The venture was intended to reinvigorate interest in the franchise ahead of the theatrical Special Editions of the Star Wars trilogy released the following year.

[1] The story introduces Rebel ally Dash Rendar, who aids the heroes in their attempt to liberate the frozen Han Solo from bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Later in the year, Lucasfilm met with franchise licensees, including LucasArts representatives and author Steve Perry to discuss the multimedia project, intended to feature the media and marketing elements of a film release without actually producing a movie.

Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian hire Battle of Hoth veteran Dash Rendar, who has located Boba Fett's ship, which has the frozen Han Solo aboard.

Back on Tatooine, Luke Skywalker constructs a new lightsaber; he is chased by swoop bike riders working for Jabba the Hutt and is saved by Dash.

[2] Luke leads Dash and a group of Bothan pilots to intercept Imperial plans for a second Death Star;[3] they bring these to Kothlis to be decoded.

[4] Luke is briefly captured by the agents of Darth Vader and learns of Prince Xizor, a Falleen who is the leader of powerful crime syndicate Black Sun.

Seeking information on the attempts on Luke's life, Leia and Chewbacca go to Rodia to meet Xizor's human-replica droid, Guri, who takes them to Coruscant.

As the Rebels engage Imperial fighters above Coruscant, Xizor is prevented from escaping by the vengeful Vader, whose Star Destroyer shoots down his repulsor craft and Skyhook base.

In addition to studying the original Star Wars trilogy, Perry read the first spin-off novel in the franchise, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, to get an idea of how to write for Vader.

[7][8] A prequel novel was planned, to be written by author Charles Grant, but was cancelled due to a Lucasfilm Licensing move from Bantam to Del Rey Books.

It focuses on Boba Fett and his fellow bounty hunters (first seen briefly in The Empire Strikes Back) as well as Jix, a hireling of Darth Vader who infiltrates Jabba the Hutt's gang of bikers (led by Gizman) to prevent their attempt to kill Luke Skywalker.

Several missions in the X-Wing Alliance (1999) computer game involve assisting Rendar in the capture of the Imperial freighter Suprosa, which was carrying the design schematics of the second Death Star.

Following the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film were rebranded as Legends and declared non-canon in April 2014.

[26] Additionally, Rendar is mentioned in the movie tie-in book Solo: A Star Wars Story – Tales from Vandor (2018)[27] and the Galaxy's Edge cookbook (2019) features a recipe for "Xizor Salad".

[28] In the Shadows of the Empire storyline, Leia obtains the armor of Black Sun-associated bounty hunter Boushh from Guri to get through Imperial customs on Coruscant.

[29][30] Contrarily, in the 2018 Forces of Destiny episode "Bounty Hunted", Leia and Maz Kanata take Boushh's armor directly from him on Ord Mantell.

[32] In 2023, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy stated that characters like Dash Rendar were discussed "all the time" for potential use in future projects, although there was nothing specific announced.