The novel also dives in to some surprising ancient Sith secrets and sets up brand-new prospective risks to the galaxy. I got to take a deep dive into Shadow of the Sith with the UK-based Christopher during a prolonged Zoom interview, where we discussed naming Reys parents, defining Luke as a Jedi master, checking out a new side of Lando and developing new Sith dangers to the galaxy. Shadow of the Sith came out on Tuesday.
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How did you end up writing Shadow of the Sith?Christopher: I had actually done 2 brief stories 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. Shadow of the Sith reveals that Reys moms and dads are called Miramir and Dathan. Star Wars is that wonderful thing where theres a mix of kind of weird alien names and then youve got Luke and Ben.
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With Miramir, I wanted a sort of dream name, because in the book we see her house world– its not wonderful, but it has a twilight forest and is extremely mysterious. Theres a place in Wellington in New Zealand called Miramar, which is where Weta Studios, who made Lord of the Rings, are based. I simply typed it in, switched a few of the letters and I resembled “Well hold on– that sounds actually cool.” It had a kind of magical quality, it sounds practically Elven. It was also a contrast to Dathan, which is fairly basic. Whereas Miramir sounds a little bit transcendent. Right. Even though Dathan is sort of a clone of a wicked space wizard, hes a relatively regular guy. I got the sense that maybe Miramir has Force potential. Christopher: Well, shes certainly got skills. And Dathan acknowledges that; shes the one that gets them out of a couple of scrapes in the book. Her household, which we get tips of in the book, would be rather fascinating to explore.Palpatine works his beauty in The Phantom Menace
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It looks like Dathan shares a few of Palpatines characteristics. “A lovely smile and a glib tone,” I check out that and believed “sounds a lot like his father.” Hes had an uncommon youth on Exegol, but hes still Palpatine in such a way. Not a clone, however a hereditary pressure cast, due to the fact that Palpatine was try out searching for the perfect vessel [for his spirit to occupy] However yeah, you think back to Senator Palpatine and the way he manipulates the entire prequel trilogy [ where he erases the Jedi and declares himself Emperor], which is amazing.Dathan does not really truly know the Emperor but he knows where it comes from. Hes not Force delicate at all, however he doesnt know what else Palpatine has prepared or engineered for him. Hes kind of a bit angsty about his own background. Yeah, that line is a reflection of where he comes from– thats what Palpatine had. A manipulator.palpatine and a charmers presence in the novel is actually remarkable– hes hardly in it, but theres an eerie sense that hes always in the background.The scene where Ochi is given the knife and his eyes switch off … and he hears the voice in the blackness– thats a huge, cinematic moment. If it was a film, the screen goes black, you get the voice of Palpatine echoing and after that the searing red of a lightsaber. That was the first thing that concerned my mind, so I wrote it first.The Emperor, seen in The Rise of Skywalker, runs from the shadows in Christophers book.
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Palpatine is dead, however hes not dead; things are moving in the background that nobody learns about, his plan to make it through beyond the end of the Original Trilogy is underway. And no one knows. Hes a fantastic character, hes just in the book for a handful of lines, but thats enough.It was fascinating to look back at the flashbacks of Miramir and Dathan in The Rise of Skywalker after checking out the book– Ive seen that motion picture numerous times and I dont think I ever saw the hooligans in the background.Christopher: I enjoyed The Rise of Skwalker frame by frame to actually understand it– the flashbacks are actually crucial since its the only time we ever see Miramir, Dathan and Ochi; its just for a couple of seconds.
You got to specify Luke Skywalker in his prime. Likewise, this is a Luke Skywalker that we have not actually seen before. The Book of Boba Fett provided us with a “calm and tranquil” Luke.
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Theres two components to his character at that point, post-Return of the Jedi. He is generally the most effective individual in the galaxy at that point. The secret to his character for me was that hes conscious of the power that he has. Which suggests that everything he was doing, he was thoroughly evaluating and stabilizing. At every point, hes believing what could he do and what should he do? If its misused, hes got the ultimate first-hand understanding of what the Dark Side can do and what the Force can do. Hes reconstructing the Jedi Order, hes training his nephew– hes mindful of that obligation also since of the household history. Hes a Luke Skywalker we can recognize, but its also a new Luke Skywalker, because hes moved on. Hes trying to be constantly aware, however it detaches him a little from others. Which is where Lando can be found in, bringing back a little that human touch. Since Lando is extremely much on the minute and attempting to assist Reys household while Luke is looking at the larger image. They work well to stabilize each other. Anakin Skywalker (viewed 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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The scene where Anakin speaks to Luke is pretty effective, another meeting of father and boy– is that certainly Anakin? I wondered if it was Palpatine being a rascal.Definitely Anakin. I was like “Whats potentially the most significant thing I could do?” Have Luke satisfy his dad. Which [Lucasfilm] let me do. They trusted me enough for the story, which is great.Lando in Shadow of the Sith felt like a version of the character we hadnt seen before.Christopher: We know Lando as the playboy, the bettor, the business person whos possibly a little dubious sometimes– a guy with a strategy. What would occur to a person like that when he goes through the personal catastrophe of his daughter being kidnapped? That would turn anybodys life upside down. Especially since the book is set 6 years after she was kidnapped, and he hasnt found her– all the leads have gone cold and hes wandering. When we initially fulfill him in the book, hes in a cantina– hes betting and having a beverage. Because thats the situation where hes in control, its extremely simple for him to go back to those old practices. Lando Calrissian, seen in The Rise of Skywalker, gets a brand-new opportunity for an adventure in the book.
