Dawn of a New Era: Legacy of the Force
[ starwars.com at Celebration III ]
In 2000, as the Star Wars universe of spin-off fiction continued to grow, the editors at LucasBooks decided to organize the chronology of adventure into five distinct eras, starting with The Old Republic (thousands of years in the past), and leading to the New Jedi Order (advancing to 25 years after Return of the Jedi and beyond). Now, five years later, it is time to start expanding beyond that horizon, as was revealed at a literature-focused panel on Saturday.
"We decided to add a new era," said Shelly Shapiro, Editorial Director of Del Rey Books. "After [Troy Denning's] Dark Nest Trilogy, we're going to have a new nine-book series entitled Legacy of the Force, and the era is going to be called Legacy."
The new era icon was displayed at the panel, along with this compelling summary:
Legacy (37+ ABY) This is the era of Luke Skywalker's legacy: the Jedi Master has unified the order into a cohesive group of powerful Jedi Knights. However, as this era begins, planetary interests threaten to disrupt this time of relative peace and Luke is plagued by visions of an approaching darkness.
Penning the new nine-book series is a trio of fan favorite Star Wars authors: Aaron Allston, Troy Denning and Karen Traviss. They won't write the series in sequence -- that is, it won't be a trilogy by one author, then another, then another. Rather, each author will pass the baton to another. The series encompasses three hardcovers and six paperbacks, and each author will write a hardcover.
The series is slated to start in July 2006 (in Betrayal by Allston), with a new book arriving approximately every three months. While the panel which consisted of Allston, Traviss, Denning, Shapiro, LucasBooks Managing Editor Sue Rostoni and Keeper of the Holocron Leland Chee didn't spill too many beans, each hint dropped was savored by the enthusiastic fans of Star Wars literature.
Here's what was said: the main characters of the classic saga will return -- Luke, Leia, Han, Jacen, Jaina, and Mara. Among the NJO Jedi veterans returning would be Saba Sebatyne and Tenel Ka. "If my name's on the cover, you're likely to see Wedge in there somewhere," said Allston.
"Those of you who know me will know that there's some things that I can't do without in a book," said Traviss. "Boba's back." She would later add to expect the Mandalorians as well.
Sue Rostoni confirmed that a character will return from a long EU hiatus: the former Shira Brie a.k.a. Lumiya. Rostoni also added, "The mystery of Vergere will be revealed."
Coruscant will continue to undergo reconstruction from the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and the Galactic Alliance will weather internal pressures. For fans that wonder about how the principal characters will age gracefully, Allston provided some guidance.
"Back in November when we had a big story conference putting this series together, we did have a catchphrase that should define how you should be thinking about these aging characters: 60 is the new 40," said Allston. "They're remaining hale and healthy, and active up until much later ages, as our culture is with increasing and improving medical technology. So don't think of them as septuagenarian doddering, weak people. They're active fighting 60 and 70-year olds and looking good."
"In the Galactic Alliance, Social Security doesn't start until 120," joked Denning.
Rostoni added this era would first only be explored in books, but she didn't rule out the possibility of comics exploring this new horizon. She noted that it has no specific "end point." It currently extends for a hundred years.
- nur schade dass es noch so lange bis dahin dauert 
...ich mag ja gar keine Sith, damn.
