New Star Wars Book Sheds Light on L3-37's Controversial Fate in the Millennium Falcon

When Solo: A Star Wars Story was unveiled to audiences, it delivered fans some interesting insight [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

When Solo: A Star Wars Story was unveiled to audiences, it delivered fans some interesting insight into one of the most famous characters in sci-fi history, in addition to enlightening us about the backstory of his famous ship, the Millennium Falcon. One of the most shocking and controversial plot points was the fact that L3-37, a droid character who was almost entirely motivated by liberating her peers, was ultimately embedded into the Millennium Falcon, keeping her captive for all time. An excerpt from the upcoming Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back attempts to explain the character's fate and how she was ingratiated with the rest of the Millennium Falcon's computer systems.

In the excerpt from the short story "Faith in an Old Friend" by Brittany N. Williams, which you can read in full over at Fantha Tracks, we learn that L3-37 is only one of three droid identities, the others being ED-4 and V5-T, with the trio referring to themselves as the "Millennium Collective." Each personality functions somewhat independently, though the story confirms that L3-37 isn't the only identity ensuring the safety of those on board the vessel.

It's unclear how the rest of the story pans out, but the posted excerpt doesn't shed much more light on L3-37's future, other than attempting to quell frustrations among fans who considered her being trapped in the Falcon a fate worse than death based on how committed she was to establishing droid rights. It does, however, add context to the scenes in The Empire Strikes Back in which C-3PO claims to be interacting with the ship, as we now know the other side of the innocuous conversations that unfolded in the 1980 film.

This isn't the first time a Star Wars book attempted to justify the droid suffering this fate, as the novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story also attempted to contextualize why she would end up imprisoned on the ship.

"L3 had a choice to make," the novel reads. "She could die with her final act being a liberator to all the droids on Kessel, or she could join with the Falcon, live on, and be part of something much big­ger. She could save them all."

"If you refuse, you die. He dies. The others on the ship, they all die," the novel details of a conversation between L3 and the Falcon. "If you join with us, we all can live. The choice is simple."

Not all fans are necessarily disappointed with this outcome for the character, but with this now being the second book that has offered more insight into L3-37's fate, it seems that Lucasfilm has been listening to those fans who hoped for a better fate for the lovable droid.

Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back hits shelves on November 10th. Pre-orders are live on Amazon now.

What do you think of what happened to L3-37? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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