Star Wars Announces Skywalker: A Family at War

The Skywalker saga is complete, and now it's time for Star Wars to look back at the entire Skywalker family. Lucasfilm has announced Skywalker: A Family at War, a biographical history of the family of Anakin, Luke, and Leia. Writer Kristin Baver will examine the triumphs and tribulations of the Skywalkers by studying the Skywalker saga movies as well as canon novels, comics, and other materials that shed light on the Skywalker story. The book will trace the Skywalker family lineage from Shmi Skywalker during the prequel trilogy era through Rey taking the name at the end of the sequel trilogy.

"I'm so thrilled to be able to tell the story of the Skywalkers through the lens of a biographer," Baver tells StarWars.com. "From the outset, I knew I wanted to treat the family as if they were real people, with compassion and empathy, while simultaneously crafting an unflinching portrait of their accomplishments and their failures. These characters are larger than life yet so fragile and unmistakably human, and that comes into focus when you study how their actions impact the greater galaxy and their family."

"When I first saw Star Wars as a kid, I watched the movies over and over, always looking for something I hadn't noticed before in the storytelling," she continues. "Essentially, I wrote the book I wish I would have had during that time, when I was hungry to know everything I could learn about these characters."

You can take a look at the cover artwork for Skywalker: A Family at War, created by Matt Ferguson, above. The artwork that accompanied the original Star Wars' theatrical debut inspired Ferguson's piece, as did concept art by John Berkey.

"I have very strong memories of pouring over the photos in the novelization before I got to see the film, and the imagery sparked my imagination like nothing else," Ferguson says. "I really enjoyed doing my take on the classic Star Wars composition. I think making the Vader element was my favorite part. He just has such a great costume design!"

DK Publishing will release Skywalker: A Family at War in April. Here's the official synopsis:

"The Skywalker story has everything: passion, intrigue, heroism, and dark deeds. This revelatory biography explores every twist and turn of the Skywalker dynasty: the slow seduction to the dark side of Anakin; his doomed marriage to Padmé Amidala; the heroics of Luke and Leia; the fall and redemption of Han Solo and Princess Leia's son, Ben; and the struggles of his dyad in the Force, Rey. Leaving no stone unturned in tracing the dynasty's trials and tribulations, this definitive biography of Star Wars' first family explores and explains the deeper, more personal story of the Skywalkers, their characters, motivations, and, against seemingly impossible odds, their ultimate triumph."

Skywalker: A Family at War is available to preorder on Amazon now.

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