Before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens a slew of comics/books came out to tie into the the launch, giving fans a glimpse at the new characters and some of the events that took place before the film in the time since Return of the Jedi. It was, appropriately, called the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. With Episode VIII set to follow up directly from the end of Force Awakens, I wasn’t sure they’d do something similar, but fortunately Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi is happening.
Yesterday, during some of the publishing panels, our first details/covers on the Journey to The Last Jedi tie-ins were revealed along with the creative teams behind them. If you’re a fan of Captain Phasma (the chrome plated trooper played by Gwendoline Christie), but were upset at her lack of screentime/action…you’re in luck. Marvel is bringing a four issue mini-series, Star Wars: Captain Phasma, out later this year from writer Kelly Thompson and artist Marco Checchetto.
The series will detail exactly how Phasma managed to escape from the trash compactor she was left in by Han Solo and Finn, and survived the destruction of Starkiller Base. That’s not all the character is getting, however, as Star Wars: Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson is coming from Del Rey on September 1st.
Dawson wrote an excellent Star Wars short story a couple years ago, The Perfect Weapon, so I’m eager to see what she can do with the full novel. No real details have been given on this novel aside from the date and cover, but with Del Rey’s panel going down later today, we should (hopefully) get more plot specifics.
Movie away from Phasma, Disney Publishing is also launching a couple of young adult novels as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Star Wars: Leia – Princess of Alderaan will focus on the early life of the Princess. The most exciting aspect of that is it’s coming from author Claudia Gray, who has written the best Star Wars books of the new Canon so far (Lost Stars and Bloodline). That book is set to launch in September as well, though nothing specific was announced.
Ken Lui, a Star Wars newcomer, is writing The Legends of Luke Skywalker, which will provide some more insight on the iconic hero, though they haven’t revealed many details at this point. The book is set to launch on October 31, 2017.
As I said, there’s more book panels to come today, and more details will undoubtedly be revealed in the months to come. For now, however, you get an idea of the Star Wars literature on the horizon. Which of these are you looking forward to most?
-Jordan
