Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
Last time around, we shamelessly ripped off io9’s piece and discussed our own list of the 12 Worst Things in the Expanded Universe. After that, you may be surprised to find out that we actually do love the EU. Dearly. That’s why we couldn’t quite neck this list down to an identical twelve selections.
Without further ado, our list (in no particular order) of the fifteen best things the Expanded Universe has to offer. To the jump!
Thrawn Returns! Except not really. But Zahn is back and that is always a good thing. Both the Bantam Era and the Empire are about to draw to a close so sit back and enjoy a lovely end to this chapter of the Star Wars story.
Specter of the Past
Zahn gets the team back together again. Okay, maybe it takes til the end of the book for that to really happen but from the start, we get to see all of our (or at least my) old favorites. Obviously, we get to see our heroes from the films but then Zahn gives us Karrde and Mara and Wedge and the Rogues! It thrills me so much to see Tycho get some page time outside of the X-Wing books.
On top of that, we really get to meet Shada D’ukal for the first time. While this isn’t her first appearance in the books, it’s the first time we really get a chance to get to know her as a character and see her take the spotlight. She is honestly one of my favorites of the more minor characters and her decision to leave the Mistryl in this book is definitely a part of that. It’s a struggle between honesty and loyalty and those are always interesting to read.
One thing that occurred to me while I was reading this book is that I think a lot of the authors just… forgot about the Noghri. Of course, I skipped over a large chunk of the books set between the two Zahn series but I don’t seem to really remember them having a presence. Maybe that could’ve helped prevent some of their twelve thousand kidnappings…
As far as the book itself goes, I adore the set up. I love the juxtaposition of Pellaeon and his realization that the Empire can no longer continue to fight and with Disra and his plan to try and make the Empire a force to be reckoned with by use of a Thrawn impostor. On the other side, there is the New Republic struggling to adjust to being a “peacetime” government that deals with peacetime issues.
Over at Bloomberg Businessweek today is an all-new profile of post-retirement George Lucas and some interesting details about the Sequel Trilogy and the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney. Off the bat, they discuss why Lucasfilm was a prime target for Bob Iger and why George Lucas felt Disney was the right fit:
The deal fit perfectly into Iger’s plan for Disney. He wants to secure the company’s creative and competitive future at a time when consumers are inundated with choices, thanks to a proliferation of cable television networks and the ubiquity of the Internet. “It’s a less forgiving world than it’s ever been,” he says. “Things have to be really great to do well.” Part of Iger’s strategy is to acquire companies that could be described as mini-Disneys such as Pixar and Marvel—reservoirs of franchise-worthy characters that can drive all of Disney’s businesses, from movies and television shows to theme parks, toys, and beyond. Lucas’s needs were more emotional. At 68, he was ready to retire and escape from the imaginary world he created—but he didn’t want anybody to desecrate it…
Lucas had paid close attention to how Disney had handled Pixar, which he still refers to as “my company.” He founded it as the Lucasfilm Computer Division in 1979, and sold it to Jobs six years later. He calls Disney’s decision not to meddle with Pixar “brilliant.” If he sold Lucasfilm to Disney, he figured there might still be a way to retain some influence over his fictitious universe. Much would depend on who ran Lucasfilm after he retired.
An interesting note later in the profile is Iger’s philosophy on what creates enduring stories and properties: strong and memorable characters.
Iger, however, proved to have a very clear vision. He understood that Disney’s success rested on developing enduring characters. This was a strategy Walt Disney pioneered with Mickey Mouse and Grimm’s Fairy Tales heroines Snow White and Cinderella. More recently, Disney translated The Lion King, a hit animated movie, into a long-running Broadway show.
Then there’s a note on the power structure post-sale:
Iger understood Lucas’s concerns. “George said to me once that when he dies, it’s going to say ‘Star Wars creator George Lucas,’ ” he says. Still, Iger wanted to make sure that Lucas, who was used to controlling every aspect of Star Wars, from set design to lunchboxes, understood that Disney, not Lucasfilm, would have final say over any future movies. “We needed to have an understanding that if we acquire the company, despite tons of collegial conversations and collaboration, at the end of the day, we have to be the ones who sign off on whatever the plans are,” says Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios.