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In the larger image, his life runs out control. When he overhears Ochi talking about the Sith and this whole plot of kidnapping, that galvanizes him and reignites the fire. Hes been looking for some method of choosing himself up and getting back on his mission. Hes the Lando we understand, however theres something essentially various about him. Its uncommon for a book to be able to establish one of the main characters to Star Wars in an actually meaningful method. With Luke too, it was a really terrific opportunity– its kind of like developing a new character, however hes the character that we currently know and love. It ended up being clear also these two have actually gone on divergent paths. They werent buddies, however theyve been pals for 20 years, and part of the story is them uncovering the relationship they had. They discover from each other in the book. They also each exploded a Death Star.Christopher: Of course they were going to come together– theyre the Death Star destroyers.Kiza includes in a small poster that comes with the special Barnes & & Noble edition of Shadow of the Sith.
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My preferred element of the book was the unusual arcane Sith things, due to the fact that it was unexpected. How did you develop that?Christopher: You can utilize the Sith to draw out the scary element in Star Wars. The idea of Sith antiques and the kind of power that is echoing from the past, that has actually survived in some way, its mysterious and really nebulous. I wished to call up the Siths creepy factor and let the readers creativity take control of. Kiza is the bad guy. She has her own personal catastrophe. She has her own mission, in her own requirement for redemption, but shes trapped. There are several scenes on Exegol, where Luke has a vision where hes battling these wraiths. We also see Dathan, as a younger clone or strand cast, following the cultists as they chant the names of all the Sith Lords– thats scary. The Sith allow us to examine that side of Star Wars. We see it in The Rise of Skywalker with the cultists, and I managed to focus it on particular characters in the book. Those guys shouting the dead Sith Lords names was quite scrumptious as a fan. Did you specify them or did it come through an edit?Christopher: I was left to my own devices. With that scene, the very first draft was probably just 2 pages– a big list. Like, “What Sith Lords can I mention? Oh, Revan, Noctus and Shaa.” And I made some up. Then the list was extremely long, so I cut it back to nevertheless many it is in the book.Darth Revan, who played a significant role in the Knights of the Old Republic video games and will return in the upcoming remake, is amongst the Sith Lords name-checked in the novel.
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The finest kind of tie-in books, whether its Star Wars or Doctor Who or whatever, if theres stuff that the superfan can get a buzz and acknowledge out of– fantastic. With those Sith Lords. Christopher took motivation from the stories in Star Wars: Dark Legends.
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Darth Noctyss (which is a truly cool name) played a major indirect function in Shadow of the Sith. And we understood Sith relics, and presumably Jedi artifacts, can hold power. It was too strong.Ochi of Bestoon, seen in flashback in The Rise of Skywalker, ends up being increasingly unhinged in Shadow of the Sith.
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Between Kiza with the mask and Ochi with the dagger, I felt like there was a strong style of dependency with those Sith artifacts. Dependency was absolutely a deliberate theme of the book, considering that Kiza and Ochi have these fixations. Ochi is so obsessed with getting to Exegol that hell do anything, so the blade is feeding off his feelings– hatred and fixation– producing a feedback loop.
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Christopher: The Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stober, which is the biggest Star Wars book ever composed. 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, however Ill leave that as a surprise for people who can spot it.
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I got to take a deep dive into Shadow of the Sith with the UK-based Christopher throughout a lengthy Zoom interview, where we talked about calling Reys parents, defining Luke as a Jedi master, checking out a brand-new side of Lando and establishing brand-new Sith threats 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 hadnt seen before.Christopher: We know Lando as the playboy, the gambler, the entrepreneur whos possibly a little dubious sometimes– a male with a strategy. How did you develop that?Christopher: You can utilize the Sith to bring out the scary element in Star Wars. The Sith allow us to take a look at that side of Star Wars. It was too strong.Ochi of Bestoon, seen in flashback in The Rise of Skywalker, becomes progressively unhinged in Shadow of the Sith.