The unique Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith shed light on one of the most interesting periods in the timeline when it came out on Tuesday, bringing us on an epic journey with Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian and Reys mystical moms and dads in the duration in between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The book also dives in to some unexpected ancient Sith secrets and establishes brand-new prospective risks to the galaxy. This is an essential read if you were captivated by the secrets hinted at in The Rise of Skywalker. Itll answer numerous of your concerns and open a bunch of amazing storytelling possibilities for the future. Its written by New Zealand-born author Adam Christopher, whose previous work consists of superhero-noir adventure Empire State, the sci-fi horror Spider War series and Stranger Things tie-in novel Darkness on the Edge of Town. I got to take a deep dive into Shadow of the Sith with the UK-based Christopher throughout a lengthy Zoom interview, where we went over calling Reys moms and dads, specifying Luke as a Jedi master, checking out a new side of Lando and developing new Sith dangers to the galaxy. Full SPOILERS for the novel lie ahead, so I d recommend waiting until youve completed the book to continue. Heres a transcript of our discussion, gently modified for clearness. Tell me your Star Wars origin story.Christopher: Im a traditional kid of the 80s; Im precisely the ideal age to have actually matured with the films, the action figures and the toys. Its largely down to my papa since he was a huge science fiction fan; he took me to see Star Wars in 1978. He worked in advertising and he used to do company journeys to Asia and Taiwan, and bring back loads of toys that you could not get in New Zealand. So it was a completely privileged Star Wars youth. And I would enjoy the Original Trilogy on VHS; we utilized to lease it from the video shop, like every weekend for 5 or 6 years and I would watch nothing else. I can still recite those movies off by heart– Im sure a lot of people my age can. Shadow of the Sith came out on Tuesday.
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How did you end up composing Shadow of the Sith?Christopher: I had done two narratives for the From a Certain Point of View anthologies– these were for the 40th anniversaries of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back– and I d done a backup comic in IDWs Star Wars Adventures. I was going to do a Mandalorian novel a couple of years earlier, but that didnt go ahead.They invited me to do another book instead in early 2021 and resembled, “Well, weve got this story about Lando and Luke when they go chasing after Ochi of Bestoon, how about you do that story?” And I was like, “Yeah, of course”– I could not think it. I do not think Ive ever responded to an e-mail much faster than that. I keep in mind hearing the line in The Rise of Skywalker when Lando mentions that experience, and “Oh, I d quite like to get more on that.” Christopher: I saw Rise of Skywalker most likely 4 or five times when it was launched. When Lando says that to Rey, my response was, “What do you mean Lando and Luke went off on this experience? What a weird pairing.” Long before I was gon na do the book, I believed what a cool story that would be. I get to write it years later, which is kind of odd. As a Star Wars fan, Im simply geeking out due to the fact that I get to do that story.I treated it like Episode 6.5– this story is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens– this needed to be a cinematic legendary experience. It was a joy to compose since I like Star Wars, however it was likewise an obligation due to the fact that I had to connect the original trilogy and the follow up trilogy. Shadow of the Sith reveals that Reys moms and dads are called Miramir and Dathan. Where did those names come from?Christopher: So, this is a deep, secret, magic in-depth look at the composing procedure: I had a good friend at school called Dathan. And I simply believed it was a cool name. I think its a more common name in the States, however I desired something that was not extremely common, however likewise like an earthy name. Star Wars is that wonderful thing where theres a mix of kind of strange alien names and after that youve got Luke and Ben. And when you go into the books and the comics, you discover much more examples.The book reveals that Reys moms and dads, formerly glimpsed just in flashback in The Rise of Skywalker, are called Dathan and Miramir.
