These new novels bridge the gap between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi
By Elaine Tveit
New novels and a comic coming this fall will help bridge the gap between Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
To help bridge the gap between Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm will release a series of stories under the heading “Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” The stories will be told through three new novels, a comic miniseries and a slew of visual guides, young readers and craft books.
Lucasfilm announced the new “Journey” campaign at the Publishers’ Round Table panel at Star Wars Celebration Orlando. The timing of the announcement was perfect because it came on Friday, April 14, the day Lucasfilm premiered the first trailer for The Last Jedi.
A similar “Journey” story campaign was launched for The Force Awakens prior to that film’s premiere in December 2015. The books published – three middle-grade books, a young adult novel called Lost Stars and the adult novel Aftermath by Chuck Wendig – didn’t reveal much about the plot of the movie. Rather, it helped the reader obtain a sense of the state of the galaxy in Episode VII and the journeys of the main characters of the original trilogy to that point. I’m hoping the “Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi” books will reveal even more. And I think they will, given their subject matter.
First, two of the “Journey” stories concentrate on a new character introduced in The Force Awakens: Captain Phasma. In case you thought she was dead, she’s not. The comic miniseries about Phasma will reveal how she escaped from the trash compactor on Starkiller Base. The novel, meanwhile, may explain how she joined the First Order and came into command of the stormtrooper army.
Unofficial cover. Image Credit: Del Rey
Image Credit: Marvel
The other two novels in the campaign focus once again on two of the original trilogy’s main heroes. Based on their covers and titles, however, these two promise to be more interesting and in-depth than their “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” predecessors.
The first book is a young adult novel titled “Leia: Princess of Alderaan” by Claudia Gray; a timely story, given Carrie Fisher’s recent passing. Per its title, the book will likely explore Alderaan and that culture more deeply as well as the character of young Leia. The second book is called “The Legends of Luke Skywalker,” written by Ken Liu. The latter is the novel I have the highest hopes for. Going into The Last Jedi, the character everyone wants to know about is Luke. What has he been doing all these years? Why is he searching for the first Jedi Temple? When did he start his new Jedi Order? Hopefully, “The Legends of Luke Skywalker” answers these questions.
Image Credit: Disney-Lucasfilm Press
Image Credit: Disney-Lucasfilm Press
All of the above books will be available to purchase this fall. To check out all the books in the “Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi” campaign, head to StarWars.com.
Which book are you most excited for, Dork Siders?