The countdown has begun! The Journey to The Force Awakens is upon us! With less than three months to go we are being bombarded with everything Star Wars. Several new novels are now on bookshelves, the comic books are in full swing, and toys are being bought in record numbers. Star Wars has something it didn't have the last time we saw a film in theaters; Disney. Back in 2012, Disney bought Lucasfilm/Star Wars for $4 billion. Like Marvel Studios, Disney lets Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy run the production company, but she still reports to Disney CEO Bob Iger. Having the Disney marketing team behind it, The Force Awakens is becoming a gold mind of franchising. Disney will make back that $4 billion they spent by next year probably!
Now, when Disney bought Lucasfilm, aside from announcing more Star Wars films would be made, they also had another big announcement in regards to Canon. For those who don't know the term, Star Wars Canon is anything that exists in the main Star Wars timeline. With twenty-five years of Star Wars novels, comics books, games, television series, and all other media, the lore of Star Wars has gotten big, and somewhat confusing. Some of it fits together, some of it doesn't. So Kennedy announced a clean slate. Anything that isn't the six live-actions films or The Clone Wars TV series would be known as 'Legends" and is no longer part of true Star Wars lore. Which means it's pretty much fan fiction.
Some fans were upset, but all those stories haven't gone away. In fact, future Star Wars stories are free to draw from what has come before. Even J J Abrams said he may 'cherry pick' some ideas that have come before for future tales. But now, post 2012, it all counts! Lucasfilm has two men, Leland Chee and Pablo Hidalgo, to keep track of Canon 2.0. Their job, their career, is keeping track of all the Star Wars stories (novels, comics, TV, etc.) and make sure it all fits together. Some think it's too big of a task to work long-term, but as a big Star Wars fans I've now been trying to keep up with it all before it become too much.
Since I don't read single issue comic books anymore I'm still waiting for graphic novel versions to come out, but I've heard Star Wars, Kanan: The Last Padawan, and Shattered Empire are starting off really good. And thanks to Disney XD and the public library I've been able to keep up with the novels and Star Wars: Rebels. So if you just want to check out "what counts" now in the Star Wars universe, here are some of my recommendations.
DARK DISCIPLE
One of the best characters to come out of The Clone Wars was Asajj Ventress. She started out as Count Dooku's apprentice and was betrayed by Dooku to become a much deeper character. She became a bounty hunter for hire, and last we saw her she tried to help Ahsoka Tano clear her name at the end of season 5.
As the clone war wages on the Jedi Council has reached a decision; to end the war, Count Dooku must die. It's a dark decision for the Jedi and so a dark Jedi must carry it out. Quilan Vos has mainly worked undercover as a Jedi spy, but is asked to find Asajj Ventress, gain her trust, and then use her inside knowledge on Dooku to assassinate him.
If you are fan of The Clone Wars, and the character of Ventress, this is a terrific read! It starts out slow, but picks up and ends on a nail biter. The finale left me satisfied, yet sad.
LORDS OF THE SITH
When we see Darth Vader in A New Hope he is over 40-years-old and half machine. But back when he first became a Dark Lord he was the boogie man of the universe. Several years after Order 66 and the formation of the Empire, their are pockets of rebellion springing up throughout the galaxy. Darth Vader and the Emperor himself travel to Ryloth to squash these rebels down before a bigger movement begins. But the Twi'lek rebels are waiting for them and see this as an opportunity to take out the head of the Empire and end their tyrannical rule. It's the Sith Lords, by themselves, verses a planet.
Probably my favorite new Canon book so far because of Palpatine and Vader being the main characters. We see Vader still struggling with his past and who he has become. Meanwhile, we still see Palpatine manipulating Vader and playing with his mind to make him the lieutenant he wants him to be.
LOST STARS
To be honest I've only just started this book, but so far I am impressed. I heard a spoiler a few days ago and I just had to pick it up. Lost Stars is about two friends who join the Empire shortly before the events of A New Hope, and soon end up on opposite sides of this galactic civil war. Their stories play out during the events of the original trilogy and beyond. That ship falling from the sky on the cover? That is the Star Destroyer we see on Jakku in The Force Awakens trailer. That's all I needed to know to get me to read this book.
STAR WARS: REBELS
I bought the first Canon 2.0 book, A New Dawn, right before I started the first episode of Rebels. And after that first episode I was excited to go back read the prequel to the series. If anyone ask me how to describe Rebels I say it's Firefly/Serenity in the Star Wars universe.
Kanan, Hera, and the crew of the Ghost like to make trouble for the Empire. They rob from the Imperials and give to those in need. On a mission they run into Ezra, a young orphan who has a strong "Aladdin vibe" to him. Kanan recognizes that Ezra is also strong in The Force as well, and he begins training Ezra in the ways of the Jedi, even though Kanan never even finished his own training before Order 66 was carried out. The crew travel through the galaxy making lots of waves. So many waves that it's caught the attention of Grand Moff Tarkin and Lord Vader. Uh-oh.
The first season of his series just came out on blu-ray and dvd and season two premieres out next month. Some assumed Rebels was going to be a kiddie show because it was on Disney XD, but as the first season continued, the tone and story got darker and more interesting. The first two-part episode of season two has already aired, and has the crew of the Ghost running into Darth Vader and getting their ass handed to them.
I'm so excited for season two. We will get to see more classic characters, and even some from The Clone Wars like Ahsoka and Captain Rex. The first season is only 13 episodes so it's easy to catch up in time for season two. So far, anyone who was against Rebels have changed their tune after watching it stating, "this is the first thing in a long time that feels like Star Wars." But as we know, no one from the Ghost is in the original Star Wars trilogy. Are they hiding, or did they meet a tragic end? I can't wait to find out the answer!
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