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Christopher: Well, shes absolutely got talents. And Dathan acknowledges that; shes the one that gets them out of a couple of scrapes in the book. Her family, which we get tips of in the book, would be quite fascinating to explore.Palpatine works his beauty in The Phantom Menace
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It seems like Dathan shares a few of Palpatines qualities. “A charming smile and a glib tone,” I check out that and believed “sounds a lot like his dad.” Hes had an uncommon youth on Exegol, but hes still Palpatine in a manner. Not a clone, but a genetic stress cast, because Palpatine was experimenting with trying to find the ideal vessel [for his spirit to inhabit] Yeah, you believe back to Senator Palpatine and the method he controls the whole prequel trilogy [ where he wipes out the Jedi and declares himself Emperor], which is amazing.Dathan doesnt actually truly understand the Emperor but he understands where it comes from. Hes not Force delicate at all, but he doesnt understand what else Palpatine has prepared or crafted for him. So hes sort of a bit angsty about his own background. But yeah, that line is a reflection of where he comes from– thats what Palpatine had. A charmer and a manipulator.Palpatines presence in the novel is truly remarkable– hes barely in it, but theres a spooky sense that hes always in the background.The scene where Ochi is offered the knife and his eyes switch off … and he hears the voice in the blackness– thats a huge, cinematic moment. If it was a movie, the screen goes black, you get the voice of Palpatine echoing and then the searing red of a lightsaber. That was the first thing that pertained to my mind, so I composed it first.The Emperor, seen in The Rise of Skywalker, runs from the shadows in Christophers book.
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Palpatine is dead, but hes not dead; things are moving in the background that no one understands about, his strategy to survive beyond the end of the Original Trilogy is underway. And nobody knows. Hes a great character, hes just in the book for a handful of lines, however thats enough.It was interesting to recall at the flashbacks of Miramir and Dathan in The Rise of Skywalker after checking out the novel– Ive seen that movie multiple times and I dont believe I ever observed the thugs in the background.Christopher: I viewed The Rise of Skwalker frame by frame to truly understand it– the flashbacks are actually essential because its the only time we ever see Miramir, Dathan and Ochi; its only for a few seconds.
During the summary, I was like, “Theres individuals behind them in the ship! When theyre killed, theres like two aliens with guns behind Miramir and Dathan. I need to explain that.” I discovered a method for everything to fit together. My preferred thing in The Empire Strikes Back as a kid was the bounty hunters, due to the fact that you see them for 20 seconds. We have no backstory, no discussion, no names even, till the action figures. Those are the ones I played with, since I could inform their story– we didnt see it in the movie, so I could produce it. The great feature of the follow up trilogy is that it continued that custom of incredible background characters and details you see for, like, five seconds. Those are the examples that interest me. You got to define Luke Skywalker in his prime. Did you feel pressure with that?Christopher: I definitely felt the type of duty to do him correctly. But likewise, this is a Luke Skywalker that we havent really seen before. In the original trilogy, He goes on his whole psychological journey; ending up being a Jedi, concerning terms with his past and his household and the redemption of Anakin.So, to have him almost 20 years later on was actually fascinating– what was he going to resemble at that point? We see in the end of The Mandalorian season 2, when he comes in to rescue Grogu, hes a Jedi warrior– doing incredible things with a lightsaber, which was remarkable. And then you get to The Book of Boba Fett, where we see him beginning to train Grogu– hes the tranquil Jedi master, serene and calm. The Book of Boba Fett provided us with a “calm and peaceful” Luke.
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Hes got the ultimate first-hand knowledge of what the Dark Side can do and what the Force can do if its misused. Hes a Luke Skywalker we can recognize, however its likewise a brand-new Luke Skywalker, since hes moved on. Anakin Skywalker (seen as a Force ghost with Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Return of the Jedi) makes an appearance in Christophers novel.
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They trusted me enough for the story, which is great.Lando in Shadow of the Sith felt like a variation of the character we had not seen before.Christopher: We understand Lando as the playboy, the bettor, the business person whos maybe slightly dubious often– a guy with a strategy. When we initially meet him in the book, hes in a cantina– hes gambling and having a drink. Lando Calrissian, seen in The Rise of Skywalker, gets a brand-new opportunity for an experience in the book.
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When he overhears Ochi talking about the Sith and this entire plot of kidnapping, that galvanizes him and reignites the fire. Its uncommon for a book to be able to develop one of the primary characters to Star Wars in an actually meaningful way. They likewise each blew up a Death Star.Christopher: Of course they were going to come together– theyre the Death Star destroyers.Kiza features in a tiny poster that comes with the special Barnes & & Noble edition of Shadow of the Sith.
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How did you develop that?Christopher: You can use the Sith to bring out the horror element in Star Wars. We likewise see Dathan, as a more youthful clone or hair cast, following the cultists as they chant the names of all the Sith Lords– thats scary. The Sith enable us to examine that side of Star Wars.
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The best kind of tie-in books, whether its Star Wars or Doctor Who or whatever, if theres things that the superfan can recognize and get a buzz out of– amazing. With those Sith Lords. Christopher took inspiration from the stories in Star Wars: Dark Legends.
