Details on new "Heir to The Empire" anniversary edition

[Admiral_Young]

No one wants to touch a possible rape scenario because Star Wars is supposed to be targeted towards kids and Lucas would NEVER write or probably imply something that tragic and brutal.

 

[FalTorPan]

No one wants to touch a possible rape scenario because Star Wars is supposed to be targeted towards kids and Lucas would NEVER write or probably imply something that tragic and brutal.

That's true. Instead he'd show Anakin Skywalker slaughtering a tribe of Tusken Raiders, and later all Jedi younglings. Oh, and cloned soldiers eradicating the Jedi Knights. Oh, and the burned-to-the-bone remains of Owen and Beru Lars. Oh, and Jar Jar Binks.

 

[Gaith]

No one wants to touch a possible rape scenario because Star Wars is supposed to be targeted towards kids and Lucas would NEVER write or probably imply something that tragic and brutal.

Well, come on. We do know that Anakin used Dark Side powers to make Padme fall in love with him. How else can you explain him giving his line about sand and still getting the girl?!

 

[Admiral_Young]

Stupidity? LOL. Good points.

 

[Set Harth]

Other stuff that eventually got incorporated into the EU (but was somewhat overriden by the prequels), such as C3PO being a century old and Han Solo being briefly an Imperial pilot, also show up.

The C3PO thing can still work. I don't think we're meant to assume Anakin actually made all the parts which comprise C3PO, just that he put them together.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I would be curious to know what the story was supposed to be (around 81 or 82) before Lucas fired everyone who would stand up to him

This is the version of history told by Gary Kurtz because its the one that makes him look best. Yet a very different picture is painted in the book The Making of Star Wars: The Making of Empire Strikes Back by J.W. Rinzler.

It was not creative differences that lead to Kurtz not returning to produce JEDI. But problems on the set of EMPIRE that Kurtz should have prevented. Kurtz and director Irvin Kershner did not get along too well.

No this is not some revisionist "Lucas approved" history. There are many comments made during the production of the movie by cast and crew members that Kurtz was not doing his job well.

 

[milo bloom]

They already had a comic version. The Noghri were gigantic and Page was an alien.

Yeah and I believe it's collected as well.

Yup.

This sounds neat, but not neat enough to buy; I'll probably get it through ILL.

Where's the best online place to buy something like that or the hardcover compilation of Dark Empire?

tks

 

[Set Harth]

The two-page spread they had in the HTTE comic establishing Rwookrrorro was beautiful, only marred by the break between the pages in the middle.

 

[Hound of UIster]

I would be curious to know what the story was supposed to be (around 81 or 82) before Lucas fired everyone who would stand up to him and changed it all up in the prequels.

Gary Kurtz has always spoken more of the Sequel Trilogy than the Prequel Trilogy, but he has mentioned the Prequels on occasion.

Here's a little bit from a November 2002 interview:

Well a lot of the prequel ideas were very, very vague. It's really difficult to say. I can't remember much about that at all, except dealing with the Clone Wars and the formation of the Jedi Knights in the first place – that was supposed to be one of the keys of Episode I, was going to be how the Jedi Knights came to be. But all of those notes were abandoned completely.

Lucas' ex-wife has spoken a little bit about the Prequels, too, but the only thing I remember from that was that Boba Fett was to be Vader's brother.

I think Lucas had some broad ideas of what the Prequel Trilogy would be, but as Kurtz says elsewhere in that interview, when Lucas decided to go off-outline for Jedi, it threw a lot of his previous ideas into flux and made some things, like the Sequel Trilogy as originally planned, impossible. I'm sure the Prequels suffered narrative damage, too, and what was filmed isn't likely to be particularly close to what Lucas imagined decades ago. The myth that the six-film Saga is what Lucas always intended is just that -- a myth.

Kurtz is full of it.

Lucas never had any ideas for the prequels. His general idea back when Kurtz was there was for SW to be passed around like a round robin with directors that he admired working on them. Similar to James Bond. Episodics movies that could go back and fourth across the timeline. In a model very much like what the CW episodes are doing.

The story of the sequel trilogy if there was any was probably about the "other" that Yoda talked about. Back when it wasn't Luke's sister, but someone else entire.

 

[Set Harth]

From interviews given by Lucas in the OT era, the backstory or "first trilogy" - whether destined to be made into films or not - would involve Obi-Wan and Luke's father. Given the age of the Jedi Order as cited by ANH, this does not fit with the idea that Episode I would cover the formation of the Order. Nor does it make sense to chronologically conflate the Clone Wars with the Order's creation. That quote makes it look like Kurtz was simply unfamiliar with the timeline as laid out in ANH.

