Tag: expanded universe

Shadows of the Empire

Shadows of the Empire: The Movie-Without-the-Movie Extravaganza of 1996

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In 2015, I conducted a series of interviews with some of the people who worked on the Shadows of the Empire project concocted by Lucasfilm back in 1996. I loved the project, warts and all, from the moment it was released so it was a joy to conduct these interviews and gain multiple inside perspectives on what it was like to create such an expansive project. The essay was written for the Expanded Universe anthology called A More Civilized Age: Exploring the Star Wars Expanded Universe (2016) from my friends Rich Handley and Joe Berenato. I’ve decided to reprint the essay here on my site because I feel it sheds some more light on the nearly 30-year-old project and ended up revealing a few facts that were previously unknown to me about the inner workings of Lucasfilm at the time.

I’ve slightly edited this essay for the Internet by removing footnotes and changing them to links, and other small things like that. All quotes, unless otherwise indicated, are from my interviews. For more fun, head over to Facebook and like my Shadows of the Empire fan page.

I hope you enjoy the essay.

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Interview with Peter Mayhew
(Original posting: January 16, 2001)

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At seven feet four inches tall, it goes without saying that Peter Mayhew is a big man. Fortunately, he has a heart just as big. Not only is Peter one of the nicest Star Wars celebrities I have met but he’s always ready and willing to share his fondest memories with the fans over and over again. Peter first worked as a hospital attendant at the King’s College Hospital in London when film producer Charles Schneer cast him in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. One year later, he became Chewbacca and entered the world of popular culture. Though he has not done much acting since the Star Wars films, he keeps very busy at conventions and is always ready to don the hairy walking carpet once again if asked, no matter the occasion. Peter is very proud of his role and his contribution to Star Wars. I recently interviewed Peter and we talked about life as Chewie, what he thinks of Chewie’s big finale in the Expanded Universe, the Holiday Special, and much more. (Original posting: January 16, 2001)

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Interview with Alan Dean Foster
(Original Posting: July 03, 2002)

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Alan Dean Foster and Star Wars go way back to the beginning of it all. You may remember Foster as the author who ghost-wrote the novelization of the original Star Wars. He soon and unknowingly became the granddaddy of the Expanded Universe by writing the first piece of tie-in fiction approved by Lucasfilm called Splinter of the Mind’s Eye which takes place between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. When it was revealed that Foster was returning to Star Wars once again many years later to pen a novel that would bridge the prequels Episode I and Episode II, fans were nothing short of delighted, especially fans like myself who enjoyed the original novelization. The new book is called The Approaching Storm and will be released in February of 2002. I was very pleased to talk to Mr. Foster and chew the Star Wars rag for a while. You can check out his website at www.alandeanfoster.com.
(Original Posting: July 03, 2002) Read More

Interview with Ann C. Crispin
(Original Posting: September 20, 1998)

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Ann C. Crispin is the author of several best selling books which include the Star Trek novels Yesterday’s Son, A Time For Yesterday and The Eyes of the Beholders. She has co-authored two fantasy books with noted fantasy author Andre Norton and collaborated with several other authors on other projects as well including the novelization of Alien: Resurrection.

She has created her own universe with the Starbridge series. The books center around a school for young diplomats, translators and explorers both alien and human located on an asteroid far from Earth. Several books from this series have been recognized as superior reading material for young adults by the American Library Association. Books in this series have also been in consideration for the Nebula award (The top award given by the Sci-fi and fantasy writers of America).

In 1995, Ann produced two short stories for the Bantam Books Star Wars Publishing program: Play It Again, Figrin D’An and Skin Deep for the Anthologies Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales From Jabba’s Palace. These stories led to an invitation to write a new Han Solo trilogy about Solo’s pre-Star Wars adventures for Lucasfilm/Bantam, which are fantastic.

Ann is a very busy person these days but she took time out of her schedule to answer a few questions.
(Original Posting: September 20, 1998)

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Interview with Aaron Allston
(Original Posting: May 16, 1998)

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In 1996, the Star Wars Expanded Universe was off and running with many critically acclaimed books and other tie-ins under its belt. It was around this time that Mike Stackpole’s “X-Wing” series of novels were released and started to fly off the shelves. These centered on the famous Rogue Squadron, founded by Luke Skywalker. Stackpole found it hard to keep up with the workload, and so another author, Aaron Allson, was brought in to assist. Instead of continuing the story of Rogue Squadron, however, he created his own group of pilots dubbed Wraith Squadron. A band of misfits and criminals, they are hell-bent on thwarting Warlord Zsinj’s attempts at taking over the falling Empire. The first book, Wraith Squadron burst with action and I am sure the second and third will be just as thrilling. I asked Aaron a few questions about Wraith Squadron. (Original Posting: May 16, 1998) Read More

