’ and Timothy Zahn’s ‘Thrawn’ novel.

This means ‘Solo’ takes place before both ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ and ‘Rogue One,’ meaning there is a little more freedom for the movie as it does not have to address any of the major Galactic Civil War events that occurred in those stories, and it truly can be all about the origins of Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the Millennium Falcon. Check out a slice of the timeline for yourself below (click to enlarge), or see the full version which starts with ‘Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace’ over at Random House Books and make sure to share your thoughts on the new timeline in the comments section below!

And here’s the synopsis for the tie-in novel that takes place right before ‘Solo,’ title ‘Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel,’ which might give us a taste of what to expect from the upcoming film:

THEN: It’s one of the galaxy’s most dangerous secrets: a mysterious transmitter with unknown power and a reward for its discovery that most could only dream of claiming. But those who fly the Millennium Falcon throughout its infamous history aren’t your average scoundrels. Not once, but twice, the crew of the Falcon tries to claim the elusive prize—first, Lando Calrissian and the droid L3-37 at the dawn of an ambitious career, and later, a young and hungry Han Solo with the help of his copilot, Chewbacca. But the device’s creator, the volatile criminal Fyzen Gor, isn’t interested in sharing. And Gor knows how to hold a grudge. . . .

NOW: It’s been ten years since the rebel hero Han Solo last encountered Fyzen Gor. After mounting a successful rebellion against the Empire and starting a family with an Alderaanian princess, Han hasn’t given much thought to the mad inventor. But when Lando turns up at Han’s doorstep in the middle of the night, it’s Fyzen’s assassins that he’s running from. And without Han’s help, Lando—and all life on Cloud City—will be annihilated.

With the assistance of a young hotshot pilot, an Ewok slicer prodigy, the woman who might be the love of Lando’s life, and Han’s best and furriest friend, the two most notorious scoundrels in the New Republic are working together once more. They’ll have to journey across the stars—and into the past—before Gor uses the device’s power to reshape the galaxy.