In addition to the comic tie-ins we heard about earlier, a prequel novel for Rogue One will be coming in the fall, Del Rey announced at C2E2. No author was given, but Catalyst: A Rogue One Story will be out on October 4.
The author will remain a mystery for now, and some of us suspect that means it’ll be a name we recognize… Either a Legends standby well-known in the mainstream (a pretty short list) or a brand new ‘name’ author. Note that the movie’s first screenwriter Gary Whitta has shown some interest in doing Star Wars novels…
Authors Adam Bray, Jeffrey Brown, Claudia Gray, John Jackson Miller and Del Rey’s Elizabeth Schaefer were on the panel. Gray revealed that one character from her first Star Wars novel, Lost Stars, will appear in Bloodline. There’s still no sequel planned, but let Lucasfilm and Disney Lucasfilm Press know.
John Jackson Miller had a great explanation of how the Story Group at Lucasfilm has changed things. From Newsarama’s live blog:
Miller explained that the authors working on the current novels work closely with the producers and writers of the films and TV shows that they’ll tie into – including story points that won’t appear on the show for some time. He explained that the reveals and continuity are planned out years in advance, with the various media all tying together and “counting” equally.
There was also a fair amount of talk about naming Star Wars characters, which you can also find the the liveblog. Live tweets under the cut.
Continue reading “Rogue One prequel novel, Catalyst, coming in the fall”
The posters also give us some hints at the book’s plot. Leia is a candidate for First Senator, a position I’ll allow the more politically motivated to debate. What I find far more intriguing is the graffiti: Are we finally getting a book that actually explores the political ramifications of Leia’s parentage? It’s a ball the old Expanded Universe material dropped – Luke and Leia being twins and Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker’s kids became public knowledge somewhere along the line, but it was rarely treated as big deal, at least for Leia. (And she was Chief of State – aka Chancellor – for several books. Maybe we’ll even find out what she’s Senator of this time! Ahh, ’90s EU. I love you, but you had issues.)
The first features 