 

[Stevil2001]

They already had a comic version. The Noghri were gigantic and Page was an alien.

Yeah and I believe it's collected as well.

Yup.

This sounds neat, but not neat enough to buy; I'll probably get it through ILL.

Where's the best online place to buy something like that or the hardcover compilation of Dark Empire?

tks

Presumably Amazon or your online book vendor of choice.

 

[Owain Taggart]

They already had a comic version. The Noghri were gigantic and Page was an alien.

Yeah and I believe it's collected as well.

Yup.

This sounds neat, but not neat enough to buy; I'll probably get it through ILL.

Well, this sucks. I got a Chapters gift card for Christmas that I decided to use to buy this, but I seem to have waited too long, as it now displays as "Temporarily Unavailable", which is usually codename for out of print. I can only hope they get more copies in stock.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Yeah Chapters Online tends to suck in regards to that stuff...you want something a little old? Too bad. LOL. Sigh. Chapters sucks.

 

[ClayinCA]

I would be curious to know what the story was supposed to be (around 81 or 82) before Lucas fired everyone who would stand up to him and changed it all up in the prequels.

Gary Kurtz has always spoken more of the Sequel Trilogy than the Prequel Trilogy, but he has mentioned the Prequels on occasion.

Here's a little bit from a November 2002 interview:

Well a lot of the prequel ideas were very, very vague. It's really difficult to say. I can't remember much about that at all, except dealing with the Clone Wars and the formation of the Jedi Knights in the first place – that was supposed to be one of the keys of Episode I, was going to be how the Jedi Knights came to be. But all of those notes were abandoned completely.

Lucas' ex-wife has spoken a little bit about the Prequels, too, but the only thing I remember from that was that Boba Fett was to be Vader's brother.

I think Lucas had some broad ideas of what the Prequel Trilogy would be, but as Kurtz says elsewhere in that interview, when Lucas decided to go off-outline for Jedi, it threw a lot of his previous ideas into flux and made some things, like the Sequel Trilogy as originally planned, impossible. I'm sure the Prequels suffered narrative damage, too, and what was filmed isn't likely to be particularly close to what Lucas imagined decades ago. The myth that the six-film Saga is what Lucas always intended is just that -- a myth.

Kurtz is full of it.

Lucas never had any ideas for the prequels. His general idea back when Kurtz was there was for SW to be passed around like a round robin with directors that he admired working on them. Similar to James Bond. Episodics movies that could go back and fourth across the timeline. In a model very much like what the CW episodes are doing.

The story of the sequel trilogy if there was any was probably about the "other" that Yoda talked about. Back when it wasn't Luke's sister, but someone else entire.

This is correct. There's an unofficial book out there called The Secret History of Star Wars which goes into great detail about the myth that George Lucas had planned out the entire saga, and basically points out all the holes (and there are many) in any claims to that effect. It's well worth a read (if you can find a copy), though it does tend to ramble here and there, and could have used some editing.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

There's an unofficial book out there called The Secret History of Star Wars which goes into great detail about the myth that George Lucas had planned out the entire saga, and basically points out all the holes (and there are many) in any claims to that effect. It's well worth a read (if you can find a copy), though it does tend to ramble here and there, and could have used some editing.

Try "Secret History of Star Wars PDF" in Google.

The first edition was a freebie download; it's been mirrored on dozens of sites and never removed.

 

[ClayinCA]

^ I wasn't sure if I should point that out -- but hey, since you did, far be it from me to argue!

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah Chapters Online tends to suck in regards to that stuff...you want something a little old? Too bad. LOL. Sigh. Chapters sucks.

Yeah, thing is, it was in stock just a few weeks ago. I'll check if they actually have it in one of their stores rather than online. Wasn't about to go with their used books either, as I don't think you can pay those with gift cards.

 

[Admiral_Young]

We're going to be getting previews of Zhan's annotations starting on Thursday!! They'll be on the Star Wars Books Facebook page.

http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/Heir_To_The_Empire_Annotation_Previews_137093.asp

 

[Whofan]

They've moved up the release date a week, which is cool.

The samples of Zahn's notes are cool so far.


Also Zahn's coming out with Choices Of One which is sort of the sequel to Allegiance.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Yeah hasn't Choices of One been pushed back now?