Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Turns out Jedi News was onto something after all: Four rough episodes of The Clone Wars – an arc featuring Obi-wan, Anakin, and Utapau – have made their debut on StarWars.com this afternoon.
They also reveal the title for the Christie Golden Asajj Ventress novel announced at SDCC: Dark Disciple.
Still no S6 DVD news, though I wouldn’t be surprised if those Utapau roughs make it on there.
Chances are you don’t need this reminder, given that Del Rey Fancorps members woke up at least 8 emails in their inbox about the release of A New Dawn. It is, of course, the first of the new canon novels, a prequel to Rebels and our first new Star Wars novel since Honor Among Thieves back in March.
In addition the emails, there are the reviews. We have James’, of course, but you can also catch opinions from the usual suspects: Tosche Station (who also did a Go/No-Go) Jedi News (twice,) EU Cantina, Roqoo Depot, Lightsaber Rattling and Making Star Wars (twice.)
We’re also just about a month away from the official premiere of Rebels itself, on October 3rd. The next novel, James Luceno’s Tarkin, is due out on November 4.
Jedi Bibliothek apparently spotted a blurb for the Christie Golden Asajj Ventress novel. They don’t seem to give a source – the Amazon.de link is dead, or simply hasn’t arrived yet. They give the not-final title of Ventress, but here’s the real meat:
When the Jedi decide to target Count Dooku—Darth Tyranus—himself, they turn to his ex-apprentice, Asajj Ventress, for help in getting close to the slippery Sith Lord. But when unexpected sparks fly between Ventress and Quinlan Vos, the unorthodox Jedi sent to work with her, the mission becomes a web of betrayal, alliances, secrets, and dark plotting that might just be the undoing of both Jedi and Sith—and everything in between!
A real title for this thing would be nice. Whatever it ends up being called, the book is due out next summer.
Was it really necessary for everyone to unload every Star Wars ‘scoop’ they have today? We were bored out of our skulls most of the week, and then it all comes through at once. Can’t we have some pity? It’s Friday! In any case, since we’re already touched on the villains and Han Solo’s clothes, here’s what else came up:
→ Making Star Wars has some description of what Daisy Ridley’s character will be wearing. I’m happy to see this because a) unlike Han, we haven’t the faintest clue and b) to remind us that some women do actually exist in this movie. More lady character-centric rumors that don’t involve fancasting Lupita Nyong’o as various aliens, please.
→ Latino Review’s Dave Gonzales has finished A New Dawn and speculates about how it (and Rebels as a whole) and the new rumors seem to fit into the new tapestry of Star Wars. Possible spoilers for some of the book, naturally.
→ Jedi News claims there will be a Mon Calamari/Mon Cal character ala Admiral Ackbar, “not just in a background role.” And, you guessed it, Making Star Wars has more context, including what the connection may be to Skellig Michael shoot. You know exactly who’ll get pinpointed in this role, don’t you?
→ Episode VIII director Rian Johnson talks about visiting the Episode VII set.
→ Not a rumor, but: John Boyega met Samuel L. Jackson the other day and it was adorable.
Jedi News spotted that Random House has posted a longer blurb for James Luceno’s Tarkin:
He’s the scion of an honorable and revered family. A dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator. Loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order. Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks, enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly . . . and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion.
Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself, he advises his Emperor. Under Tarkin’s guidance, an ultimate weapon of unparalleled destruction moves ever closer to becoming a terrifying reality. When the so-called Death Star is completed, Tarkin is confident that the galaxy’s lingering pockets of Separatist rebellion will be brought to heel—by intimidation . . . or annihilation.
Until then, however, insurgency remains a genuine threat. Escalating guerrilla attacks by resistance forces and newfound evidence of a growing Separatist conspiracy are an immediate danger the Empire must meet with swift and brutal action. And to bring down a band of elusive freedom fighters, the Emperor turns to his most formidable agents: Darth Vader, the fearsome new Sith enforcer as remorseless as he is mysterious; and Tarkin—whose tactical cunning and cold-blooded efficiency will pave the way for the Empire’s supremacy . . . and its enemies’ extinction.
Tarkin is currently due out in hardcover and eBook on November 4.
The first seven chapters of A New Dawn. Pity the poor folks at Del Rey, who have to deal with a wide variety of people deeply upset over the recent changes in canon. Will the chapters help? Well, I think some of them may need more time…
Shelly Shapiro, Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo explain how Lucasfilm is handling canon and Legends. A nice roundup of quotes from the SDCC book panel.
Newsarama has another interview with John Jackson Miller about A New Dawn.He does have some wise words on canon and the Legends label:
I really think it’s a mistake for people to play the canon/not-canon parlor game. What they said when they made the announcement is that the previous material wasn’t being discarded, it would be drawn from – inspirations and ideas would come from it. The planets are the same; the species are the same. You know, the Rebels series uses the same manufacturer of the TIE fighters that was introduced in the Role Playing Games years ago. My book revolves around a strategic compound that I introduced back in KOTOR years ago! The universe is the same.
The thing about “Legends,” and that’s the word on the cover of the previous material: Legends can be true, in part or in whole. They inspire, they are sort of like the King Arthur story – parts of that, little bits of that here and there are true.
He goes on to talk about A New Dawn specifically and some of the other things he’s working on. And don’t forget to check out James’ video interview!
At San Diego Comic-Con, James caught up with John Jackson Miller, author of Kenobi and the upcoming Rebels prequel novel, A New Dawn.
We may not have gotten any Episode VII news out of San Diego Comic-Con, but we did get a fair share of book and comic news: An Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos novel based on scripts from The Clone Wars, and three new comics all set just after A New Hope.
Let’s start with the book: I think it does three very smart things that were missing from the first round of canon novels.
One thing that’s curious, though – what about the Del Rey contract? Between Sword of the Jedi and Kemp’s duology we know they had at least 5 books left, maybe 6 if you count that rumor about Matt Stover finishing Imperial Commando – and this would be #5. But then, there’s this tweet: “We gave away 4,500 free books at #SDCC Just you wait for @SW_Celebration next year! To say we’re excited is an understatement.” I doubt Del Rey would be at Celebration if they were on the verge of losing their license…
But, speaking of new contracts… Marvel. Yes, old EU fans are less than thrilled with ‘another’ set of just after A New Hope stuff, but please remember: We are not the only audience here. And the old stuff, including Marvel’s old stuff, is Legends. The slate is clean, and Marvel has to build up a new audience for Star Wars comics. This is only the beginning – we’ll likely see them range further as things are established.
In particular, I like the direction the Leia comic is going, which is most certainly not something we saw done in the old EU. I hope it’s followed by another female-centric mini – though they’ll doubtless have to create one. A female smuggler, maybe? Or what about a new spin on one of their own less-goofy Legends characters like Shira Brie/Lumiya, Story Group permitting? Hell, how about a pre-Bespin Lando?
There’s still a lot that Marvel can do here, and I firmly believe that the era matters far less than the execution. Let’s give them a shot before writing this off as same-old, same-old.
Alas, I’m not all that familiar with the Marvel folks to speculate much on what these specific creators will bring to Star Wars, but reaction from those who are familiar with them seemed fairly positive.
And for the love of Stan Lee: Marvel, you better get Phil Noto to do at LEAST the covers of an Episode VII comic. Did you see his Luke Skywalker portrait? If you can make Leia look like she’s 6 feet tall, you can give us Noto’s Luke, okay? Good. I’m glad we had this talk.