The Star Wars saga introduced so many memorable and fan-favorite characters in its original trilogy that it often begs the question: What happened to them after the Battle of Endor and the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader? Though all of their fates are revealed in the sequel trilogy, they have storied careers between the end of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Thanks to canon Star Wars books and comics, fans have access to near-limitless content to fill in the gap between Star Wars episodes 6 and 7. Plus, because of Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcoming Ahsoka, there are now also on-screen Star Wars properties that reveal some of what happened between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
Though Return of the Jedi ends on a celebratory high note, the Rebellion's work is far from finished. Palpatine is dead (seemingly), but the Imperial fleets are still active and exert power all throughout the galaxy. They must be vanquished in order for peace to truly be restored, so the victory for the Rebels and the New Republic is short-lived. Just as Darth Maul was replaced by Darth Vader, one evil must eventually take the place of another. The First Order, created by surviving Imperial members from the Galactic Empire, spreads from its origins in the Unknown Regions. Unbeknownst to the New Republic and brewing Resistance, all of this is happening once more due to the machinations of Emperor Palpatine (a.k.a. Darth Sidious).
The Sequel Trilogy hinted at what happened between Episode VII and the Original Trilogy. The backstory of Kylo Ren alone is proof that it wasn't a peaceful time for Luke, Leia, and Han at the very least. However, it's the canon comic book series, novels, and visual dictionaries that truly delve into how the New Republic is established, how the First Order rises to power in the wake of the Empire's demise, and what happens to the main Star Wars characters after the Empire is defeated. On top of tie-in media, many of the released and upcoming Star Wars Disney+ shows are filling in gaps with stories set in this period in galactic history. There are thirty years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Even for characters mostly uninterested in Jedi or Palpatine, like Boba Fett, it was far from an eventful three decades. Here's a summary of what happened after Return of the Jedi for every major Star Wars character, and where they are right before The Force Awakens starts.
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker’s journey from Original Trilogy main character to Rey’s mentor is centered on the rise and fall of his New Jedi Order. The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi revealed some of Luke’s Jedi Academy, but mostly the parts involving Kylo Ren. Luke’s betrayal of Kylo’s trust/Kylo’s betrayal of Luke (depending on the viewer's perspective) came towards the end of Luke’s attempt to reestablish the Jedi. He went into solitude after this, which is why Rey finds Luke Skywalker hiding on Ahch-To. There are years of history to be uncovered prior to Luke becoming a hermit though, and Luke’s canon history between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is being filled faster than almost every other major Star Wars character.
Luke’s first student was his sister, Leia, although she ended her training promptly after a vision of her future son dying (Kylo Ren, as seen in The Rise of Skywalker). Grogu, the breakout “Baby Yoda” from The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, came next. When Luke learned of Grogu he was combing the galaxy for knowledge, relics, and artifacts that could help him restore the Jedi Order. It’s possible that this is when Luke first met Ahsoka Tano, although this has yet to be confirmed. When Grogu leaves, Luke’s Jedi Academy process has just about started on construction, but there are no additional students under Skywalker’s wing. Upcoming Disney+ show Ahsoka will probably show more of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple since it was considerably larger by the time Ben Solo/Kylo Ren enrolled as a student. Luke's quest to create a New Jedi Order seemed complete, which is what made his sense of loss and despair much heavier than the movies alone perhaps let on.
Plenty of the Star-Wars tie-in media details Luke’s quest to revive the Jedi to the position they held in galactic eras before the Prequel Trilogy. The video game Star Wars: Battlefront 2 introduces a subplot in which Luke finds a Jedi Compass on Palpatine’s observatory on Pillio. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary revealed that Lando Calrissian helped Luke find Ochi, a hunter of Sith artifacts. By the time Kylo Ren slaughtered the New Jedi Order, Luke had dozens of students, as detailed by various canon Star Wars comics like Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren. It was during this time that Ben Solo first encountered the Knights of Ren – he and Luke Skywalker fought against them together. It was to the Knights of Ren that Ben defected after destroying Luke’s Jedi Academy, where he fully embraced the Dark Side and became an apprentice of Snoke.
