Episode IX Preparation Material: Outside the Movies
The movies remain the obvious place to start when looking for Episode IX preparation material, but thanks to all of the Legends material out there, many sources should be read or researched for Episode IX. While the source may not be canon, creators continue to draw heavily from them for ideas. Let’s take a look at some prime sources of possible inspiration for Episode IX:
Dark Empire I, Dark Empire II, Empire’s End
START HERE!! If my gut feeling means anything, it says start here for information. I firmly believe, while not source material, the concept of this comic series may be at the very core of Episode IX and its twists.
The year is 1990. Star Wars is dead. The toys had long since dried up on the shelves. There were no movies or comics or books. Three films and a couple of forgotten books were all that remained of a once proud franchise. Then in 1991, I walked into my local comic store. Lo and behold Models of the X-wing, Millenium Falcon and TIE fighter sat on the shelves once more.
Curious.
Then two things happened, one was the release of the Dark Empire comic series. The other I will come back too. Star Wars – Return of the Franchise! Not only did Dark Empire start the revitalization of the franchise, but the story centered on the return of Darth Sidious (known only as Emperor Palpatine at the time). How did the Sith Lord survive his fall in the Deathstar? CLONING! The Emperor made clones of himself he could jump into. I feel Cloning will come to the very heart of Episode IX in more ways than one. Remember Rey’s cave vision in The Last Jedi.
Darth Vader Issue 25
The Darth Vader comic series stood out as one of the best canon comic series to date. A lot of good back story came from this title, but in Vader 25, we finally get the origin of Anakin Skywalker. Turns out his origin belongs to Sidious himself. This could hint at Rey’s possible origins. When something stands out in a canon story, you can bet it will materialize later on somewhere important.
Darth Plagueis By James Luceno
When Disney took over the Star Wars universe, they took all the existing lore and made it Legend and irrelevant to the canon timeline. When they did this, there were a couple books released right about this time that could have been allowed to stand, but they were set aside as well. Darth Plagueis tells the story of Darth Plagueis (Duh) and his days as master to Darth Sidious.
We learn a great deal about how Plagueis and how he kept others alive, beating death itself through the force. Sidious says he never learned this power, but in the decades from this til Episode VI he may have learned much we do not know. This book could be drawn from for knowledge of Sith Alchemy.
Rebels S4:E13 A World Between Worlds
This story line may be irrelevant, but then again it may not. In this episode, Ezra walks between worlds and time. This In-between world allows him to even connect points in time. In and of it self, it doesn’t mean much, but Sidious intervened and forced his way into this world. Perhaps in 20 years, Sidious learned how to enter this limbo, which could allow for time travel or a way to exist between times.
Aftermath Trilogy By Chuck Wendig
A controversial trilogy when it released, this trilogy contained a great deal of information that at least hinted at how the First Order was created from the ashes of the Empire. If Snoke’s backstory comes into play at all, these books may hold some important keys. If you are short on time and have read them already, feel free to just read book 3.
Honorable Mention – Thrawn Trilogy (1991)
Timothy Zahn’s original Heir to the Empire trilogy, along with Dark Empire, relaunched the Star Wars franchise back in the early 90s. This trilogy is read-worthy any time. Int he end it may have little to do with Episode IX, but then again it might.
The Zahn trilogy teamed up with Dark Empire to use cloning to advance the story. Not only that, Zahn introduced us to Mara Jade, Emperor’s Hand and future wife of Luke Skywalker. Recent rumors are suggesting Keri Russell’s character, Zorri Bliss may in fact be a former love interest of Luke’s.
It may also be possible that Darth Sidious either uses the idea of Joruus C’Boath and/or the cloned Luuke in his final plans. The reintroduction of Sidious seriosuly opens the possibilities of what can be done in this final installment.
I suggest checking out as many of these sources as possible, especially the Dark Empire series, but you better hurry. You only have 140 days left!
