Over at CBR, Brian Wood divulged some information about his hotly anticipated “Star Wars” title for Dark Horse. Going back to a long time ago, Wood’s challenge was to write a direct sequel to Lucas’ original Star Wars film, A New Hope.
The story will take place in the gap between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and will follow Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie and the rest of the Rebel Alliance in the wake of their victory over the Empire and the destruction of the Death Star.
“It was impossible to say no,” Wood said in an interview with CBR. “If I ever had a desire to write any ‘Star Wars,’ it doesn’t get any better than a gig like this — classic characters, freedom to pick the story I want to tell, a new series, a new number one and the prestige of having the thing be called, simply, ‘Star Wars.’ Add the positive experience I’m having at Dark Horse on ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and ‘The Massive’ and it’s a no-brainer.”
As someone who saw the original trilogy in theatres, Wood pointed out the challenge of having to ignore Lucas’ additions and revisions to the saga. “I have to remember who the characters are at this point in time,” he said. “To not write the Luke and the Han that I know, but write who they were in 1977. To stay in character. That’s harder than you might think since so much of who they are as characters developed in those later films.”
The series also promises to take a look at how the events of the film affected the characters. “Luke is hurting from the death of his family and Ben, Leia is in mourning for her family and her entire planet, while trying to shoulder the burden of managing the Rebellion alongside Mon Mothma,” Wood explained. “Han is still kind of a jerk. Luke only has the barest sense of what the Force is, and will attempt to learn what he can on his own.”
However, he added that the action and adventure we’ve all come to love from Star Wars will still be kept in tact. “Leia is not going to be sitting around in a gown attending a lot of meetings — she has her blaster and an X-wing and is out there with Luke and Wedge working on building the Alliance back up after losing so much. I really wanted to put Leia into the mix, holding her own in battle.”
Wood also teased the inclusion of a new adversary to the group. “There’s one villain that’s coming in — you’ll see him in the first issue. He’s an Imperial Officer, and is new, but that should be the exception, not the rule. I want to use what already exists.”
Cover art for the series will be provided by the magnificent Alex Ross with interior artwork by Carlos D’Anda, fresh off the Batman: Arkham City miniseries for DC Comics.
“Star Wars” blasts off January 2013.