Leia Organa
Leia's early history was heavily updated when "Little Leia" became a major character in Obi-Wan Kenobi. The show established that the force sensitivity she displayed in The Rise of Skywalker was with her from an early age. However, the canon Star Wars media featuring Leia between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens don't focus on her relationship with The Force too much. While she did train with Luke briefly, Leia knew deep down her path was never as a Jedi. There are tons of post-RotJ books and comics featuring Leia, and they're also the stories that best capture the rise of the Resistance. For Leia, the battle of Endor wasn't the end of her military or political career but simply the turning of a page. The three decades prior to The Force Awakens and Leia's death in The Rise of Skywalker are filled with mystery, intrigue, and danger, and the happiness she finds when she ties the knot with Han and starts a family is fleeting.
According to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections, Leia marries Han a day after the Battle of Endor. As seen in The Rise of Skywalker, she also enters into Jedi training with Luke, going so far as to create her own lightsaber. She soon abandons training after she has a premonition that her future son will die if she continues, and Leia helps establish the New Republic as Senator Organa instead. A year to the day after the Battle of Endor, the Aftermath book series shows Leia and Han becoming parents to Ben. The Rebels have cause to celebrate again, as the Battle of Jakku and subsequent treaty signal the official end of the Empire. For the next few decades, Leia dedicates all of her time and energy to the success of the New Republic. The book Bloodline follows the end of Leia's political career years later, as she investigates the burgeoning criminal underworld, traverses the ever-changing climate of the Populist and Centrist parties of the Senate, and copes with the fallout when a secret Imperial agent reveals her true parentage. Leia resigns as Senator soon after and busies herself forming the Resistance.
The Resistance builds as the First Order begins to take over, and Leia is next seen in The Force Awakens as General Organa. Though Leia and Han happily lived apart during their marriage, they separated after Ben turned to the Dark Side and joined the First Order. When they finally reunite, Leia implores Han to bring their son home from Starkiller Base. Though she ends up losing Han, Leia's hope in Ben remains unchanged. In The Last Jedi, Leia reaches out to Ben through the Force when the First Order is attacking the Resistance ship Raddus. She has had a bond with him since before he was born, so he hesitates in firing a shot at the bridge. Ultimately, another pilot does, killing everyone inside except for Leia, who uses the Force to propel herself through space and back to safety. Though Leia is hospitalized for a large part of the film, she recovers just in time to reunite with Luke on Crait. In The Rise of Skywalker, Leia trains Rey to be a Jedi and later dies sacrificing the rest of her life force to turn Ben back to the light. When his body becomes one with the Force, Leia's body vanishes at the same time.
Han Solo
Despite Solo: A Star War Story failing to garner audience interest in Han Solo's early years, what the smuggler-cum-general does between Episode's 6 and 7 has been documented extensively in various canon media. As revealed by the Sequel Trilogy, Han didn't settle down into family life but, like his wife, continued living as he always had. He did spend a not-insignificant amount of time helping the Rebellion, although he wasn't present at the Battle of Jakku. He returned to smuggling after separating from Leia, and the latter period of his life isn't known about in detail (which is probably the way Han would like it). His last years fighting alongside the Rebels, however, have been covered quite extensively in canon Star Wars comics, books, and video games.