Emphasis added. Now for the big reveal of the piece. Lucas says that Hamill, Ford, and Fisher are already in for the sequel trilogy:
Asked whether members of the original Star Wars cast will appear in Episode VII and if he called them before the deal closed to keep them informed, Lucas says, “We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison—or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on.’ ” He pauses. “Maybe I’m not supposed to say that. I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them.” Then he adds: “I won’t say whether the negotiations were successful or not.”
This isn’t confirmation. It won’t be confirmation until Lucasfilm and Disney announces it officially, but this is probably as close as we’re going to get for a while.
There’s a whole bunch of great information in this profile, so be sure to head to Bloomberg Businessweek to read the rest of the article.
In a chat with Palm Beach Illustrated, Carrie Fisher says she’s back to play Leia. When asked point blank by the publication, Fisher responded with a simple “Yes.” Then Palm Beach Illustrated opened the proverbial can of works by asking Fisher what she thinks Leia’s up to these days:
What do you think Princess Leia is like today?
Elderly. She’s in an intergalactic old folks’ home [laughs].
I just think she would be just like she was before, only slower and less inclined to be up for the big battle.
And still wearing the bagel buns?
The bagel buns and the bikini, because probably she has sundowners syndrome. At sundown, she thinks that she’s 20-something. And she puts it on and gets institutionalized.
It’s smart to remember that this is not official confirmation. Given that this is Carrie Fisher and you can never quite be sure when she’s being serious or pulling a fast one on the interviewer, take this with a smaller grain of salt than usual. In this case, there’s probably more legs to this rumor than usual, but until Lucasfilm or Disney says something, it’s not fully confirmed.
If you were to ask me what I remembered about the Corellian Trilogy before I started this read through, I could’ve told you three things: Thracken Sal-Solo is a slimy git, Centerpoint Station is bad, and the Solo children should not try to build droids. In other words, I went into these books with a relatively clean slate which was actually a rather nice change. Even better? It turns out that I do rather enjoy reading these books. And also that I’d really like to steal Roger Macbride Allen’s career and be a Foreign Service Officer AND a Star Wars author.
Ambush at Corellia
If nothing else, you have to appreciate how self-aware and very Star Wars this book is in the very first chapter. Han and Chewie are working on the Falcon and its plethora of mechanical issues and oh did anyone mention that the Solo children are a bunch of little troublemakers and have a reputation for it throughout the galaxy?
Also, because I am an Alderaan diehard, I will point out my objection to Leia saying that she was only the Organa’s foster daughter because I am 99% sure that she was adopted and raised completely as Bail and Breha’s own. If anyone is going to be referred to as the Organa’s foster daughter, it’s probably Winter.
That one quibble aside, Roger MacBride Allen seems to understand the Skywalker twins better than a heck of a lot of the Star Wars authors. One of the complaints that’s been brought up on the podcast lately is that there is no reason why Leia cannot be both a politician and a Jedi. The first six chapters of this book show her striving to do exactly that. On the flip side, they also show Mon Mothma urging Luke to embrace the political talents that he might have to better help the Jedi Order. Although this trilogy was written well before the Prequel Trilogy was released, I do think that there is a good chance Mon Mothma knew or at least strongly suspected who Luke and Leia’s mother was and therefore thought that maybe some of Padme’s political talents had gone to both twins. In short, the book’s start is a lovely reminder that people do not need to be defined by one job or one skill set alone and that there is no reason why Leia cannot be both politician and Jedi.
I actually found the book to be a decent enough read. On its own, it doesn’t really stand up as its own story since much of what happens is clearly just all the set up for the next two books. The Solo Family arrives on Corellia, Lando drags Luke off on his great ‘find a wife’ tour, and trouble really kicks off in the Corellian system. The story pay off is going to have to happen in books 2 and 3.
Waru loves you.
Yesterday, io9 posted a list that covered the 12 Worst Things about the Expanded Universe. We really couldn’t disagree with any of it, but we did notice that it seemed to only run through the 90s. In the spirit of being all-inclusive, we decided to take a stab at the worst the Expanded Universe has to offer through the present day.
Emily rounded up myself, Bria, and Nanci to shamelessly rip off io9’s post and put together our own list of terrible things the Expanded Universe has featured over the years. While we do love the EU, we do recognize that it’s definitely not sacred and there’s a lot of silly stuff that’s made it to print and other tie-in media over the years.
