Annlyel James 
L3-37 deserved way more attention and respect than she was given in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Let’s take a quick rundown of all of the major droids in Star Wars before L3-37: C-3PO, R2-D2, BB-8, K-2SO. All of these droids were male, which didn’t seem like a problem…until L3-37 was created. Then I suddenly noticed the striking disparity between male and female droids in Star Wars and I couldn’t ignore it any further.
With the realization that Solo: A Star Wars Story would, indeed, be introducing its first major female droid my excitement to see this character was through the roof. Especially after the trailers. She seemed like a sassy, no-nonsense type of robot and I was already in love with her. But there was always a sense of worry in my mind about her fate considering that she is never seen again in the Star Wars movies after Solo.
“Was she going to die like K-2SO?” I constantly thought to myself.
When I watched the movie for the first time and she eventually showed up in the film I was super excited. Finally! A female droid. And she was totally worth the wait. Her mission for equal rights for droids was hilariously unique and really made her stand out among the other droids in the franchise.
But it didn’t take long before I realized L3-37 wasn’t going to be the character that I was looking for. Her awesomeness lasted for what felt like a few minutes before she was blown to bits, dying in Lando’s arms and becoming the Millennium Falcon‘s navigational system. What just happened? Did L3-37 really just die after showing up a few scenes prior?
So much hype had surrounded this character and, as with Val, I was only left with disappointment. But why? Why did L3, the first major female droid, have to be treated this way? It didn’t seem fair by a long shot.
It also was a little strange (and a bit sexist, if you ask me) that she “supposedly” had feelings for Lando. I mean, I totally get it. She was an independent robot who made herself from scraps and had a very humanoid mind but what did that have to do with her wondering whether she and Lando could be “compatible”?
Did C-3PO ever confess his feelings for Leia? No. Did R2-D2 ever say he had a semi-crush on Luke Skywalker? No. Did K-2SO and Cassian have a thing? No. Did BB-8 have feelings for Poe Dameron? No. But L3-37 shows up and has feelings for Lando? Really? That’s not cool. Especially that it didn’t aid the film in any way.
L3-37 deserved way more attention and respect than she was given in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Yes, she is still and will always be one of my favorite characters in the franchise for her unique personality and memorable qualities but her legacy will be forgotten because she was treated as such.
Maybe she’ll get her true chance to shine in a Lando standalone film one day or another novel that highlights her as the awesome droid that she is but until then she will always be remembered as the droid that could’ve been better.
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
