Recently, Stars Wars has made progress in clearing up the confusion surrounding the definition of parsec, but Disney has once again backtracked. The term parsec was first brought up in A New Hope, when Han Solo claimed that the Millennium Falcon was the fastest ship in the galaxy since it "made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs." That feat quickly became a legend and it's been brought up multiple times throughout the Star Wars franchise.
Many fans of the series assumed that a parsec was a measurement of time, assuming that Han was bragging about how long it took to travel the distance due to his ship's speed. In reality, the parsec is a measurement of distance. It's a unit of length to measure distances to astronomical objects. A parsec, in Star Wars canon and real-life, measures approximately 19 trillion miles or 3.26 light-years. At the time, many thought George Lucas made an error because why would Han use a measure of length to measure his ship's speed?
In the second trailer for Disney+'s The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm is reverting all clarification that was made centering on the parsec with a line from Werner Herzog's character. The actor portrays The Client, a man speaking to the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in the footage. At one point, the Client references the bounty hunter's reputation and states: "they said you were the best in the parsec." This line once again adds confusion to parsecs since it doesn't clarify that it's a measure of distance.
How Solo: A Star Wars Story Retconned The Kessel Run's Parsec Line
After years of confusion and debate regarding Han's original parsec line in A New Hope, the situation was finally explained in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story. In the movie, Han and his friends actually make the Kessel Run "in less than 12 parsecs." The Kessel Run was stated as being a 20-parsec route. As the crew was trying to get to Savareen, Han decided to pilot the Millennium Falcon (with the help of L3-37's navigation) through the maelstrom, known as the Maw. Going through the Maw was like going through a shortcut that trimmed the distance of the route, explaining Han's brag-worthy comment. This sequence cleared up any confusion until Herzog's comment came along.
Why Werner Herzog's Parsec Comment In The Mandalorian Doesn't Make Sense
Herzog's parsec comment simply makes no sense in The Mandalorian trailer. He's essentially saying that the Mandalorian is the best in the mile or the kilometer, which is nonsensical. It seems like he's trying to say that the bounty hunter is the best in time which leads back to the problematic insinuation that parsecs are a measurement of time. If anything, this comment just erases the retconned explanation made through Solo. The Client might be attempting to state that the Mandalorian is the greatest in the area but still, using parsec in that situation only results in more Star Wars confusion.
