26 New 'Star Wars' Stories Have Been Revealed
In April, it was announced that a new book would be released called Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, combining 40 stories written from dozens of writers (including Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta, famed comic book writer Paul Dini, Thrilling Adventure Hour creators Ben Acker & Ben Blacker) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise.
Each story is told from the perspective of background characters from A New Hope – "from X-wing pilots who helped Luke destroy the Death Star to the stormtroopers who never quite could find the droids they were looking for." And with the October release date quickly approaching, Del Rey Publishing has begun unveiling some of the short stories that will be featured in this collection. Below, check out a first look at more than a dozen new Star Wars stories.
Here are the stories that have been revealed on Twitter today, all found under the #FromaCertainPOV hashtag:
Chuck Wendig's "We Don't Serve Their Kind Here" tackles a certain droid-hating cantina barkeep: "Wuher always told people: If you have a drink in your hand, you don't need me for nothing."Gary Whitta's "Raymus" opens the anthology by bridging the gap between Rogue One and A New Hope: "For years he had carefully steered this ship- his ship- through countless Imperial blockades and checkpoints, always able to avoid detection or suspicion. But now it had been spotted fleeing the scene of the most daring military assault in the history of the Rebellion, carrying stolen goods that the Empire would go to any lengths to recover. Suddenly, the Tantive IV was the most wanted ship in the galaxy." The title is a reference to Raymus Antilles, who was the captain of the Tantive IV.Greg Rucka's "Grounded" tells the story of Nera Kase: "In the space of seven minutes, Nera Kase lost her home and her family. In the space of seven minutes, the Empire had made her their enemy."Glen Weldon's "Of MSE-6 And Men" is a story from the POV of a hapless droid caught up in the Death Star's "gay demimonde": "That was quick, G7. Fastest mouse droid in the fleet. It's those new rotors I put in, I'm telling you. You know what: We should get you on a racing circuit. Would you like that?"Kieron Gillen's "The Trigger": "Aphra's life alternated between finding interesting ancient artifacts and reactivating interesting ancient artifacts, with brief interstitial periods of selling the interesting ancient artifacts." This story follows the fan favorite Star Wars comic book character Doctor Aphra.Paul Dini's "Added Muscle" tells the story of Boba Fett: "I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the whispers of surprise when I walked onto the scene. That's right, boys. Fett's here."Cavan Scott's "Time of Death" follows Obi-Wan Kenobi in the moments of his passing: "My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi and I am dead. I know how that sounds. Crazy old Ben with his crazy stories. But this isn't crazy. This is happening. At least, I think it is."Rae Carson's "The Red One" tells the story of a droid with a bad motivator: "More than anything in the galaxy, he wanted to be sold. Escape the sandcrawler. Fulfill his programming by serving a new master – someone who would clean his joints once in a while, offer a few drops of lubricant, give him a purpose. But time was running out. He was lonely, and he was dying."Daniel José Older's "Born in the Storm" tells the story of a stormtrooper and his dewback: "The barracks are on the outskirts of town, closer to the endless barren infinity of wasteland festering with Sand People, banthas, and a million other ways to die. Also: sand. All the sand. All the sand ever."Delilah S. Dawson's "The Secrets of Long Snoot" tells the story of one of the characters in the Cantina: "Know what your problem is? I say in my own language, quietly and to myself. 'Your problem is that your entire species thinks itself a sun around which the petty planets and moons spin, but really, you're just another rock, doomed to ever orbit something grander but remain ignorant of your own insignificance."Alexander Freed's "Contingency Plan" tells the story of Mon Mothma: "Mon Mothma can't actually see the future. She used to know people who could, but the last of them is dead now, too."EK Johnston and Ashley Eckstein's "By Whatever Sun" takes on the metal ceremony: "Miara Larte breathed in and remembered how much she loved real air."Christie Golden's "The Bucket" tells the story of the stormtrooper who turned Leia in: "I want them alive, Vader had said. Their blasters were set on kill. They were in a batterfield, even now. Too many of the crew were loose and armed, wandering about and opening fire, for the stormtroopers to take chances."Adam Christopher's "End of Watch" is about a reactor leak: "Poul felt the breath catch in her threat. Princess? What princess? And then she heard the voice of the man Tarkin was in conference with, the deep, resonant bass voice echoing down the open comms channel. Well, perhaps man was the wrong word. Because who know what was inside that suit."Madeleine Roux's "Eclipse" tells the story of Breha Organa: "Finances. Galas. Silks. Budgets. Would Leia return in time for the equinox? It seemed unlikely, and yet in a small, private corner of her heart that had nothing to do with rebellions or politics, Breha hoped it would be so."John Jackson Miller's "Rites" tells the story of the Tusken Raiders: "It takes more than courage to lead. It takes eyes that are open!"Zoraida Córdova's "You Owe Me A Ride" tells the story of the Tonnika sisters: "Brea and Senni watched the suns set from atop a rock formation. Tatooine might be a desert wasteland lacking in any culinary delicacies, but few things in the galaxy compared to the brilliance of its sunsets.Charles Soule's "The Angle" tells the story of Lando and the Millenium Falcon: "Heroes were Lando's favorite opponents at the gambling table. The worse the odds got, the bigger they bet. Because heroes were suckers."Jason Fry's "Duty Roster" seems to be about someone in the Rebellion named Col (perhaps Legends character Col Serra?): "Col's first instinct was to knock Wedge Antilles onto the floor and show the whole squadron the joke ended here."Griffin McElroy's "Stories in the Sand" which is about a Jawa named Jot: "There was not a Jawa on Tatooine who did not believe wholeheartedly that there was more sand below them than there was sky above."Pablo Hidalgo?'s "Verge of Greatness" follows Tarkin on the very eve of his triumph: "You may fire when ready,' Targin said at long last. And he allowed himself the briefest of smiles."Sabaa Tahir's "Reirin" reveals new details about the Tusken Raiders: "Reirin daydreamed about proving to them who, exactly, was lesser. She daydreamed about taking her father's gaderffii and wreaking bloody havoc. And if not that, then simply proving herself."Kelly Sue DeConnick?'s "The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper" tells the story of Muftak and Kabe's adventure at the Mos Eisley Cantina: "At Mos Eisley, everyone has side-hustles, but the Muftak and Kabe? Even their side-hustles have side-hustles."Paul S Kemp's "Sparks" tells the story of Gold Squadron: "Small sparks can start big fires."Beth Revis' "Fully Operational" tells the story of a very important meeting: "A weapon was meant to be fired. Every military man could tell you that. Treat all weapons as charged; never assume a blaster was set simply to stun and not kill."Tom Angleberger's "Whills" is the last story of the book, described as 'really the beginning of the entire tale. Sort of. It's a work in progress.': "May the force be with me as I begin the sacred task of writing in the Journal of the Whills..."
Some of these stories seem to have really clever and compelling ideas. Obi-Wan Kenobi in the moment of his death? The story of the Tantive IV filling the gap between Rogue One and A New Hope? The life of a droid with a bad motivator?
Reading these ideas has me extremely excited to read this collection and makes me wonder if the Star Wars standalone films would ever dare tackle an anthology film. Imagine the greatest writers and directors getting together for a bunch of short films in the Star Wars universe. I could never imagine someone like Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino directing a Star Wars movie, but maybe a five or 15 minute short film could happen? How cool would that be?
You can pre-order Star Wars: From A Certain Point of View on Amazon now. Del Rey has released the cover art seen above and a list of some of the authors that are participating in this project: