The official Star Wars magazine celebrates the 20th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones with “Galactic Tales,” a series of four all-new short stories featuring fan-favorite heroes and villains. To be published in Star Wars Insider beginning with issue 209 on March 15, the four original works of short fiction set in the era of the Clone Wars will tell tales about popular characters inspired by the 2002 movie: Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), bounty hunters Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Zam Wesell (Leeanna Walsman), Dex’s Diner operator Dexter Jettster (Ronald Falk), and Episode III villain General Grievous (Matthew Wood).
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“It’s always great whenever there’s an opportunity to celebrate the saga through original fiction, and the rich, fertile storytelling ground provided during the time of Attack of the Clones is some of the most robust in any era of Star Wars,” Brett Rector, senior editor of Lucasfilm Publishing, told StarWars.com. “And to engage our audience, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movie than working with the amazing authors we have lined up to tell these new, original tales.”
Added Star Wars Insider editor Chris Cooper, “We know how much our readers enjoy reading original Star Wars fiction in the magazine, and we’re thrilled to be working with such talented writers to bring this exciting batch of prequel era stories to the pages of Star Wars Insider.”
From S.T. Bende (Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy Stories, Star Wars Epic Adventures), one tale teams Jango and the shape-shifting Zam before their fatal final encounter in Attack of the Clones.
“This period is such an exciting time in the Star Wars galaxy — one where we can dive deep into character origins and explore new planets” Bende said. “Some of my favorite Star Wars stories took place around the Clone Wars, so getting to write something new with Zam Wesell and Jango Fett was a huge thrill.”
Though he doesn’t appear in 2002’s Attack of the Clones, droid army leader General Grievous hunts a Jedi artifact in a new story from Richard Dinnick (Thunderbirds Are Go, Doctor Who audio books). Dinnick told StarWars.com, “I always really loved the prequels, but General Grievous was a character we didn’t get to see much in the movies. Then came the various Clone Wars TV shows and the comics, and those really helped flesh him out. It’s all those influences I hope I have captured in this short fiction.”
George Mann (Newbury and Hobbes, Doctor Who: Paradox Lost) serves up a story about Dexter Jettster leaving his diner to help a friend in trouble. “The time around Attack of the Clones is so ripe for storytelling opportunities,” Mann said. “The Clone Wars really developed this period … There’s such a sense of fun, and scale, and deep history — the latter of which I’ve aimed to tap into with this story.”
In the fourth tale from writer Rodney Barnes (The Boondocks, Marvel’s Runaways), Windu and a squad of Clone Troopers are on the trail of a deadly enemy.
“It’s an honor to write a story set during the period of Attack of the Clones. This was the time I became a Star Wars fanatic!” Barnes told StarWars.com. “Star Wars has always been the gold standard of science-fiction fantasy for me, and I suspect a few billion other folks, as well.”
Galactic Tales begins in Star Wars Insider #209, on newsstands March 15.
