On “Our Time” vs. “Star Wars Time”
For years, fans have been debating just how long ago “a long time ago” might be. Nevermind
that it is all “in a galaxy far, far away,” fans still would like to think that there is some way to
equate Star Wars dates to our own. Originally, George Lucas’ first story synopsis for the saga set
the take in the 33rd century, which is in our far future. Given that the story was later changed to
take place “a long time ago,” the original date must be thrown out. Ever since then, we have
simply been left with the belief that “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” is just a different
way of saying “once upon a time.” For those who are curious, though, there has been one story
printed that was allowed to equate Star Wars dates to our own. It is, however, a story that is part
of Star Wars Tales and acknowledged by all involved as just a fun little Infinities (N-Level Canon)
story, rather than anything C-Level (Official). For the sake of argument, though, here’s the
lowdown.
In Star Wars Tales #19, there is a story called Into the Great Unknown. In the story, Han Solo
and Chewbacca are aboard the Millennium Falcon, when they are attacked by Imperials. They
are forced to leap to hyperspace blind and end up in our solar system, where they crash on Earth.
Once there, Han is killed by Native Americans and the mourning Chewbacca is believed to be a
sasquatch (perhaps the Sasquatch, AKA “Bigfoot”). Over a century later, the wreckage of the
Falcon and Han’s remains are found by the intrepid American archaeologist Indiana Jones.
We can infer a few dates from this, if we are so inclined (and since I was bored when updating
the timeline at some point, apparently I was so inclined, or this wouldn’t be here, right?). We can
infer all of the following:
First, Han makes mention of America’s forest (probably in Humboldt County, California, or
somewhere close) as looking like Endor, which puts the story firmly after Han’s first encounter with the forest moon in Return of the Jedi. Since the Empire seems to still be going after them,
we can also assume that the story is set before the events of Vision of the Future, when the treaty
with the Imperial Remnant is signed. Since Han also mentions that he always figured Chewie
would be killed saving Han or his kids, we have to conclude that the tale takes place sometime
between 9 (more likely 11) ASW4 and 19 ASW4.
Second, the Indiana Jones portion of the tale, when he finds the wreckage, must take place
somewhere around 1935. This is due to the fact that Short Round, the little kid from Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom, which takes place in 1935, is with him in this story. We can also
assume that while it has to be shortly before 1935 or during 1935, it wouldn’t be likely to be in
1936 or later because Short Round does not appear in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which takes place
in 1936.
Third, the story tells us that the Indy segment is 126 years after the Han and Chewie segment.
So, if we assume a date of 1935 for the Indiana Jones segment, then the Star Wars segment
takes place in 1809. If we then split the difference of the date for the Star Wars segment to be 15
ASW4 (halfway between Dark Empire and Vision of the Future), then A New Hope must take
place (using how similar Earth and Star Wars years are in length) around 1794.