It has been just days since Alexander Freed's Star Wars: The Mask of Fear was released, and we've been glued to its pages if we haven't already finished reading. The plot is striking and prescient, and the characters are very real. Freed and editor Tom Hoeler sat down with ScreenRant 's Liz Declan to discuss the inspiration for the plot and connections to other media in the Star Wars franchise.
What inspired Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear?
The forthcoming trilogy covers the earliest days of the Empire. Freed was asked about how "The Mask of Fear feels so much like a prequel to Andor" and responded to the suggestion that the show about Cassian Andor's formative years by owning the thematic similarities.
"We always talked about the book as something that would (hopefully) appeal to fans of Andor," he said. "The title craws from a quote from the show, 'Oppression is the mask of fear.'" It's not meant to be "an Andor tie-in per se," Freed continues, but "Both stories are about life under an authoritarian regime... The Mask of Fear is sent in the earliest days, when no one knows how bad things will get and certainly there's no... sense of what it means to fight back." As someone who is working my way through this riveting novel, I can say that it's very true that the book highlights stories of naivete leading to catastrophe and optimism faltering in the face of diminishing freedoms.
Editor Tom Hoeler observed that, "with all Star Wars stories in this Imperial era... all of them show/hint at the larger social and political changes that the galaxy experiences after the fall of the Republic." The books in the Reign of the Empire come from seeing "a space for this trilogy to complement all those stories by deeply exploring that social/political landscape and turmoil in the galaxy."
He continues that they "wanted all of our characters to have that same dimensionality we see in Andor." Fans of that show will appreciate the different struggles of principal characters who move in different circles of society but are fundamentally struggling against the same oppression. Stories are converging as a result and that bears a striking resemblance to the first season of the Rebellion-centric show.
Declan pointed out that "Reign of the Empire is a very unusual series" and asked "how will it affect our understanding of the Skywalker saga?" Hoeler painted the bigger picture by reminding us that "Real history teaches us that rebellions (like Empires) are not built overnight." This is effectively portrayed in my opinion by exploring the growing influence of the Imperial Security Bureau and the limited jurisdiction of Imperial law enforcement. There is tyranny, but its influence is not yet fully formed. It is fascinating to see how that impacts the anti-authoritarian efforts by the last of the Republic loyalists.
Hoeler goes on to say, "Reign of the Empire was developed in part to deeply explore questions around where rebellions come from... while the big heroes like Princess Leia or Luke Skywalker ultimately 'save the day,' there are also countless 'ordinary people' involved in building or keeping hope alive so those heroes can emerge and triumph."
How do we see the impact of the Republic's fall in Mask of Fear?
A major story arc has to do with Bail Organa's determination to bring the truth of the Jedi downfall to the public. Freed says that "Bail is out to prove that the Jedi were manipulated and framed by Palpatine - that Order 66 was a genocide, unforgivable and unprovoked." In addition to this being a story from the perspective of "one of the only non-Jedi to know that Palpatine is a Sith Lord... it's also personal for him." Freed reflects on Bail's friendships within the Order, but also remarks that because Leia "carries the Jedi legacy... If he doesn't do right by the Jedi now, he's terrified that the burden will pass to Leia."
In addition to the depiction of these personal stakes, Freed covers the importance of Senator Amidala's influence on the resistance against Palpatine.
"Padme's absence is instrumental in this story. Bail and Mon are both affected by her death on a personal level, but Padme also helped to bridge their ideological and strategic differences. Without her gravity, the two senators are flung out in their own directions. Bail and Mon both know that. They're not oblivious to what Padme did for them. But they can't undo what happened, either. The Rebellion would look as different without the legacy of Padme as the Empire would without Anakin."Alexander fFreed
Star Wars: The Mask of Fear is available in bookstores as well as at online retailers in print, ebook, or audiobook format.