A More Civilized Age…Exploring the Star Wars Expanded Universe

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Last year, Sequart published a pair of anthology books discussing Star Wars, starting with A Long Time Ago… Exploring the Star Wars Cinematic Universe and followed by A Galaxy Far, Far Away… Exploring Star Wars Comics. To round out the trilogy, as is often the case with many things Star Wars, Sequart released its third in the series, A More Civilized Age… Exploring the Star Wars Expanded Universe! Read More

Interview with Steve Perry
(Original posting: February 8, 1998)

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Steve Perry, author of Shadows of the Empire, was the first author to pen a Star Wars novel that took place between two original trilogy films: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Most of the books that came out since Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire in 1991 were set after the theatrical trilogy’s finale. Shadows of the Empire is a fantastic piece of work and accurately reflects the action, adventure, and excitement of the original trilogy. It was launched as part of a huge multimedia extravaganza including a CD soundtrack, video game, action figures and toys, comics, and more. Some aspects of the project were even referenced in the Star Wars: A New Hope Special Edition. Steve was kind enough to answer a few quick questions about his work. (Original posting: February 8, 1998)

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New Animated Series Announced: Star Wars Rebels

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When George Lucas decided to retire and sell Lucasfilm, everyone expected a few changes. New President, Kathleen Kennedy, faced many challenges and had to make some hard decisions. Under the oppressively huge shadow of the multimedia juggernaut known as Disney, it appeared that some of those decisions might have instead fallen into the demand rather than decision category.

Being that Disney already had well-established multimedia divisions in place, the decision to dismantle certain entities such as LucasArts seemed to be aimed at avoiding competition with oneself.  Disney’s interactive arm already develops games and software, among other things. Why have another internal company creating games? I know they’ve hired EA, but I’m sure they’ll develop some stuff internally. Something similar could be said for Lucasfilm’s animation division. The successful Clone Wars animated series was abruptly canceled which upset many fans and left some story arcs incomplete. Almost a whole season sits in limbo, waiting to find its way to fans. Will Disney buy and air the final episodes? Probably not. Will they go straight to DVD? Possibly. We’ll see. I never really watched the show but what I did see was pretty good.

The show aired on Cartoon Network, a direct competitor to Disney’s television stations, including Disney XD which is the home to many of Disney’s shows including Spider-Man and Avengers cartoons as well as other animated and live action programs.

So why cancel the show in the first place? No one really knows for sure but it probably revolved around money somehow. Perhaps Disney didn’t want to buy the show out or just didn’t want anything to do with something touched by the Time Warner-owned Cartoon Network.

In any case, we’re getting something else now: Star Wars Rebels.

Many a fan, including myself have wondered when Lucasfilm would venture into this nearly untouched period of time before Episode IV concerning the “Jedi Purge,” in fanboy speak. I didn’t think we’d get it in animated form but just because one medium is involved, doesn’t mean others won’t follow. Once new characters and scenarios are established, endless books, comics, and perhaps even films will be sure to follow.

Here’s an excerpt from the Starwars.com press release:

Production has begun on Star Wars Rebels, an exciting, all-new animated television series based on one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time. Scheduled to premiere in fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel, it will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.

The action-filled series is set between the events of Episode III and IV — an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen. Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. Details about the show are a closely guarded secret at this point.

Source: Starwars.com 

Kenobi Gets a Cover

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John Jackson Millers’ eagerly awaited novel Star Wars: Kenobi finally has a cover to wrap around the August 27th novel that tells of Ben’s time on Tatooine protecting young Luke Skywalker.

Here’s a brief summary . . .

tuxTatooine—a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding, or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.

Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.

Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.

 

Source: Jedi News. UK

Shadows of the Empire Fan Film on Kickstarter

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Shadows of the Empire is hands down my favorite Expanded Universe story. I feel it’s one of the only ones that really captured the essence of the other Star Wars films. Neatly sandwiched between Empire and Jedi, it filled a gap which definitely needed filling.

It read just like one of the films. It had a great story, a really cool villain, all the usual characters (except Han who was still frozen at the time), plus enough new bits and pieces to keep it fresh and interesting.

Those who were around and following it at the time will remember that it was a huge media blitz consisting of a book, comic adaptation, video game, soundtrack score, action figures, toys, trading cards and more. I loved the book and even interviewed the author for this site.

So when I saw that some fan-filmmakers started a Kickstarter drive to make the film, my interest was naturally piqued. They’re looking to raise $10,000.

Head over and check out the Kickstarter page. If you’re interested, back the project.

Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno

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I’m not a huge follower of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, which consists largely of printed publications. Very few Star Wars stories that were not concocted by George Lucas himself pique my interest anymore. I liked a few in the beginning, like Tim Zahn’s first trilogy and a few others, but it takes something a bit more epic to make me me to go out and buy a Star Wars book these days. A book that directly leads into one of the films would be a good example, and that’s what Labyrinth of Evil is—so I picked it up.

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