With a quick trigger finger and a quicker tongue to quip with, Han Solo is probably one of the most popular characters in all of Star Wars.
Han Solo was 32 years old in Star Wars: A New Hope.
From his appearance in A New Hope, all the way through the original trilogy, as well as his recent appearances in The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story, he has always been shown as being just as capable of getting himself out of problems and situations as he has been getting himself into them.
However, between his appearances both in old and new media, Han Solo’s age has always been something of an enigma.
Being first played by Harrison Ford in his early 30s in 1977s A New Hope, the smuggler always seemed ambiguously aged. Sure, he’s supposed to be young in his origin movie Solo, but how old is he in the original trilogy?
Well, that’s what we’re here to discuss! In this article, we are going to explain just how old Han Solo is in his various appearances across Star Wars, including in A New Hope.
Not only that, but we’re also going to show you how you can work out the age of pretty much anyone in Star Wars too!
The Chronology Of The Star Wars Timeline
When it comes to understanding the age of any character in Star Wars, not just Han Solo, it is important to understand how time is measured across the Star Wars universe.
Or rather, what dating system (no, not that kind) is used within the galaxy of Star Wars.
Many fans of Star Wars that know about the expanded lore of the universe will often refer to events being ‘BBY’ or ‘ABY’, something that can be confusing for non-hardcore fans.
The main thing to understand about these units of time is that they are made in a response to a specific year of events that are pretty crucial, both within the Star Wars Universe and outside.
In the same way that ‘BD’ and ‘AD/CE’ are used in many countries in the real world, Star Wars has the same.
‘BBY’ and ‘ABY’ are abbreviations of the terms ‘Before the Battle of Yavin’ and ‘After the Battle of Yavin’, which refer to the major space battle that takes up most of the 3rd act of A New Hope, where the Rebel Alliance and its pilots make a daring attack on the first Death Star.
As you can imagine, events that are listed as BBY take place the specific number of years before the battle, and ABY refers to years after it as well.
In-universe, this is a used designation for measuring time because it is a key point in Galactic history, especially the recent galactic history. It is the point at which the stranglehold that the Empire has on the galaxy is seen to be breakable.
Even if the Empire still had a galaxy full of Star Destroyers and other weapons, destroying their most powerful weapon sent a message across the galaxy that its citizens heard.
In terms of why it is used in the real world, A New Hope being the first Star Wars Film made is as good a place as any to start measuring where events take place in your fictional universe!
This means that most Star Wars Character’s dates of birth can be measured to BBY and ABY.
Meaning at 0BBY, the time of A New Hope, can be a point from which you determine character’s ages, and very easily at that. For example,
Han Solo’s Age Across The Star Wars Timeline
So, with all that information in mind, we can now determine how old Han Solo is at whichever point of the series he appears in.
Before A New Hope
Han Solo was born on the planet Corellia in the year 32 BBY, around the same time that Episode One: The Phantom Menace takes place.
This means that he is around 10 years old when the next Star Wars film, Attack of the Clones, takes place at the beginning of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, and 13 by the time of Revenge of the Sith in 19 BBY.
By the time he appears at the beginning of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which takes place in 13 BBY, he is approximately 18 to 19 years old, around the time he and his girlfriend Qi’ra are separated.
After the time skip of the beginning of the film, however, and when Han meets Chewbacca and Beckett’s crew in 10 BBY, he is likely around 22 years old, also around the same time that the events that the Kenobi series take place.
During A New Hope
By the time we meet Han Solo in A New Hope, the now-experienced smuggler and pilot are around 32 years old when he meets
The contrast between a hopeful and generally kind younger Han Solo, compared to his more soured outlook and shoot-first, ask questions later attitude is pretty stark, to say the least.
After A New Hope
During the time of The Empire Strikes Back, set in the year 3 ABY, we can see that Han Solo is, unsurprisingly, three years older when he, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO escape to Bespin, and he is frozen in carbonite.
Return of the Jedi, the last film in the original trilogy, is set in 4 ABY, a year after the previous film, meaning Han Solo is now 36 years old.
After the original Trilogy, there is a pretty substantial jump in time to the sequel trilogy of about 30 years. By the time we see Han Solo and Chewbacca smuggling again, Han Solo is now 66 years old. Unfortunately, his death at the hands of Kylo Ren means that he won’t be seeing his 70s.
| Movie | Age |
|---|---|
| Star Wars: A New Hope | 32 |
| Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back | 35 |
| Star Wars: Return Of the Jedi | 36 |
| Star Wars: The Force Awakens | 66 |
Conclusion
Han Solo has lived a long and full life in the Star Wars universe and is loved by so many. And now, you know a little more about him, too.
Brad Burnie is the founder of Starships.com. He loves all video game genres. In his spare time, he loves reading, watching movies, and gaming