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Disney have fleshed out a lot of gaps inStar Warscanon since purchasing Lucasfilm and wipe out the erstwhile EU , but a big one still remains : what happen betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi . While the Mouse House ’s direction has largely been on the time period betweenRevenge of the SithandA New Hope , they ’ve also set a number of report betweenStar Wars Episodes IV&Vtoo . Now , they ’re turning greater attending towards the time fromReturn of the JeditoThe Force Awakens , such as upcomingDisney+seriesThe Mandalorian . But the empty space part the middle and last installments of the Original Trilogy stay .
In a signified , it ’s easygoing to see why this might not be the most pressing of Disney ’s business concern . From the events ofThe Empire Strikes Back , where Luke duel Vader , chance on the true statement , and Han Solo is assume away in carbonite , toReturn of the Jedi , where Luke revert to rescue Han , is only one year . That ’s compared to gap such as 19 years betweenStar Wars Episodes III&IV , or over 30 yearsbetweenVI&VII . There ’s not quite as much contingent to fill up in .
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Still , it is an important menstruum in Star Wars history , especially considering how much more powerful Luke becomes betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi . Lucasfilm did once have this setting map out in point , with not bad new eccentric to boot , but just how much is leave innew Star Wars canyon ?
What Happened In Star Wars Legends: Shadows Of The Empire
Back in the 1990s , before George Lucas started making the prequels but after interest in the saga had been reinvigorated by the burgeon enlarge Universe , Lucasfilm localise out to make what was basically a story with the scope of a Star Wars movie , but without actually have to make a film . The multimedia project , which encompass video game , novel , comic books , trading cards , and much more , was design to fill in the spread betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi . This wasShadows of the Empire , one of the most famous write up in the EU , now Legends .
The chief core of the narrative comes from the eponymic novel , written by Steve Perry . It ’s here we find out out a lot about what Luke and Leia were up to betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi . The taradiddle is centered around the search for Han , which drives Leia ’s arc in especial . In the consequence of his capture , Luke and Leia put together a squad to help track down Boba Fett and rescue Han , which obviously does n’t work , since Han ’s salvation then becomes the opening ofReturn of the Jedi . It ’s here , too , thatLuke builds his green lightsaber , using program line happen in Ben Kenobi ’s hut and purchasing most materials from Mos Eisley . He was n’t capable to secure akyber crystal , however , and instead had to make his own synthetic version .
The rescue attempt include the likes of Chewbacca , Lando Calrissian , and Wedge Antilles , but it ’s best remembered for introducing fans toDash Rendar , a new character who served to fill in the rogueish gap left by Han ’s absence seizure . Rendar , a old stager of the Battle of Hoth , is an 1 pilot with his own ship , The Outrider , a initiation - felicitous gunslinger , and a wisecracker , so gratuitous to say he essay a firm lover - favourite . He ’s included in the novel , but come into his own as the playable booster of theShadows of the Empirevideo game , which takes place at the same time with the other media . There , you control Dash first on Hoth , and then in subsequent chapters involving track bounty Hunter IG-88 and Boba Fett to rescue Han , go to spare Luke from a swoop bike gang , and finally have to help deliver Princess Leia from Prince Xizor .
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Who is Prince Xizor ? He serve as the scoundrel of the piece , and a rival to Darth Vader for Emperor Palpatine ’s favor . Vader , knowing that Luke will attempt to deliver Han , plans on seize his boy and again attempting to rick him to the Dark Side , but he also has to work with the Black Sun Syndicate , led by Xizor , to conclude the shipping for theDeath Star plans . It ’s here that Xizor begin to diagram a manner to replace Vader as Palpatine ’s most trusted lieutenant , formulating a scheme to kill Luke and disrepute Vader .
Xizor kidnaps Leia and takes her to his castle on Coruscant , setting the bait for Luke to derive and deliver her . Which , of course , he does . Luke and the rest of his group succeed in freeing Leia , although not before Xizor attempts to make his own dodging . This lead to a rough-and-tumble over the planet , with Xizor and , as far as those involved bed , Dash being killed ( although it ’s after revealed the latter did manage to make it the encounter by jumping to hyperspace ) . From there , Luke and Leia come up with their architectural plan to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt , leading intoReturn of the Jedi .
Star Wars Canon: What Did Luke Do Between Empire & Jedi?
WithDisney changing Star Wars canon , it meant fans had to say goodbye to Dash Rendar , Prince Xizor , the attempts at rescue Han , and everything else that had happened duringShadows of the Empire , much like they did with so many other stories . While some of those have initiate to be supplant , however , there has n’t been a great deal so far to make full in the spread betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi .
Moving Target : A Princess Leia Adventure , a third-year novel written by Cecil Castellucci as part of theJourney to The Force Awakensseries , takes place just beforeStar Wars Episode VII , but happen Leia recounting a military mission she undertook betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi . It includes the uncovering that the Empire is build a second Death Star and the formation of the design that would finally lead to the Battle of Endor . As part of this , Leia devise and leads a decoy mission to spread false data about the Rebel Alliance ’s own tactics through the galaxy , draw Imperial power away from Endor , but at a vast toll to innocent lifespan - the guiltiness of which weighs heavily on Leia . The narration ends with Leia get hold of Luke and discovering Han is on Tatooine , with the duo lead off to formulate a strategy .
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Luke ’s story intersects with this somewhat , as he go to the satellite of Zastiga while onboard the ship The Redemption . He ’s there to greet Leia when she get in , spending some clock time with her , Nien Nunb , and Wedge Antilles , before seeing her off and eventually departing himself . He then move on to Kothlis , which is where he discovered Han ’s location and devised the plan to rescue him when Leia contacted him after the pass completion of her delegation .
Meanwhile , the third-year novelReturn of the Jedi : mind the Power of the Dark Side!(the new , canyon novelization of the movie ) , again confirm the specifics of howLuke constructed his green lightsaber . This sees Luke reach out with the Force to discover how to build a lightsaber , before discover the remaining part he necessitate in Kenobi ’s shanty , and then pull back to a cave to complete the work . The closing was shot forReturn of the Jedi , although the aspect itself end up being deleted .
Most late , the one - shot comicAge of Rebellion : Luke Skywalker 1has followed the Star Wars paladin after study the true statement about his father . This finds Luke on a Rebel charge to slip valued cargo , but most importantly it reveals a connection betweenLuke and Emperor Palpatine . Using the Force , the Emperor attempts to see into Luke ’s intellect and seek to sway him to the Dark Side , preying upon Luke ’s vulnerability and excited state . Luke resists , but the enticement is there , leading to its further geographic expedition inReturn of the Jedi . One control panel also reveals Luke has his green lightsaber at this percentage point , meaning he had it at least a little while before the events ofReturn of the Jedi(and retconning the aforementionedBeware the Power of the Dark Side!too ) . It gives us more insight into Luke ’s actions and state of intellect betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi , but there ’s still pot to be filled out there inStar Warscanon .
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