Did The Force Awakens merchandise just reveal a plot secret, or is it only marketing synergy?

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Start prepping your theories, because according to Jedi Temples Archives an unexpected original trilogy figure will be a part of The Force Awakens action figure line. Now, it’s not someone so unexpected that I think one really needs a complicated theory, but fandoms gonna fandom. Still, ‘Qui-Gon’s Noble End’ this isn’t.

→ Since today marks exactly one month until Force Friday, we’re seeing a few bits about the toy launches. Making Star Wars has some fuzzy Walmart signage pics, and Toys R Us put up a press release – though with no direct mention of The Force Awakens. (Expect that shoe to drop closer to September.)

→ Even Del Rey got in the spirit, with pics of Aftermath book covers being printed.

→ And finally, Simon Kinberg talked a little about the Story Group – apparently the very early days, as Michael Arndt is mentioned – to Entertainment Weekly.

The first Aftermath excerpts are away!

aftermath-smallEntertainment Weekly has the first excerpts from Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath, Del Rey’s entry in Journey to The Force Awakens.

It features a brief section set on Coruscant, Wedge Antilles (who we now know is one of the book’s main characters,) plus a character who first debuted in another of the new canon novels. (Now with a promotion.)

Much of the excerpt was up on Random House’s online catalog earlier today, but has since been removed.

Aftermath, along with the rest of the Journey books, goes on sale September 4.

Chuck Wendig is writing the entire Aftermath trilogy

jtfa-aftermathJust as the publishing panel at SDCC was getting into Del Rey, Entertainment Weekly has big news: Chuck Wendig is writing the entire Aftermath trilogy.

Good news, given the recent history with round robins. We haven’t had a one-author trilogy since… Coruscant Nights? Dark Nest? Not exactly sterling examples, but a nice sign that Del Rey has, perhaps, learned from past mistakes. (Now we just hope Wendig is good at more than tweets!)

Also being talked about at the panel was Marvel’s upcoming Chewbacca miniseries we learned of earlier in the day.

The first hour of the panel focused on books for kids, and both parts are being liveblogged by Dan Brooks at StarWars.com, while our own James was valiantly live-tweeting.

Journey to the Force Awakens: Aftermath, Lost Stars blurbs, more covers

jtfa-aftermathThe Journey to the Force Awakens series finally gets a little bit of fleshing out on StarWars.com – and we finally get a synopsis for the centerpiece, Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath. As predicted, it features Wedge Antilles!

As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance — now a fledgling New Republic — presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but is taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.

Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former Rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world — war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.

Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit — to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on the Norra and her newfound allies — her technical genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector — who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.

We also get the covers for the YA novels:

Phil Noto on all three! Note that MVP author Jason Fry, in addition to writing the Luke novel The Weapon of a Jedi, did double duty with Cecil Castellucci on the Leia book, Moving Target. Also getting a full synopsis is Claudia Gray’s Lost Stars:

jtfa-loststarsThe reign of the Galactic Empire has reached the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan, where aristocratic Thane Kyrell and rural villager Ciena Ree bond over their love of flying. Enrolling at the Imperial Academy together to become fighter pilots for the glorious Empire is nothing less than a dream come true for the both of them. But Thane sours on the dream when he sees firsthand the horrific tactics the Empire uses to maintain its ironclad rule.

Bitter and disillusioned, Thane joins the fledgling Rebellion — putting Ciena in an unbearable position to choose between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for the man she’s known since childhood.

Now on opposite sides of the war, will these friends turned foes find a way to be together, or will duty tear them — and the galaxy — apart?

The Journey to the Force Awakens books – which will also include several reference books, plus at least two comics – will be out on Force Friday, September 4.

EXCLUSIVE: A major plot detail from Journey to the Force Awaken’s Aftermath

aftermath-ap1-teaser2We learned a little about Aftermath, Del Rey’s key piece in the Journey to The Force Awakens, a few weeks ago: Namely, that Twitter-winning author Chuck Wendig is writing it, and that it involves “a fan favorite from the films” and “other familiar faces.” And Club Jade has learned who a few of those faces are.

So. Spoilers. Under the cut.

EXCLUSIVELY.

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: A major plot detail from Journey to the Force Awaken’s Aftermath”

I hope you like @ChuckWendig: Best #StarWars, #RogueOne and #SWEU tweets for March 16-25

@ChuckWendig: *sees STAR WARS AFTERMATH is in Top 20 books at Amazon*  You like me! You really like me!  …  You like Star Wars! You really like Star Wars!

Over the last week, we finally got our first look at Del Rey’s first post-ROTJ novel in the new canon – and a brand new, very Twitter-savvy author to go with it. We also swooned over Oscar Isaac pictures, planned for Celebration (#SWCA is the official hashtag, if that matters to you) and partook of some delicious fanboy tears. Onward!

Continue reading “I hope you like @ChuckWendig: Best #StarWars, #RogueOne and #SWEU tweets for March 16-25”

Journey to The Force Awakens: Aftermath cover, Wendig officially revealed

jtfa-aftermathEditor Jennifer Heddle introduces officially introduces Aftermath and author Chuck Wendig at StarWars.com today. She reveals for the first time that the book is first of a trilogy that “that begins to bridge the Star Wars timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens:”

Obviously I wish I could tell you more about the story, but I can’t just yet. What I can reveal is that you will be introduced to a sweeping new cast of characters, along with a fan favorite from the films. And who knows what other familiar faces will pop up along the way? And once you’ve seen The Force Awakens in movie theaters, you may find that certain names and places in Aftermath have a relevance you never knew–so keep your eyes wide open!

Will Wendig write the next two books in this trilogy? (We have reason to suspect they won’t be coming before TFA… But who knows?) Hopefully we’ll find out soon. Aftermath is due out September 4.

Journey to The Force Awakens: Aftermath synopsis points to book being set just after Return of the Jedi

And just like that, we have our first blurb for the most relevant (so far) of the Journey to The Force Awakens books, Aftermath, from Barnes & Noble.

The second Death Star is destroyed. The Emperor and his powerful enforcer, Darth Vader, are rumored to be dead. The Galactic Empire is in chaos. Across the galaxy, some systems celebrate, while in others Imperial factions tighten their grip. Optimism and fear reign side by side. And while the Rebel Alliance engages the fractured forces of the Empire, a lone Rebel scout uncovers a secret Imperial meeting…

A new character seems likely, which is a bit of a downer. My level of excitement for this one is really dependent of who’s writing it. It’s not Mary Franklin, as the URL suggests: The theory is that Untitled Novel #4 was at one point the long-canceled nonfiction book on fandom by Franklin and Bonnie Burton in some database or another. (via)