Han Solo becomes a family man after the events of Return of the Jedi. He makes an appearance in Battlefront 2 gaining Imperial intel at Takodana Castle. In Aftermath: Life Debt, Han and Chewbacca lead an attack on Imperial-held Kashyyyk and regain control of the planet. Chewbacca and Han part ways to be with their families, though they remain friends. Han is next seen leading the New Republic Pilots Commission and doubting his role as Ben's father in the novel Last Shot, though his carefree and adventurous nature keeps him yearning for more. Luckily, Lando visits to take him on a secret mission. Though Han eventually longs to return home, he cannot stay there for long. Years pass, and it is revealed in Scorched, a tie-in novel to Bloodline, that Han races starships and owns a successful shipping company for a living. He no longer lives with Leia, but he's consistently in touch with her. After Ben becomes Kylo Ren, Han is distraught and returns to smuggling with Chewbacca.
Han, who lost the Millennium Falcon years before in the comic Flight of the Falcon, Part 5: Grand Theft Falcon, has been searching for it ever since. When he reclaims it in The Force Awakens, he grudgingly helps Rey, Finn, and BB-8 find the Resistance and flies to Starkiller Base on Leia's behest to seek out Ben. A potentially heartwarming reunion turns sour when Kylo Ren kills Han, thereby completing his turn to the dark side and permanently shattering his spirit. Han is not gone forever - at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, Han returns to Kylo as a memory of their Starkiller Base meeting, though it has a different outcome. This interaction and Leia reaching out through the Force cement Kylo's turn back to the light.
Emperor Palpatine
Unsurprisingly, being dead doesn't mean Sith Lord and Star Wars chief antagonist Sheev Palpatine is inactive after Return of the Jedi. Between his "death" in RotJ and reemergence in Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine spent decades experimenting with cloning in various capacities. As well as creating the puppet Supreme Leader Snoke and his own clone bodies to host his consciousness, a Palpatine clone with free will named Dathan escaped and had a child with a woman named Miramir — Palpatine's Grandaughter, Rey Skywalker. Almost everything that occurred before and during the Sequel Trilogy was planned by Palpatine, including the destruction of the Empire (his Contingency strategy commanded it to die when he did). Here's how the Emperor survived after Return of the Jedi and what he did once he was resurrected.
Emperor Palpatine, or Darth Sidious, appeared to die on Endor after Darth Vader threw his body over a railing and down into the reactor of the second Death Star. But, as told in the novelization of The Rise of Skywalker, he actually uses his Sith powers to transport his spirit into a clone body on Exegol, a planet in the Unknown Regions which houses the Sith Citadel and the Sith Eternal, a group of extreme loyalists dedicated to the preservation of the Sith religion. The clone body isn't completed when Palpatine moves into it and cannot handle his powers, however, so it starts decomposing almost immediately. Meanwhile, in Battlefront 2, Imperial fleets receive a posthumous order called Operation: Cinder from Palpatine to destroy supporters of the Empire who didn't protect him from dying. Operation: Cinder is also mentioned in The Mandalorian by ex-Imperial officer Mayfield, so it might have more significance in coming Star Wars projects.
So there wasn't a power vacuum in his absence, the Sith Lord required a puppet to manipulate the pawns he'd need in place prior to revealing his return to the wider galaxy. Palpatine's followers had more clones available, and one of these became Snoke, who Palpatine used to rise up as Supreme Leader of the First Order and mentor Ben Solo, who he targets as his new apprentice. In the meantime, Palpatine's followers on Exegol have also built thousands of Imperial Star Destroyers to take on the Resistance. In The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine sends out an intergalactic message warning of his return and impending doom. Kylo Ren flies to Exegol by way of a Sith Wayfinder he locates on Mustafar, and finds out that Palpatine was every voice in his head as a boy. Palpatine promises Kylo Ren unlimited power if he brings him Rey, who is of course the Emperor's granddaughter, being an offspring of Palpatine's clone son. At the climax of the film, Palpatine hopes to gain near-unlimited power by transferring his spirit into Rey, but she uses all of the power of the Jedi to evaporate him, his followers (a cult known as the Sith Eternal), and his fleet. It is safe to assume that Palpatine will not be returning.
