Star Wars Outlaws, the open-world scoundrel game from Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment, is adding another familiar face. Following the story of thief Kay Vess, Outlaws will dive into the seedy underbelly of that galaxy far, far away. Moving in those lawless circles, Kay is sure to run into some iconic characters, some of whom we saw in the game’s new story trailer. Thanks to Game Informer, we know that another one of those familiar faces will be Lady Qi’Ra, an important figure from Solo: A Star Wars Story.
For those who aren’t familiar, Lady Qi’Ra made her first appearance in the 2018 spinoff film about everybody’s favorite smuggler. Played by Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen), Qi’Ra was a childhood friend of Han Solo, with both growing up on the planet Corellia. One thing we do know for sure is that Emilia Clarke will not be returning to the role. But what will her role be in Star Wars Outlaws? To dive into that, we have to spoil Solo. Consider this your warning.
At the end of Solo, Qi’Ra betrays Han, and it’s revealed that’s she’s actually working for the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, which is led by none other than Darth Maul. The movie ends in 10 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin or, in other words, the climax of the original Star Wars). Outlaws will take place between Episodes V and VI, so between 3 and 4 ABY (After Battle of Yavin). That means six to seven years have passed since most fans have last seen Qi’Ra, but she’s been busy in the rest of the franchise, making appearances in the Star Wars Bounty Hunters and Crimson Reign comics. After the eventual death of Darth Maul, Qi’Ra takes over as the head of Crimson Dawn.
By the time Outlaws takes place, Qi’Ra uses her control of Crimson Dawn to wage a secret battle against the Sith. This includes an event called the Syndicate War, in which Qi’Ra pitted many of the galaxy’s criminal organizations against each other. The Syndicate War takes place in the exact timespan that Outlaws also occupies. Crimson Dawn does get a mention in the game’s latest story trailer, and the tensions seem to be high between the syndicates. We also see Jabba the Hutt and a frozen Han Solo in the trailer, both of whom Qi’Ra has many run-ins with. This all suggests that Qi’Ra will play a major role in Kay Vess’s story when Outlaws releases on August 30.
