There was… Sort of? A reveal at the Lucasfilm Publishing: Writer’s Roundtable panel Monday morning at Celebration: Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Charles Soule and Cavan Scott are all working on something called “Project Luminous” for 2020.
We know it’s inspired by the quote “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things.”
Other than that, they won’t tell us anything. Not even a format. We do know the writers all went to Skywalker Ranch and watched A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. They’re having fun. That’s it! That’s literally it.
There have been two book-based publishing panels here at Celebration so far, and luckily I managed to attend both! They’ve been low on major news, but they did still contain a few revelations about upcoming fiction.
The first, Lucasfilm Publishing, was Friday, not long after The Rise of Skywalker panel, which is pretty much why you’re getting this post on Saturday. (Fan! Blogging!) We did get a cover reveal for Zoraida Córdova’s Galaxy’s Edge YA novel, A Crash of Fate, which was compared to Lost Stars and features two old friends who reconnect.
Delilah Dawson confirmed that Cardinal will be joining Vi Moradi in her Galaxy’s Edge novel, Black Spire. It will have a very different feel from Phasma – she name-dropped the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine as an inspiration at both panels.
Meanwhile, Christian Blauvelt’s Be More Yoda and Be More Vader are getting two new companion volumes in the fall: Be More Leia and Be More Lando. And Jeffrey Brown returns to the GFFA with Rey and Pals. Check StarWars.com for some of the highlights (and decent images!), and my Twitter thread has a few other bits. (Yes, there will be a Journey to Episode IX. No other details, but it will happen.)
The second panel was Del Rey Behind the Scenes, and it featured Claudia Gray, Delilah S. Dawson, Alexander Freed, Tim Zahn and Cavan Scott with Marc Thompson moderating.
We did learn a few things about Gray’s Master & Apprentice and Scott’s audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost. Scott was such a fan of a new character in M&A, Rael Averross – Dooku’s previous padawan and another mentor to Qui-Gon Jinn – that he became a big part of Jedi Lost.
As for Thrawn: Treason, we got a few more details – Thrawn gets drawn into the power games of Tarkin and Orson Krennic and “it doesn’t end how anyone expects.” Eli Vanto returns, as does Admiral Ar’alani and the Grysk.
There will be an author roundtable here on Monday, which seems like it will be the hotbed for announcements. I plan to attend that but wasn’t able to get a panel reservation, so… We’ll see. (Ahh, Reed.)
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Everything is geared up towards Celebration right now – including me, which is why this post is a day later than usual. But there’s still two brand new comics and a reprint coming on Wednesday, April 10.
One book and two comics are coming out this week. Gina McIntyre’s Star Wars Icons: Han Solo will be out Tuesday, April 2, for those who didn’t nab it early from Sideshow. And coming Wednesday, April 3 we have more Han, as Solo #7 wraps up the comic adaptation of the movie, plus Star Wars #64.
Dooku: Jedi Lost is written by Cavan Scott and will only be available in audio. Here’s the blurb:
Darth Tyranus. Count of Serenno. Leader of the Separatists. A red saber, unsheathed in the dark. But who was he, before he became the right hand of the Sith? As Dooku courts a new apprentice, the hidden truth of the Sith Lord’s past begins to come to light.
Dooku’s life began as one of privilege—born within the stony walls of his family’s estate, orbited by the Funeral Moon where the bones of his ancestors lie interred. But soon his Jedi abilities are recognized and he is taken from his home to be trained in the ways of the Force by the legendary Master Yoda.
As he hones his power, Dooku rises through the ranks, befriending fellow Jedi Sifo-Dyas and taking a padawan of his own, the promising Qui-Gon Jinn—and tries to forget the life that he once led. But he finds himself drawn by a strange fascination with the Jedi Master Lene Kostana, and the mission she undertakes for the Order: finding and studying ancient relics of the Sith, in preparation for the eventual return of the deadliest enemies the Jedi have ever faced.
Caught between the world of the Jedi, the ancient responsibilities of his lost home, and the alluring power of the relics, Dooku struggles to stay in the light—even as the darkness begins to fall.
Audio dramas are a popular format for Doctor Who, which regularly brings back actors from the show to reprise their characters in new adventures, but this is a Del Rey first for Star Wars. (Although the original trilogy radio dramas still get a lot of love.)
Among today’s batch of Celebration exclusive reveals is our first look at the con editions of E.K. Johnston’s Queen’s Shadow and Claudia Gray’s Master & Apprentice. Del Rey has some details how to get M&A – you’ll need wristbands and it comes with an enamel pin – but we’re still waiting to hear on Queen’s Shadow. (Though I suspect that one will just be on sale at a booth.)
The standard edition of Queen’s Shadow was released earlier this month, but Master & Apprentice won’t be out until April 16 – meaning fans who pick it up at Celebration (April 11-15) will get it at most few days early.
