Star Wars: Where Han Solo Is During The Prequel Trilogy
Here's where Han Solo was during the Star Wars prequel trilogy. While the prequels introduced audiences to a bevy of new characters, the movies also filled in the backstories of multiple principal players from the original trilogy. In addition to depicting Anakin Skywalker training under Obi-Wan Kenobi, the prequels showed Yoda leading the Jedi Council, how R2-D2 and C-3PO met, and revealed Chewbacca fought alongside Yoda in the Clone Wars. However, Chewie's best friend Han Solo was nowhere to be seen in the prequels. Han isn't even mentioned by name.
That wasn't always the case. Originally, George Lucas intended a young Han Solo to have a cameo in Revenge of the Sith, but that idea was ultimately scrapped. Audiences had to wait until 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story to see Han's pre-original trilogy days on the big screen, so some may be wondering what he was up to while the Republic and Separatists were at war. Given what's been revealed about Han's formative years, it is possible to fill in those gaps.
Han was born around 32 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin), which is when The Phantom Menace takes place. That means he was only a newborn baby when the Invasion of Naboo happened. His formative years spanned the rest of the prequels, since Attack of the Clones is set in 22 BBY and Revenge of the Sith is set in 19 BBY. By the time the Empire was formed, Han was just 13 years old, living on Corellia.
From Solo, it can be garnered this wasn't the happiest period of Han's life. His father, who he was never close to, worked in the Corellian shipyards and was long gone by the time Solo picks up. On his own for much of his youth, Han got involved in the seedy underworld, where he met Qi'ra and did work for the White Worms. In Solo, Han mentions to Beckett that he'd been pulling scams on the streets since he was 10, implying that his criminal career got started around the time of Attack of the Clones. In all likelihood, the White Worms took Han in when he was just a boy. Lady Proxima tells Qi'ra that the gang gave her a home when she was younger, suggesting the White Worms made a habit of plucking children off the street and exchanging shelter for work. In Solo's first act, when Han is around 19 years old, it's assumed he has a longstanding association with the White Worms.
This backstory is very different from the one Lucas initially planned in the aforementioned Revenge of the Sith cameo. Back then, Han was an orphan on Kashyyyk being raised by Chewbacca and helped uncover General Greivous' location. It's arguably for the best Lucas went in a different direction. The prequels were already criticized for forced connections to the original films, and shoehorning Han into Revenge of the Sith wouldn't have added much value to the movie. Fan service can be well-executed, but this is one instance where it was better to hold off. If Han had been in Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars universe would have seemed smaller.