At long last, one of the most egregious issues with Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been addressed. While certain fans had some issues with J.J. Abrams’ Episode VII, there was a strong sense of hope and excitement surrounding the relaunched version of the franchise. But virtually every fan, no matter what side of the fence they stand on, can agree that it was criminal for Leia to hug Rey instead of Chewie following Han’s death. Now, thanks to a new comic book, that wrongdoing has been amended.
Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Wars: Age of Resistance: Rey #1. Writer Tom Taylor recently shared a couple of panels from his most recent Marvel Comics entry in the Age of Resistance line. This issue focuses on Rey and takes place roughly after the main events of The Force Awakens, but before the young Force users makes her way to Luke. Taylor had this to say about the book, acknowledging the error that was made when Rey stepped off the Falcon and hugged Leia after Starkiller Base was destroyed, something Han gave his life to accomplish. Chewie, meanwhile, got snubbed.
“Leia and Chewie didn’t hug on screen after Han’s death. In #StarWars Age of Resistance: Rey #1, we fixed that. Today, we’ve brought balance. The hug is canon now.”
As we see in the pages shared by the writer, Chewbacca and Leia are inside the Resistance base holding one another tightly. Leia remarks that she can no longer cry on his shoulder, implying many tears have been shed over Han. Chewie, Han’s faithful co-pilot and friend, looks devastated, but then dutifully goes to prep the Falcon for their journey to find Luke. Rey then walks in and is greeted by the following, tear-jerking line from Leia.
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“Sorry if you were waiting a while. A hug with a Wookiee lasts as long as the Wookiee wants it to last.”
In the entire galaxy, no two people were closer to Han than Leia and Chewie. Leia as the love of his life and Chewie as his trusty partner. Many fans took issue with the fact that Rey, who undoubtedly bonded with Han quickly, but had just met him, got to hug Leia instead of Chewie. Understandably so. However, this comic book is canon and does provide some closure on that front. They got their moment.
Meanwhile, J.J. Abrams is hard at work on The Rise of Skywalker, the finale to this sequel trilogy, which will also mark Carrie Fisher’s last appearance as Leia, since she passed away prior to the release of The Last Jedi. Abrams is making use of unused footage from the previous two movies to accomplish that feat. Perhaps Chewie and Leia will get a nice, final moment on the big screen this December? Star Wars: Age of Resistance: Rey #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics. Be sure to check out the comic book pages from Tom Taylor’s Twitter account.
Check out @StarWars: Age of Resistance #Rey.
In stores today.
The next scene with Leia is one of my favorites of our whole run. pic.twitter.com/OIVtT28EbJ— Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorMade) September 18, 2019
