A Star Wars Outlaws Character Return Makes the Game a Pseudo-Sequel to Solo

Star Wars Outlaws is the next big video game adventure set in the galaxy far, far away. Developed by The Division studio Ubisoft Massive, the game puts you in the boots of a thief named Kay Vess, whose run afoul of the galaxy’s criminal underworld and is now one of the most wanted criminals in the Outer Rim Territories. To get out of this predicament with her head intact, she’ll need to pull off a daring heist to pay off her bounty.

In a new story trailer, we learn just how stacked the odds are against Kay and her little merqaal pal Nix. Not only does Kay have to dodge the Empire throughout the galaxy but the powerful Zerek Besh crime family is also after her after she crosses their leader Sliro. In the video, we see Sliro having a meeting with representatives of the other big crime organizations in the Outer Rim, including the Pyke Syndicate and Jabba’s Hutt Cartel. But most notable is the return of Crimson Dawn, the crime gang first introduced in Solo: A Star Wars Story. In fact, despite featuring prominently in recent comics, this will mark the first time we’ve really seen Crimson Dawn in action on screen since the 2018 movie (besides a Dryden Vos cameo in The Clone Wars season 7).

The Crimson Dawn connection, as well as nods to Han Solo frozen in carbonite inside Jabba’s Palace, positions this latest crime caper to be a follow-up to Solo and its characters, especially when you add the fact that Lady Qi’ra is also set to appear in the game, as revealed by Game Informer.

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Star Wars Outlaws is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which also happens to be the time period in which Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn pop back up after the events of Solo, specifically in the Marvel comic book events War of the Bounty Hunters, Crimson Reign, and Hidden Empire, in which Qi’ra unleashes a plan to take down the Empire. Of course, that plan eventually fails and leads to the destruction of Crimson Dawn.

It remains to be seen whether Outlaws will reference the events of the aforementioned comics. We know it’s set after War of the Bounty Hunters, as Han is also already on display in Jabba’s Palace by the time Kay gets there, but before the end of Hidden Empire, as Crimson Dawn is still in operation. Time will tell how we find Qi’ra in this new adventure.

Beyond Crimson Dawn and the Han cameo, there are other similarities between Outlaws and Solo, including the big heist at its center and the scoundrel protagonist. When asked by StarWars.com whether the references to Solo were purposeful, creative director Julian Gerighty explained the film was one of the game’s many influences.

“A hundred percent,” Gerighty said of Solo serving as a “touchpoint” for the game. “I think all of the Star Wars movies, in particular the original trilogy and Solo and Rogue One, were the founding texts. But when we started working with Lucasfilm, we were always coming back to, ‘What is a scoundrel? What is this archetype within the Star Wars galaxy?’ But even wider than that, there are many scoundrels that are super interesting to look at. Maybe it’s Pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones, but is there that one story that we could own about the coming of age of somebody who’s basically a petty thief that grows up to be a real outlaw. So Solo is a great reference there.”

Star Wars Outlaws releases on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC on Aug. 30.

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