We got news about two new projects this morning at Del Rey’s panel. The first is a new series, Rebels, featuring the classic characters, which launches with a Leia-centric tale by Martha Wells. The second, focusing on Luke, will be written by Kevin Hearns. These were just approved, so no art. It’s set between ANH and ESB, I believe.
The second is something we’ve all been waiting for and half-expecting: A Jaina trilogy, Sword of the Jedi, written by Christie Golden. Lots of cheers from the audience! It’s set not too long after Fate of the Jedi and does have some (temporary?) art. The Jaina fans are super-excited, and who can blame them?
But most of the panel was, as promised, given to Q&A. Some highlights and updates on other upcoming books, including Crucible, Scoundrels and more beneath the cut. In attendance were Pablo Hidalgo, Aaron Allston, James Luceno, Drew Karpyshyn, Jennifer Heddle, Shelly Shapiro and Timothy Zahn.
Del Rey posted the finished version of the Crucible cover on Facebook today. It hasn’t changed all that drastically since the first version revealed at SDCC. (Click on Luke over there to see the whole thing.) They’re also calling it for Summer 2013, as opposed to the original announcement of Spring, but until we get a more specific date I’m not going quibble over that.
The book is still by Troy Denning, and it’s still a hardcover. We’re pretty much guaranteed to hear more about it next week at Celebration.
Crucible The upcoming post-Fate of the Jedi is on everyone’s mind. Roqoo Depot’s Skuldren takes a look at Scoundrel’s Luck, the 1990 WEG gaming adventure that author Troy Denning hinted holds a clue to the book’s villain. Meanwhile, Nanci at Tosche Station – not exactly Denning’s chief cheerleader – implores burned fans to give Crucible a chance.
I myself remain rather ambivalent on the book, but I can pretty much guarantee I’ll read it. Or try to, anyway, which is more than I can say for the other SDCC announcements.
SETS UP NEW SERIES: With this book, Han, Luke, and Leia are passing the torch to the next generation of Star Wars heroes, and the stage will be set for the next major Star Wars series.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this, but the New Jedi Order didn’t manage it, Legacy of the Force rounded out Jacen Solo only to kill him off, and Ben Skywalker… Well, okay, Ben is in better shape than his cousins ever were as teenagers. But that’s a pretty low bar, and thus a slim hope to hang on. Ironically, just this morning I was talking about an opinion piece I’ve been mulling, tentatively titled “Hey Del Rey, it’s your last chance to make me care about Jaina.” More then…
On the other hand, I’m guessing this means we’ll be seeing either a Jaina or Ben standalone announced at Celebration…
Comic-Con is over, and it’s time for a nap. (Damn you, Monday!) James’ pictures from Sunday begin here. Meanwhile, for those of you not online all weekend, here’s what went down for Star Wars. Some of these have had rather substantial updates after they were first posted!
Expanded Universe. Our focus, the books and comics, got some pretty big bombs dropped. Namely, we heard about our latest post-Fate of the Jedi novel, Crucible by Troy Denning, at the Star Wars books and comics panel. (James taped it!Others live-tweeted!)
We’re also getting Vader’s Little Princess, a Leia-centric followup to Darth Vader and Son, and a Dawn of the Jedi novel by Tim Lebbon. There will be more book announcements at Celebration VI.
Merchandise. Still nothing from Sideshow on their long-promised Mara Jade figure, but we did learn that a Mara mini-fig we saw at Celebration V is going into production as a Celebration VI store exclusive. It was also announced that Kotobukiya is going to do a Bishoujo Mara Jade, and Hasbro’s Jedi Mara figure will be in Wave 2 of the Droid Factory line. ‘
James, that scoundrel, sent in four videos from the panel yesterday, as well as new photos (starting here.) At this panel, they announced two new books and talked about several new comics, including Brian Woods’ Star Wars. Part 1, above, is the introductions and Dark Horse announcements
Then, Del Rey…
Their announcements…
And the longest bit, the question and answer session:
UPDATE: You’ll also want to check out Pablo Hidalgo’s blog post on his panels today, which covers the full laundry list of releases they talked about (including the comics, which I have, uhh, kind of neglected. Whoops.)
The one I know you’re hanging on your seats for is the first novel to follow the Fate of the Jedi series. Crucible by Troy Denning (of course) is a hardcover standalone with the Big 3 – that is, Luke, Han, and Leia.
They’ve earned the right to rest on their laurels and let the younger generation shoulder the burden–but fate has another adventure in store for our heroes, a quest only they can tackle and hope to survive…
It’s due out in the spring and features a Cliff Nielsen cover.
The big surprise, though, is that Del Rey is going into Dark Horse territory with a Dawn of the Jedi novel, Into the Void. It’s a paperback by new-to-the-EU author Tim Lebbon and is also due in the spring.
The also revealed the cover and a brief blurb for the fourth Coruscant Nights book, The Last Jedi. It’s also (still) a paperback.
Earlier in the day, Pablo shared a few tidbits from the Quirky Point of View panel. Something that’s sure to thrill a lot of Jaders: Jeffrey Brown will be doing a companion book to Darth Vader and Son, Vader’s Little Princess. And Matthew Reinhart (Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-Up Adventure) is working on a prequel trilogy pop-up book.
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