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Darth Noctyss (which is an actually cool name) played a significant indirect function in Shadow of the Sith. given that Kiza utilizes the dead Sith Lords lightsaber and its curved blade.Christopher: Noctyss is from Dark Legends by George Mann. Its part of a series with Fables and misconceptions and a Christmas one he co-wrote with Cavan Scott. Theyre not canon, theyre fairy tales within the Star Wars universe. So I believed like any kind of legend or misconception in our own world, theres frequently a component of reality. It was an actually cool chance to fit all of it together. We likewise had Exim Panshard, an ancient Sith Lord who kinda lives on and controls Kiza through his mask. The flashback to his reign is extremely metal and gothic.Christopher: It was an opportunity to explore an area we have not seen or found out about. Who knows what period hes from? The flashback is almost medieval. And we understood Sith relics, and most likely Jedi artifacts, can hold power. And foolish people think that they can control that power, which is clearly a huge mistake.In the Aftermath trilogy [by author Chuck Wendig], its established that the mask echoes with the scream of all the souls of those hes killed. What did he need to do to produce that type of power? He thought he might live forever, and in order to do that, he required the power created by the deaths of as many individuals as he might eliminate. Its destruction on a commercial scale. In the flashback, he has machines built to kill the population of the planet he rules. Its villainy on a scale you do not often see. Kiza first appeared in the Aftermath books, where we got a little her background and she was provided the mask by among the Emperors advisors since he wished to use her as a puppet. He understood he could not use it himself, so he provided it to among the foolish Acolytes of the Beyond that he could manage and gain power from. It appeared like the threat of Panshard intensified to a level weve hardly ever seen given that the books of the Legends era (stories gotten rid of from the connection prior to The Force Awakens release)– he became this very increased villain. Was that something that was in your mind as you wrote?Christopher: It was simply type of how it came out. And as a fan, my bookshelf has lots of Star Wars books, which I like and have read for years and years. So I really was simply concentrated on informing the very best story that I could.Panshard is a various sort of Star Wars bad guy. Due to the fact that the readers dont really understand what he can do, its scary. And it becomes worse for Kiza leading into the finale, which sees Luke and his allies taking on versus this monster from another age. I discovered it remarkable that Kiza wasnt redeemed in the end, despite getting every opportunity.Christopher: Redemption is a significant theme of Star Wars, but she was lost to the mask. She knew it was going to damage her, however she couldnt do anything about it, no matter how much she might have desired it. It was too strong.Ochi of Bestoon, seen in flashback in The Rise of Skywalker, becomes progressively unhinged in Shadow of the Sith.
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In between Kiza with the mask and Ochi with the dagger, I felt like there was a strong style of addiction with those Sith artifacts. Was that intentional on your part?Christopher: Yeah, since thats the temptation of the Dark Side and the appeal of it. Ochi developed an obsession with Exegol. He went there with Vader in the Marvel comics and it was a bad time [Ochi was disfigured] He desires to get to Exegol again since he thinks its a place of rebirth and regeneration. Addiction was absolutely a purposeful style of the book, because Kiza and Ochi have these fascinations. Kaiser dislikes the mask, but she cant not put it on. Ochi is so consumed with getting to Exegol that hell do anything, so the blade is feeding off his feelings– hatred and fascination– developing a feedback loop. It pumps them back into him.
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Christopher: The Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stober, which is the biggest Star Wars book ever written. And one of my preferred Star Wars authors is Michael A. Stackpole, who wrote X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, I, Jedi and rather a number of other books. Theres an Easter egg about him in Shadow of the Sith, but Ill leave that as a surprise for individuals who can identify it.
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I got to take a deep dive into Shadow of the Sith with the UK-based Christopher during a lengthy Zoom interview, where we discussed naming Reys parents, specifying Luke as a Jedi master, checking out a brand-new side of Lando and developing new Sith risks to the galaxy. They trusted me enough for the story, which is great.Lando in Shadow of the Sith felt like a variation of the character we had not seen before.Christopher: We know Lando as the playboy, the gambler, the business owner whos possibly somewhat dubious sometimes– a man with a plan. How did you develop that?Christopher: You can use the Sith to bring out the horror aspect in Star Wars. The Sith allow us to examine that side of Star Wars. It was too strong.Ochi of Bestoon, seen in flashback in The Rise of Skywalker, ends up being significantly unhinged in Shadow of the Sith.