We’re wrapping up the day with a recap of the Timothy Zahn retrospective panel at Celebration VI. Pablo Hidalgo moderated a panel jam-packed with all sorts of information and tidbits that a packed house enjoyed.

To the jump!

• Thoughts on where Star Wars was and what the Thrawn trilogy represented to the franchise: It was clearly a risk, it had been years since the last movie and these were untested waters. Lucasfilm had been thinking of restarting the Star Wars fiction line, but not much thought had been given to it.
• Star Wars was considered a dead license because nothing was coming out for it.
• Heir to the Empire was so successful it necessitated numerous follow-up printing runs. Within weeks of the release, Lucasfilm and Bantam were so happy they decided to progress from a mere trilogy to an entire printing contract. Now there’s over 150 adult Star Wars Expanded Universe novels in print.
• Could Heir of to the Empire have been written at the current publishing pace? It would have been difficult to do the Thrawn trilogy in a one-year time window, partly due to time constraints, but mostly due to the massive amount of continuity and canon material in the franchise now.
• Lucasfilm wouldn’t let Bantam use the word “Trilogy” so each HttE novel was called “Book [x] in a three book cycle.”
• We were shown art of the dual between Luke and the clone Luuke from The Last Command. It’s GORGEOUS. Features Luke, C’boath, the clone, and Mara.
• Luke fighting his clone was in the works from the beginning.
• Zahn’s description of what Karrde looks like: More dapper, shorter hair. Think Blake 7. Not the scruffy guy shown in the comics. He doesn’t have control over the images people use for his characters.
• Zahn was asked to write a short story that would lead into the Dark Stryder campaign. Being able to link all sorts of different mediums within the continuity was always an enjoyable task.
• We were also shown new art that shows a rather bohemian Thrawn’s introduction to the Empire.
• Whenever a character like Thrawn, Karrde ,or Bel Iblis get mentioned, it’s a win.
• Zahn’s entry into the Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina solved a continuity error between West End Games and the films.
• Pablo: “It was probably a no-brainer to choose a character for your Tales from Jabba’s Palace entryTim: “You think?”
• More new art from the Essential Reader’s Companion, this one features Mara in Jabba’s Palace. Another piece illustrates Thrawn in an Imperial officer’s uniform with a Star Destroyer and TIE Fighters in the foreground.
• Thrawn was sent into the Unknown Regions for continuity sake. Why would a brilliant tactician be missing during the films?
• The work Zahn did with Mike Stackpole in the Adventure Journals was the closest to collaboration work he’s done.
• Just shown new art of Thrawn in Mando armor. Lots of fanboy squees going around.
• Bantam and Lucasfilm didn’t want Mara and Luke to explicitly get together in the Hand of Thrawn duology. Tim played hardball. And won.
• Hand of Thrawn was originally scheduled to be one book, but when Zahn got to about 70,000 words he realized that he had way more story than would fit into one book. With Phantom Menace being pushed back a year, Zahn pitched the idea of splitting the story into two novels.
• All authors were informed what Luke’s love endgame would be so they could figure out ways to write those other love interests out after they were introduced.
• There was a plan to do a comic project that would bridge Specter of the Past to Vision of the Future involving both Zahn and Mike Stackpole.
• Zahn worked with Stackpole again on Tales from the new Republic, bouncing ideas to create a combined tale complete with plot twists.
• Wasn’t too interested in New Jedi Order because the over-arching plot had already developed, so it was more someone else’s story.
• Not too interested in megaseries with other authors as well because it’s potentially limiting to new ideas that occur doing the creative process.
• New art for the Essential Reader’s Companion illustrates a scene from Survivor’s Quest.
• Zahn was preparing an elaborate argument to use the fan-costuming group 501^st Legion in Fool’s Bargain. Turns out he didn’t have to argue hard, Lucasfilm readily embraced the idea.
• Zahn: Obi-Wan has always been an interesting character. Star Wars Insider gave him a chance to write him off the beaten track.
• New Outbound Flight artwork showed off that will appear in the Essential Reader’s Companion
• The Survivor’s Quest and Outbound Flight outlines were done roughly together to show Lucasfilm where it was going.
• New art from Allegiance that will appear in the Essential Reader’s Companion. No catsuit! Combat suit! Sleeves! Pockets!
• Pablo Hidalgo seems to think that Lando is criminally underused in the Expanded Universe. Zahn seems to agree.
• Essential Reader’s Companion will feature Choices of One artwork that helps illustrate how Luke and Mara didn’t quite interact in the book. Having them work together in this era when they don’t know it is a bit of fun. Of course, “It always makes the editors nervous.”
• The quick description of Scoundrels is “Star Wars meets Oceans Eleven.” It’s set so close after A New Hope that Winter doesn’t know Leia has survived. You do NOT need to know anything in the Expanded Universe to pick up this book and enjoy it. Consider it a gateway for new readers and a fun adventure for longtime readers.