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| November 2007 |
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"Placing POD after ROTJ"
25th November 2007 |
| Now that the full story of Episode VII : Plague of Doom has been published, I intend to reveal some of the creative discussions between myself and Scott that led to our decisions being made. |
| In addition to the plot now online and being illustrated each month, a 'Word' document version of the story can also be found here. |
| We set Episode VII "about 12 months" after the destruction of the Second Death Star and the events seen in Return of the Jedi. In the early days, there was indeed consideration of moving the Sequel Trilogy forward twenty or thirty years, just like Lucas set apart his two trilogies, perhaps focusing on a new generation of Jedi, who would turn to the "elderly Master Skywalker" for guidance. |
| But as we reviewed the existing six episodes for any seeds of plot that could be used to inspire ours, we quickly came to the conclusion that there was essentially too much unfinished business for the Skywalker story to leap forward in time - we needed to investigate how Luke and Leia would get to that point thirty years in the future. |
| Episode VI had re-introduced Mon Mothma, and witnessed the demise of Emperor Palpatine. But although the Imperial Empire had surely suffered a great defeat, it was clearly too vast a regime for it to simply give up in the face of rebellious opposition. And such a force would still have great military resources at its disposal to threaten a retaliatory strike. |
| When we clearly saw the Senate Speaker Mas Amedda standing beside Palpatine we reasoned that such a long-standing ally would be retained through the years of New order. It would follow that on learning of his Master's demise, Amedda would move swiftly to inherit the mantle of Galactic Emperor, unpopular though that may be. And it made sense that that other, more mysterious, staff aide, Sly Moore, should play a role in this Second Empire. As highly-placed advisors, they had simply to bide their time under Palpatine awaiting a perfect opportunity to take the throne. |
| Mon Mothma may have been the recognised leader of the Rebel Alliance, but that did not give her the right or assumption that she would step into the power vacuum once the Emperor had died aboard the Second Death Star. In the face of Imperial agents, she had to work secretly and tirelessly to ensure that a popular political opposition could rally against Emperor Amedda. |
| Lucas, in his apparently "revisionist histories", has revealed that his Star Wars Saga retold the story of the fallen Jedi Knight, and the role played by his children in redeeming him. From the outset, it was clear to us that where the Prequel Trilogy was about Anakin, and the Original Trilogy followed Luke, our Sequel Trilogy should focus on Leia. |
| As written by Lucas, not only would Leia learn the ways of the Force from her brother, but she had entered into a relationship with Han Solo that would presumably result in marriage, and possibly children. This in itself moved the Saga forward, but immediately found itself in a dichotomy with the "no attachments" rule espoused by the Jedi of old, again as described by Lucas. We found this fascinating, and wondered how this could be : how could such two clear opposites be resolved ? |
| And where Luke learned that his sister could remember none but "images of their beautiful but sad mother", how could we ensure the Twins would come to learn more of their parents ? Equally, how could Leia accept Darth Vader as her father, the Dark Lord who had tortured her and her partner, complied in the destruction of a planet, and mutilated her brother in his attempt to lure him to evil. Thus, Leia's attonement of her father was just as important to chronicle as her brother's acceptance of what Anakin had become. |
| Yoda's dying words to Luke, and Luke's promise to Leia on Endor tell us that the Jedi Order would rise from the ashes once more. How the young Skywalker could bring this about was an opportunity not to be missed if we returned to the Galaxy Far Far Away thirty years later. The Force Ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan had said they would "always be with Luke" to guide him on his journey, and the state they were in, in relation to Qui-Gon's ethereal teaching, was something that we wanted to explore more fully. |
| Clearly, it became apparent that we needed to describe the events immediately following the Battle of Endor, and how they would come to influence the Skywalkers as they strive to return Peace and Justice to the Galaxy. |
| In this month's artwork, Scott has produced some really great images illustrating the start of the duel between the Jedi and the Sith ! |
| This image by Nat shows Luke Force-leaping ledge-by-ledge up the cliff wall below the Hutt castle on Kessel. As he lands near the top, he disturbs a nest of hawk-bats, that squawk in anger at him. |
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| Having scaled the cliff, the Jedi Master looks for an entrance. Suddenly, a sentry of stormtroopers spot him, and open fire ! Luke's skill with his lightsabre quickly silences his opponents ! As an homage to the pattern set by by Lucas and Burtt, we introduce our very own 'wilhelm scream' as the Imperials tumble from their high vantage point. |
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| In this beautiful reveal by Scott, Luke has battled his way past the ancient droideka and entered the high tower room where Princess Alana Seren is being held. He reviews the energy containment field that binds her to the slab and surrounds her in paralysing aura gas. |
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| Having escaped underground, Luke and Alana come face to face with Weesla the Hutt ! Before the Jedi can react, Alana angrily orders the traitorous Hutt out of their way ! |
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| Drawing astonishment from Luke, Weesla meekly slithers out of their way, and retires down the corridor. However, Alana is brought short by what she sees before her in the chamber beyond...... |
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| Luke cautiously approaches a dark room at the end of a corridor deep within the Imperial Palace. He can sense fear and cold beyond, and his hand is at the ready next to his sword hilt. |
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| This atmospheric picture presents the lightsword of Darth Kayos clashing against the Jedi Master's weapon. Red and green sizzle as the deadly blades meet. Luke recognises his foe as "Amedda's little errand girl".... |
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| In this dramatic image by Scott, Luke Skywalker and Darth kayos square off, their lightsabres held in readiness for attack and counter-attack ! |
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| This new artwork can be seen incorporated into the online version of POD, as well as in the gallery here. And please let us know what you think of the VE-ST in the forum ! |
| Nathaniel Reed, 25th November 2007 |
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