What Happened To Lando Calrissian After 'Return Of The Jedi'?

Right around the time Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters in 2015, beginning a new film trilogy, a new Star Wars book trilogy was launched as well. The series began with Star Wars: Aftermath, continued with Aftermath: Life Debt, and concludes later this month with Aftermath: Empire's End.

All of the Aftermath books are giving us insight into the events that happened between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The last one gave us some details on what Han Solo and Chewbacca have been up to, and now the final upcoming installment provides some insight into what happened to Lando Calrissian, as well as his sleek Cloud City, after he became a Rebel hero in the Battle of Endor.

Get the latest Aftermath Empire's End details after the jump.

io9 has a long excerpt from Aftermath: Empire's End, and it features Lando Calrissian returning to Cloud City, seemingly for the first time since he left to help Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca get Han Solo back from Jabba the Hutt in The Empire Strikes Back.

It seems Darth Vader's threat of leaving a garrison behind on Cloud City ended up coming true, because it sounds like the Empire was in control of the city after Calrissian left. Here's an excerpt of what Lando finds when he returns:

"Lobot, we're home." Lando lifts a dubious eyebrow as he looks around, exasperated. "Guess the Empire didn't keep up with house­keeping."

This is the Casino level. Game machines line the smooth blue alac­tite floors far as the eye can see. Sabacc tables, too. And pazaak. And jubilee wheels. Along the far wall are banks of holoprojectors meant to show the latest swoop race down on the track-tubes piped through Bespin's toxic Red Zone atmosphere. Once, this was a shining pillar of gambling excess: classy and bright with light coming in through win­dows looking out over the sun-kissed clouds. Now it's wrecked. Trash drifts and tumbles. Machines have been turned over, their credits cut from inside like food from a beast's belly. The windows are covered over with metal. The holoprojectors are dark.

It turns out getting Cloud City back was something of a chore for Lando Calrissian. Despite being a hero of the Rebellion, his city had been taken control by someone who wasn't so keen to give it up when Calrissian returned.

After Endor, he thought he would just be able to sweep in here like a handsome king retaking his throne in the sky—but then that son-of-a-slug Governor Adelhard formed the Iron Blockade. He kept the people here trapped not only by a well-organized Imperial remnant, but also by a grand lie: that Palpatine was not dead. And Lando knows that old shriveled cenobite is dead—because he's the one who took out the Death Star's reactor core. And because Luke said the monster was dead. Can you believe it? Palpatine and Vader. Both gone. Two scourges, scoured from the galaxy.

Getting Cloud City back under Calrissian's control took months and months, and he still has plenty of work to do to get it back in order. However, it's not clear how Lando Calrissian's efforts to get his city back tie into the larger story in this final chapter of the Aftermath trilogy, which will lead us into the Battle of Jakku. You can read the rest of the excerpt from Aftermath: Empire's End, over at io9, which includes a quick reference to Leia getting ready to give birth to Ben Solo. In the meantime, here's the official synopsis of the book:

As the final showdown between the New Republic and the Empire draws near, all eyes turn to a once-isolated planet: Jakku.

The Battle of Endor shattered the Empire, scattering its remaining forces across the galaxy. But the months following the Rebellion's victory have not been easy. The fledgling New Republic has suffered a devastating attack from the Imperial remnant, forcing the new democracy to escalate their hunt for the hidden enemy.

For her role in the deadly ambush, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane is the most wanted Imperial war criminal—and one-time rebel pilot Norra Wexley, back in service at Leia's urgent request, is leading the hunt. But more than just loyalty to the New Republic drives Norra forward: Her husband was turned into a murderous pawn in Sloane's assassination plot, and now she wants vengeance as much as justice.

But Sloane, too, is on a furious quest: pursuing the treacherous Gallius Rax to the barren planet Jakku. As the true mastermind behind the Empire's devastating attack, Rax has led the Empire to its defining moment. The cunning strategist has gathered the powerful remnants of the Empire's war machine, preparing to execute the late Emperor Palpatine's final plan. As the Imperial fleet orbits Jakku, an armada of Republic fighters closes in to finish what began at Endor. Norra and her crew soar into the heart of an apocalyptic clash that will leave land and sky alike scorched. And the future of the galaxy will finally be decided.

Does Lando have a larger role in the events that lead up to The Force Awakens than we've previously thought? This book may hold the answers. We'll find out when it hits shelves on February 21.