Everything and everyone has a story. That’s just true in life. The problem is, not everyone has someone to tell those stories. When it comes to Star Wars, though, the franchise can recruit an army of incredibly talented authors to create stories about the smallest, most seemingly insignificant things. And it’s awesome.
That’s basically the set-up for the From a Certain Point of View series. The first instalment was released in 2017 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars; the second one comes out November 10, tied to the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Forty authors wrote 40 short stories exploring all kinds of weird, awesome things surrounding Empire: the probe droids and wampas, characters like Darth Vader and Lando Calrissan, and so much more. Plus, many of the stories fill in gaps or answer questions that you probably never even considered before.
Here are just a few of the examples of those questions, followed by information on the story (and author) in the book that’ll answer it.
What was Yoda thinking when a certain X-Wing landed on Dagobah?
18 – The first meeting between a Jedi master and a would-be student is critical. Especially when that would-be Jedi has the last name Skywalker. @JimZub #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/55BIZVlawQ
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
Does Force Ghost Obi-Wan have thoughts when he’s not appearing to Luke?
The problem with Skywalkers is that they care too much. Obi-Wan knows. He’s always known. #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/4PFHLY1esH
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
What was Willrow Hood thinking as he ran with his camtono?
You can’t spell #StarWars without Willrow Hood.
Now, what’s in the camtono? @robwhart #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/3DfYAzXGDQ
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
Who was the chef tasked with cooking for Darth Vader when he came to Cloud City?
Guess who’s coming to dinner? @SAChakrabooks #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/CE78yjp0Lr
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
Can we learn more about Rogue Two, the pilot who found Han and Luke on Hoth?
7 – When Luke Skywalker goes missing amidst the snow of Hoth, there’s only one thing left for Rogue Squadron to do.
Bet on who finds the commander first. @garywhitta #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/pD39wCuTTd
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
What would happen if a journalist did a profile on bounty hunters 4-Lom and Zuckuss?
Parazeen has landed the magazine profile of a lifetime: Fabled bounty hunting duo 4-LOM and Zuckuss. But their editor has a few notes about the story.
@djolder #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/p2IfM2kxaj
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
Who ran Cloud City before Lando?
Have you ever heard the tragedy of the King of Cloud City? I thought not. It’s not a story Lando Calrissian would tell you. @AlexanderMFreed #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/mZDCdGiIsE
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
How did Palpatine find out Luke Skywalker was still alive, and that he was the person who blew up the Death Star?
19 – “There has been a great disturbance in the Force. We have a new enemy…”
Spooky Force vision? Dark side machinations!?
YOU. ARE. NOT. READY.@mikechenwriter #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/wX8FYu4irC
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
Does the cave on Dagobah have a mind of its own?
22 – “What’s in there?”
“Only what you take with you.”You are not prepared. @tracydeonn #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/LiqhPbAovg
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
Is L3-37 the only droid inside the Millennium Falcon?
“Sir, I don’t know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect.”
L3 returns. Truth is, she was never really gone. @BrittanyActs #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/VcZudcO6aE— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
What else did the probe droids sent out by the Empire find, besides the rebels on Hoth?
1 – Imperial probe droids scour the galaxy, searching for the hidden rebel base. Who exactly is watching? And what else might they discover in service of the Empire? @kierstenwhite #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/OqnHEwQsSI
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
Were Dengar and IG-88 friends?
Dengar and IG-88. The oddest of odd couples, on the hunt for Han Solo.
They just might catch him, if they don’t kill each other first.@austin_walker #StarWars #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/k4zcRXnYRB
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 6, 2020
And that’s just 12 of the 40 stories in the collection. Click on any of them to see the rest of the 40, or just head to the Star Wars Books Twitter account.
On a very cool, book-related note: while I was writing this post, that same Twitter account posted the opening crawl for the entire launch of The High Republic. That’s the huge new Star Wars storyline coming in 2021 which you can read more about here. Check it out.
The crawl for #StarWarsTheHighRepublic is here.
And Thurs 10/8 at 5:30pm (est) don’t miss the #NYCC High Republic panel. Hear new reveals about characters, stories, and more ahead of the launch in January.
You can check out that panel here: https://t.co/udsCJKu135 pic.twitter.com/I7eoq01Uoo
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 7, 2020
Basically, though we won’t have a new Star Wars movie for quite some time, fans will have plenty of new stories to discuss in print.
[referenced id=”1068745″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2017/10/the-most-intriguing-and-important-details-the-new-star-wars-anthologyrevealed-about-a-galaxy-far-far-away/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/05/uo58asmjjkf9ikasat8l-300×169.png” title=”The Most Intriguing And Important Details The New Star Wars Anthology Revealed About A Galaxy Far, Far Away” excerpt=”Image: Lucasfilm/Del Rey. From a Certain Point of View, the new Star Wars anthology novel released to celebrate 40 years of the beloved franchise, is unlike any other book we’ve seen so far in Disney’s Star Wars canon. It’s all about the little details rather than the major events of…”]