Even though books”his absence from the sequel era has been felt. Now, Wedge is ready to return… but you may wanna bring a few tissues.
StarWars.com revealed a new excerpt from Rebecca Roanhorse’s upcoming Resistance Reborn novel today that dives into what Wedge has been up to since he retired from the Rebel Alliance (née New Republic). There’s even an updated cover for the novel, showcasing Wedge alongside Rey, Finn, Poe, and Leia:
Featuring more familiar faces from the fledgling expanded universe in this latest era of Star Wars, like Aftermath‘s Norra Wexley“mother of Greg Grunberg, well, ok, mother of Greg Grunberg’s character, Temmin “Snap” Wexley”and the Poe Dameron comic‘s Karé Kun, the excerpt sees Wedge enjoying his retiree life as a farmer on the planet Akiva, one of the first Imperial worlds liberated by the Alliance in the wake of its victory over Endor’s forest moon.
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But it’s not all fun and space-chicken coops, though. Resistance Reborn is set in the immediate aftermath of The Last Jedi, and sees the decimated Resistance reach out to old allies in the hopes of scraping together a force that can stand up to the First Order and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Which means Wedge is very quickly faced with returning to a life he left behind…
…and learning that more than a few of his dearest friends won’t be there if he does.
The full excerpt is well reading if you, like me, are a big fan of Star Wars‘ starfighter pilot characters and and also getting your heart stamped on repeatedly. But here’s the real kicker: Wedge Antilles gets to learn that Luke Skywalker is gone.
“There’s one more loss. Wedge, you better sit down.”
Oh no. That was a sure sign Wedge preferred to stand. He leaned back against the edge of the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. “Tell me,” he commanded, his voice hard.
“Luke Skywalker.”
Wedge swayed. He reached back, gripping the counter. Not Luke. Could he even be killed? Didn’t Jedi live forever or something?
“You ok?” He looked up and Karé was standing next to him, holding him by the elbow. He shook her off gently. “I’m fine. I’m not an old man, damn you.”
Karé stepped back, eyes big. Her mouth turned down, clearly wounded. Wedge sighed, telling himself to get a grip.
“I’m sorry, Karé. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just . . .” His hands really were shaking now. In fact his whole body seemed to be shakÂing.
And Wedge wasn’t there to save the day with a Corellian Slip this time.
While the extract doesn’t quite reveal if Wedge Antilles signs up to fight in his fallen friends’ name once more, it’s an intriguing little bit of teasing for whether or not Denis Lawson could possible revive the character for one last fight in The Rise of Skywalker. Ever since the Star Wars saga made its return to the Box Office, Lawson has been reticent to the idea of seeing Wedge suit up in a pilot jumpsuit again. But if Resistance Reborn is at least willing to show that, behind the scenes, Wedge could be back in action, it gives us a tiny bit of hope the galaxy’s most beloved Antilles (sorry, Raymus) could be on the big screen again.
After all, someone needs to be in those oodles of ships in the Rise of Skywalker trailer.
Resistance Reborn hits shelves November 5. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go have some feelings about X-Wing pilots.