Chewbacca
Han Solo's loyal companion, Chewbacca, is with him until the end after the pair first met in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the between-movie period after Return of the Jedi is no exception. In the Aftermath series, Chewbacca and Han plot to liberate the Wookie's home planet Kashyyyk. Chewie's plan is to release large webweaver spiders on Dominion, the Star Destroyer responsible for overseeing Kashyyyk. After the Wookies retake control of their planet, Chewbacca parts ways with Han and enjoys retirement at home with his wife and son for several years. Chewbacca eventually rejoins Han to help out in Last Shot and later in their smuggling activities. He is with Han when they board the Millennium Falcon in The Force Awakens.
Chewbacca is a staple co-pilot of the Resistance throughout the sequel trilogy. He is on every mission aboard the Falcon, including the siege on Starkiller Base, Rey's journey to Ahch-To, and the final battle on Exegol. In The Force Awakens, he witnesses Han's death at the hands of Kylo Ren, whom he's known since Ben was an infant. In his grief, Chewie is able to blast Ren in the side with his bowcaster, but, according to the junior novelization of The Force Awakens, decides against killing him, since it would take him down a darker path. Chewie is presumed dead in The Rise of Skywalker when he's arrested by Stormtroopers and taken aboard a transport. In a game of Force tug-of-war with Kylo Ren, Rey gets so frustrated that she produces Force lightning, blowing up the transport. Ultimately, Chewie is on another transport, so they are able to rescue him. On Ajan Kloss Chewie is awarded the Medal of Bravery, right at the end of The Skywalker Saga which rights the wrong of him not receiving one at the end of A New Hope.
R2-D2
R2-D2 had gone into self-imposed deactivation when first encountered in The Force Awakens, but he goes on several more adventures before entering the droid equivalent of sleep mode in the Resistance base on Anjan Closs. After Endor, R2-D2 accompanies Luke on his Jedi artifact adventures, as seen in the Shattered Empire series. He also makes an appearance with Luke in The Mandalorian's season 2 finale. R2 is obviously very excited over Grogu, as the child resembles Master Yoda. R2-D2 stays with Luke throughout his creation of the Jedi Academy and up until his exile. Shortly after that, R2-D2 takes a well-deserved break in semi-hibernation to recalibrate his memory, as he hasn't shut down in decades.
In The Force Awakens, R2 powers back on when BB-8 arrives at the Resistance base with the map of Luke's whereabouts. Together, they combine their sections of the map to pinpoint Ahch-To. Like Chewie, R2 is around for many of Rey's missions throughout the trilogy. He has a pivotal role in restoring C-3PO's memories after his system is wiped to translate a Sith language and flies with Poe Dameron to Exegol. In the end, R2 is also on Ajan Kloss celebrating the end of the First Order.
C-3PO
C-3PO is an essential part of the Rebellion after the Battle of Endor. In the Shattered Empire comics, he accompanies Han on several missions to take control of Imperial-held areas and access the Empire's documentation - this is how he discovers Operation: Cinder. C-3PO is also Leia's right-hand droid all throughout her service as a New Republic senator in Bloodline and participates in a rescue mission for Admiral Ackbar from the First Order. In the one-shot comic Star Wars Special: C-3PO 1, the ship carrying the droids, including a captured Imperial droid crashes before they can make it back to the Resistance base. Acid rain and a variety of creatures beset the droids, leaving C-3PO missing an arm. He develops a friendship with the other surviving Imperial droid Omri, who sends their coordinates to the Resistance so C-3PO can be saved. Omri gets caught in acid rain, and only his red arm is left behind. C-3PO is fitted with this remaining arm to memorialize his droid friend.
He has a significant part in The Rise of Skywalker, as C-3PO's memory needs to be deleted to read the Sith engraving on a Sith dagger. Most of the characters are not aware that R2 has a backup copy of his memories, so they believe he will not remember them when he's rebooted. C-3PO successfully translates the message, and R2 uploads him with all of his memories later on. C-3PO is last seen celebrating with the Resistance on Ajan Kloss.
