Star Wars previews new Princess Leia manga adaptation

Claudia Gray’s Leia-focused young adult novel gets an impressive-looking manga adaptation.

Writer Claudia Gray is quickly becoming one of the most prolific Star Wars authors with books out about Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, a couple star-crossed lovers named Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree, and a novel in the upcoming The High Republic multi-publisher Star Wars event. Her young adult novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan told the story of Leia’s early years before the events of A New Hope and revealed her journey of becoming a pivotal member of the rebellion against the Empire.

According to StarWars.com, Gray’s novel has been adapted into an English-translated manga comic book by artist Haruichi, and fans will be able to relive Leia’s story with stunning visuals. The book is set to release Oct. 27, and StarWars.com released an early preview of the book.

The pages reveal Leia as a young woman and as a little girl with big dreams, the weight of big expectations, and a loving family who put her on the path toward fighting for justice. We get a rare glimpse at Leia as a fun-loving child who is adored by everyone around her and the adoptive mother who was just as formative in Leia’s life as her adoptive father Bail Organa. We see her struggle, and we see her exhibit great courage as she prepares to take on more responsibility as the Princess of Alderaan.

Leia’s story is an interesting one because her upbringing, of course, could have been much different as the daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side could have left Leia with little hope for the future, but with this book, it will be nice to see how the daughter of Anakin was taken care of and challenged to be the brave woman she became.

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