To the jump for 12 things about the Expanded Universe we’ve been trying for years to repress!
Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and Luke Skywalker return in an all-new Star Wars adventure, which will challenge them in ways they never expected—and forever alter their understanding of life and the Force.
When Han and Leia Solo arrive at Lando Calrissian’s Outer Rim mining operation to help him thwart a hostile takeover, their aim is just to even up the odds and lay down the law. Then monstrous aliens arrive with a message, and mere threats escalate into violent sabotage with mass fatalities. When the dust settles, what began as corporate warfare becomes a battle with much higher stakes—and far deadlier consequences.
Now Han, Leia, and Luke team up once again in a quest to defeat a dangerous adversary bent on galaxy-wide domination. Only this time, the Empire is not the enemy. It is a pair of ruthless geniuses with a lethal ally and a lifelong vendetta against Han Solo. They will stop at nothing to control the lucrative Outer Rim mining trade—and ultimately the entire galactic economy. And when the murderous duo gets the drop on Han, he finds himself outgunned in the fight of his life. To save him, and the galaxy, Luke and Leia must brave a gauntlet of treachery, terrorism, and the untold power of an enigmatic artifact capable of bending space, time, and even the Force itself into an apocalyptic nightmare.
Crucible is due out on bookshelves on July 9.
A grain of sodium chloride as seen through a microscope
And it’s time for the rumor mill to sputter to life one more time.
An insider with Nerdvana claims that the Sequel Trilogy will be focusing on a Solo child and grandchild, adding to other rumors and reports that the new films would place a premium on a younger generation of heroes rather than putting Han, Luke, and Leia back in the saddle.
The insider supposedly also had information covering the extent of J.J. Abrams involvement with Lucasfilm and Disney:
JJ’s contract has a clause for all three movies and an additional three of Lucas/Disney choosing if everyone melds well on the first one. This is typical of these types of contracts; gives everyone an out if needed.
So perhaps he’ll be around for more than just Episode VII. Stay tuned? On a final note, there was also a note about Timothy Zahn. If this insider is to be believed, Disney and Lucasfilm are keen on getting Zahn to pen three additional novels. Would these be film novelizations? I wouldn’t think so, but you never know.
At E3 last year, attendees were given a glimpse at the next AAA title LucasArts was working on. Titled Star Wars: 1313, the game was billed as an inter-trilogy action adventure that might be able to revive the struggling development studio. A cinematic trailer was shown and then … little was said about the project.
There’s no telling how much development had gone into the product beyond the pre-rendered video they had shown. Fans began to get concerned as the months after E3 passed without any additional word. One theory was that LucasArts was being quiet because the title was going to be a launch game on a Next Generation platform, but when Sony’s Playstation 4 press conference came and went without any additional word on the game’s status, Kotaku began to investigate. According to their sources, things are not looking good for 1313.
For weeks we’ve heard from multiple sources that the Disney purchase of LucasFilm (which includes LucasArts) has reoriented the company’s gaming division. The focus is on the new trilogy, not on material that is unrelated to the planned JJ Abrams-directed Star Wars: Episode VII. 1313‘s developers may still be fervently plugging away, for all we know. As LucasArts says, the game “continues production.” But it sounds from our sources like it’s not currently moving forward in any official capacity.
The game’s future is very much in doubt at this point. For more, read the entire article over at Kotaku.
It was pure chance that put the best book in the Expanded Universe and the worst one next to each other in the Waru Express reading list. It was also a blessing because after rereading The Crystal Star? I don’t think I could’ve kept going on this project without Starfighters of Adumar being there to hug me and tell me that everything’s going to be okay. So with no further ado, let’s talk about the Best and the Worst that the Expanded Universe has to offer.
The Crystal Star
This book has the distinction of being so awful that I had managed to block everything about it from my memory (except the existence of Waru) until the other night. For those of you who joined me on my livestream, you got to witness my descent into madness. (I believe Brian noted that the Waru Express finally broke me around 9:16 EST.) There was drinking, there was cursing, there was defeated sobbing. There was also the world’s worst Han Solo impression and some singing and some off-color jokes. And then more cursing and more drinking and more pleas to be released from my agreement to read the book. But most importantly, there was Waru. He loves you.