Lando Calrissian
Lando returns to clean up Cloud City and deal with any other Imperial holdouts in Aftermath: Empire's End. Later on, in The Last Shot, he enlists Han's help to save Cloud City from an attack by Fyzen Gor. Lando eventually settles down and has a daughter who is kidnapped by the First Order. Six years after this, he helps Luke search for Ochi (the assassin who killed Rey's parents, although this isn't why Luke and Han are hunting him). on Pasaana. Though he doesn't find anything, Lando finds a new family in the Aki-Aki people, as noted in the Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, and lives as a hermit on Pasaana.
In The Rise of Skywalker, Lando helps Rey, Finn, and Poe locate Ochi's ship and recruits Resistance ships for the Battle of Exegol. Back on Ajan Kloss, Lando offers to assist Jannah, a former stormtrooper, in finding her family. The novelization expands on this scene, confirming Lando wants to help more children reunite with their folks.
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is presumed dead at the beginning of Return of the Jedi, having fallen into a Sarlacc pit. It was revealed in The Book of Boba Fett that Fett escaped the Sarlacc at great cost to both his physical and mental wellbeing. Boba was lost in the desert for a while before being taken in by the Tusken Raiders, Tatooine's infamous Sand People. His spiritual journey with the Tuskens was explored through flashback scenes in his Disney+ show, but Bob was first seen on-screen after Return of the Jedi a little later than this in his personal history. Fett's first post-RotJ appearance was in The Mandalorian season 2. At this point, Boba was searching for his Mandalorian armor, which Din Djarin possesses. He and Fennec Shand, who he rescued from certain death, track Djarin to Tython, where they make a deal to protect Grogu from Moff Gideon in exchange for the armor. Though Gideon captures Grogu for the Empire, Fett is indebted to Djarin, so they help him assemble a team to infiltrate Gideon's ship and rescue Grogu. During this time, Fett repaints his armor, returning it to its former glory.
After assisting Din, Fett and Shand return to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine, where Bib Fortuna now reigns. Fett blasts him and takes the throne for himself. This is when the main events of The Book Of Boba Fett start. Alongside Fennec, Din Djarin, the fearsome Wookie Black Krrsantan, and a gang of hover-moped riding youths, Boba takes down the Pyke Syndicate in the Battle for Mos Espa. This secures his gang (the Fett gotra) as the ruling force in Mos Espa, and Fett's position as its new and surprisingly benevolent Daimyo. Cad Bane, Fett's mentor from his pre-Original Trilogy days, was also killed by Fett in the battle. The fate of Boba and the Fett gotra after The Book of Boba Fett hasn't been explored yet, but both Ahsoka and The Mandalorian season 3 could provide another glimpse into life in Mos Espa under Daimyo Fett's rule.
Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles remains a highly respected and active pilot after the events of Return of the Jedi. In the Aftermath book series, he locates Imperial factions in the Outer Rim, participates in the battle to free Kashyyyk, and fights Imperial forces in the Battle of Jakku. Later on, he heads a new flight academy, trains Poe Dameron, and settles down with Norra Wexley, as seen in the novel Resistance Reborn. He later helps the Resistance in the Battle of Exegol.
Admiral Ackbar
In the Aftermath series, Admiral Ackbar remains an essential part of the Rebellion, commanding a fleet to take on the Imperial-held Akiva and fighting in the Battle of Jakku. He retires for some time back on Mon Cala and has a son named Aftab before he joins the Resistance. After his capture by the First Order, he is rescued with C-3PO's help and goes on to join the attack of Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens. Ackbar dies on the bridge of the Raddus at the hands of the First Order in The Last Jedi. Though the Skywalker Saga has come to a close, fans can still look forward to appearances from some of their favorite characters in upcoming Disney+ shows. While many of the key characters from the original trilogy have passed on, it'll be interesting to see how Star Wars incorporates those remaining into new features.