Lucasfilm has slowly and steadily been diving deep into the mythology and lore driving the Star Wars Universe with their first two films since the purchase by Disney. Star Wars: The Force Awakens served as an introduction, while Rogue One: A Star Wars Story remained self contained with a few nods and hints to a bigger picture.
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But it looks like Star Wars: The Last Jedi will deal with the history and purpose of the Force straight on, and a lot of the books, comics and games are following suit as they add even more layers to the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Greg Rucka’s third Star Wars book tells the backstory of Rogue One fan favorites Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus, the couple of Jedha protectors who get recruited into Jyn Erso’s crazy scheme to steal the Death Star plans.
Rucka recently spoke with StarWars.com about the new book, the Guardians of the Whills, providing some insight into the story and what it means for the Star Wars galaxy going forward.
“It should make you laugh, and it should put you on the edge of your seat,” Rucka said, “and if I’m really lucky, it’ll give you a sense of wonder, and reaffirm that beautiful Star Wars gift of showing you a galaxy far, far away where there are countless more stories to be discovered.”
Check out some excerpts from his interview below, where he reveals the significance of their role among the people go Jedha, protecting the ancient temples housing the holy kyber crystals.
On Alternating Chirrut’s And Baze’s Perspectives
The writer said that there are universal experiences everyone can relate to, even if we haven’t personally lived on these alien planets.
“Everything I write, to the best of my abilities, I write from the perspective of the characters involved — the goal is always to be honest to them, to be true to their experiences and perceptions, and I figure if I do that, then I am serving them well, providing a point of connection for the audience,” Rucka said.
“We may not know what it’s like to live on Jedha’s moon, but we know what it’s like to be cold and hungry, you know?”
He added that Chirrut was easier to than he thought he would be.
“Chirrut is rather wonderful, because his perception is rather unique — that of a Force sensitive who isn’t actually a Force user, and one who is decidedly leaning to the light side,” Rucka said. “He takes things very seriously, obviously, but as we seen in the movie, he has a sense of humor, and he is — to be very Star Wars — very much ‘in balance,’ I think.”
But both characters are unique in that they don’t “waste motion,” that purpose guides every single action.
“The other thing that’s abundantly clear, even in the relatively few moments we get to spend with Baze and Chirrut — and honestly, they really don’t get much screen time, which tells you something about the power of the performances and the strength of the characters — is that Baze is on fire with his anger,” Rucka said. “He’s a blast furnace with the door closed, and he’s keeping that door shut, you know?”
On Fleshing Out The Force
“One of the things I really adored about Rogue One was the establishing of Jedha as multidenominational,” Rucka said. “The Star Wars canon has shown, time and again, that different beings recognize and venerate the Force in different ways, and I thought the idea of the Holy City as a nexus for so many of these different faiths was really quite elegant and lovely, and further, went to show just how morally bankrupt the Empire is.”
He also had the opportunity to further define the Guardians of the Whills, who they are, and what code they adhere to.
“What mattered most to me was to illustrate that, in this galaxy of trillions of sentients, there were countless ways to consider and reflect upon the Force, and that what, for some, may seem untenable absolutely works for others,” Rucka said.
So far, the Guardians of the Whills were only mentioned in Rogue One, but new stories have been hinting at a greater importance for this once discarded idea from George Lucas.
“We know the Jedi Code, and we can find the Oath of the Sith,” said Rucka. “I really wanted to emphasize the fact that there was more to venerating the Force than just those two perspectives, as much as I wanted to reinforce that — despite the famous Han Solo line — there are countless people out there who do believe in that ‘hokey religion.’”
Guardians Of The Whills
Greg Rucka’s new Star Wars novel is in stores now.
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A band of resistance fighters unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans in ‘Star Wars’ anthology film, Rogue One.
Directed by Gareth Edwards, it’s the first of the new standalone features from Lucasfilm and Disney, which take place outside the core “Skywalker Saga” of films noted by an Episode number. Rogue One tells the story of the small band of rebels that were tasked with stealing the plans to the first Death Star.
