While there are plenty of beloved movie franchises out there, few have had the cultural impact of George Lucas‘ Star Wars. Generations grew up watching the Skywalker Saga play out, with fans ranking the best Star Wars movies. But some aspects of the franchise (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) continue to puzzle moviegoers, including who is related to whom. So to help out, here is Star Wars‘ Skywalker and Solo family tree explained.
The ending of The Rise of Skywalker completed the nine-film narrative that began back with A New Hope. Upcoming Star Wars movies will be able to tell new stories disconnected from this narrative, although one of Lucasfilm’s new cinematic offerings will bring back Daisy Ridley‘s Rey. While we wait, let’s break down how the Solos and Skywalkers are connected in the main timeline.
The Prequel Trilogy
The Star Wars prequels used to be controversial, but the fans have come to accept that trilogy as time has gone by. The story of the Skywalkers begin with this story, with The Phantom Menace introducing a young Anakin Skywalker, played by young actor Jake Lloyd. The character was miraculously born to his mother Shmi on Tatooine via immaculate conception. This was seen as a sign by many that he was The Chosen One, who was meant to bring order to The Force (not leave it in darkness!)
During this trilogy, Anakin falls in love with Natalie Portman‘s Padme Amidala, despite it being against the rules for Jedi. The two secretly marry at the end of Attack of the Clones, despite both of them trying to resist their strong feelings toward each other. In Revenge of The Sith, that same pair get pregnant with twins, Luke and Leia, who fans know well and love.
Unfortunately, Anakin’s descent into darkness eventually took hold, partly because of his desperation to protect Padme and his growing family. He was manipulated by Palpatine, leading to his new identity as Darth Vader. This darkness resulted in the twins being separated at birth, with Luke living with his Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen on Tatooine, and Leia taken in by Bail Organa and his wife Breha.
As for Han Solo’s ancestors, their history during this time in the timeline is a mystery.
Solo: A Star Wars Story And The Obi-Wan Show
Solo: A Star Wars Story might have been the franchise’s first box office bomb, but it did offer a unique perspective into how its title character became the beloved nerf herder played by Harrison Ford. It was revealed early on that Han was an orphan on the planet Corellia, with the closest thing to his family being Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra. But after a heist went wrong, he fled that planet and was given the last name “Solo” by an Imperial Navy officer, since he was traveling alone. Solo showed him and Chewbacca meeting, as well as how he acquired the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian.
Meanwhile, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series offered an update on Leia and Luke as children. Leia was shown as a headstrong young Princess of Alderaan, capable of defending herself (with the help of her droid friend Lola). As for Luke, we saw as he remained on Tatooine under the watchful eye of “Ben” Kenobi, completely unaware of his lineage and twin sister.
The OG Trilogy
Here’s where things start to get interesting for our beloved Star Wars characters. In the Original Trilogy, moviegoers are introduced to Luke, Leia and Han during the events of A New Hope. Unfortunately the twins seemingly didn’t realize their blood connection, although Leia would go on to say she “always knew” during Return of the Jedi. This is a point of contention among the fans, especially considering the pair of characters had a pretty big make out session in The Empire Strikes Back… even if it was just to get Han jealous.
Both Han and Luke had heart eyes for Leia throughout the runtime of A New Hope, with the trio forming a motley crew that would eventually help lead The Rebel Alliance against The Galactic Empire.
But it soon became clear that Leia and Han were the real love story of this trilogy. Leia iconically told Han that she loved him right before he went into carbonite during The Empire Strikes Back. His response, “I know,” is one of the most iconic lines of the entire franchise.
Leia and the crew would rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, which allowed the two lovers to continue their relationship. The Skywalkers and Solos got their happy ending as the Empire was defeated, with fans assuming that Han and Leia were destined for eternal bliss.
The Sequel Trilogy
The Sequel Trilogy picked up decades after the events of Return of the Jedi, revealing the interpersonal dramas that happened after the Empire fell. It was revealed that Han and Leia had a son named Ben Solo, who was Force Sensitive like his relatives. However, we learned that he unfortunately fell to the Dark Side after being trained by Luke.
This served as a family-ending event, one that haunted all three installments of the Sequel Trilogy. Leia and Han broke up because of what happened with Ben, who transformed into the villainous Kylo Ren. As for Luke, he was full of regret about how things went down and the conflict with Ben that led him right into the arms of Snoke.
Unfortunately, all three of these legacy characters perished throughout the trilogy. Kylo Ren murdered Han himself in The Force Awakens, in hopes of killing the humanity that lived in him. Luke perished in the controversial Last Jedi, using all of his Force Abilities to distract Ben and help the Resistance escape Crait. As for Leia, she became one with The Force in The Rise of Skywalker. All three characters also appeared from the great beyond; a memory of Han helped Ben find his humanity, while Leia and Luke were Force Ghosts who watched as Daisy Ridley’s Rey adopted the last name Skywalker on Tatooine. And just like that, the family tree continues on.
As mentioned earlier, there’s a Rey-focused movie coming up where she will be starting her own Jedi Academy. She’s a Skywalker/Solo now, so we’ll have to see if she ends up continuing the family tree any further. While we wait for information, check the 2025 movie release dates.
