OSTRANDER GETS HIS STAR WARS GEEK ON - & TALKS LEGACY
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
The Star Wars saga began with Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which was released on May 25, 1977. George Lucas' vision became a worldwide phenomenon, spawning two more sequels (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) and three prequels (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith), plus an extensive collection of licensed novels, comic books, video games, TV series, and others. In telling a tale of a rag-tag group of rebels defeating and Empire, George Luca created his own.
The saga that's set in a "galaxy far, far away" is set to expand once again when Dark Horse launches Star Wars: Legacy this week - this time, telling a tale that's not only "far, far away" but far, far from now as well. Written by John Ostrander, with art by Jan Duursema, the new series is set in the future of Star Wars, 100 years (at least) after everything you knew about the stories that have been told.
We caught up with the writer of the new series John Ostrander to test his mettle, and talk all things Star Wars - and show off some art by Duursema.
Newsarama: Before we get to the comics, let's start with the movies - favorite moments form the original trilogy?
John Ostrander: A New Hope was my first one, of course, and you never quite top the first experience, the first thrill. But Empire Strikes Back is right behind it - really unexpected, dark, with a downer ending.
NRAMA: What about the characters?
JO: Vader. Terrific entrance and the voice of God... er, James Earl Jones.
Han -- the rogue!
Leia -- especially in the first episode. "Will someone get this walking carpet out of my way?" Great attitude!
Luke -- from farmboy to Jedi Knight. Destroys the first Death Star and brings back his father, resulting in Sidious' death. What more do you want?
Chewie -- all the best lines.
NRAMA: Defining moments?
JO: Oh, easy - A New Hope -
1) The first time I saw the opening with the blast of music, the crawl disappearing into space and then this ship that looked real big coming into the screen from over our head pursued by an even bigger ship! Wow!
2) Han shooting first. And he did shoot first.
3) They killed Obi-wan! You bastards!
4) Luke and Leia swinging across the chasm on a thin line.
5) The whole final assault on the Death Star.
Empire -
1) Han getting frozen in carbonite. You bastards!
2) The escape of Millennium Falcon into the asteroid field.
3) Yoda raising the X-wing out of the swamp. "Do or do not -- there is no try."
4) The Luke/Vader battle and the revelation.
5) Leia feeling Luke reach out to her and making Lando go back for him.
6) Bespin is just way too cool.
Return of the Jedi -
1) Luke throwing down the lightsaber and proclaiming that he is a Jedi Knight -- like his father.
2) Vader turning on his master. Finally!
3) The whole Sarlaac pit scene.
4) Han -- "Hey! It's me!"
5) Chase on the speeder bikes.
NRAMA: Favorite moments from the prequel trilogy?
JO: Revenge of the Sith. The big payoff movie and the most complex.
NRAMA: Characters?
JO: Besides, Aayla?
NRAMA: Ah, creators love their own characters! Who else?
JO: Darth Maul. Obi-Wan. Mace Windu. Palpatine. Qui-Gon.
NRAMA: Defining moments?
JO: Seeing Aayla Secura come to life on the big screen in Attack of the Clones. Hey, that's my baby girl! But then they kill her in Sith.
Other big moments --
Obi-Wan and Anakin's final duel over the lava rivers and the rise of Darth Vader, both in RotS.
Watching Yoda open a can of whup ass on Dooku in AotC.
NRAMA: Let's move on to the Expanded Universe, starting with comics - as a fan, or a creator, which stories stand out for you, starting with the Marvel era of the comics?
JO: The one Jan drew, of course!
NRAMA: Dark Horse?
JO: Outside of the ones I've done? Star Wars Tales were often a lot of fun. Jan's story "Ghost" was great. I'm also really enjoying Knights of the Old Republic right now, too.
Of the stuff I've done? "Twilight" always will have a special place because it was the first Star Wars story I did. Oh, and Quin's last story and how it all tied together.
NRAMA: Do you keep up with the novels? Any key moments in there for you?
JO: The New Jedi Order was a hugely ambitious project that I think came together as a whole.
Favorite single book? The one that surprised me most was the adaptation of Revenge of the Sith that Matt Stover did. I already knew the story, I'd already seen the movie and the comic book adaptation and yet he brought out elements of the story, filled in, and gave it more emotional punch than before. I wasn't expecting that.
NRAMA: Alright - lightning round - Eras: Sith Era (25,000 BBY-1,000 BBY) - what stands out to you?
JO: Pass. Been too long since I've read it.
NRAMA: Rise of the Empire Era (1,000 BBY-0 BBY)?
JO: Aside from characters I've mentioned before, I'll mention some on which I've worked [on] that I really enjoyed -- Tholme, T'ra Saa, Zao, K'Kruhk - with that freakin' sweet hat.
NRAMA: The Rebellion Era (0 BBY-5 BBY)?
JO: The Millennium Falcon is as much a character in the series as almost anyone, has its own quirks and foibles, and comes through in the pinch. I was genuinely concerned in Return of the Jedi that they were going to destroy it and relieved when they didn't.
NRAMA: New Galactic Republic (5 BBY-25 BBY)?
JO: The Thrawn trilogy really brought me into the Extended Universe at the time so I'd probably pick the character of Thrawn although I found his death anti-climatic.
NRAMA: The New Jedi Order (25 BBY-37 BBY)?
JO: Vergere was a fascinating if exasperating character. And I like Jag Fel. Pellaeon really comes around well in this series. I was sorry to lose Anakin Solo; I liked him best of the Solo kids.
NRAMA: Legacy Era (40 BBY-) Lastly, speaking of the Legacy Era, June sees the release of Star Wars: Legacy, starring Cade Skywalker. So far, we know that it's set in an all-new era with an all-new Sith Order and an all-new empire, the Sith now consists of Darth Krayt, Darth Talon and an unknown Twi'lek Sith. And Cade's team has Deliah Blue and Jeriah Syn. There is also a female Rutian Twi'lek called Astraal Vao and the pirate Rav. What else is there that you can tease from here?
JO: I can always tease.
NRAMA: Okay then. Where are things headed in the first year of the ongoing series?
JO: Our main job is to introduce the major characters, settings, situations, and so on. Even after the first year, we will still have more players who will want to get on stage. We only bring them on as is right for a given story. By the end of the 13th issue - as planned, that will bring that story arc to a conclusion, the reader will have a lot of info as to who the players are, what the stakes are, and -- for example -- what this branch of the Sith order is about.
As I've said elsewhere, I think, our initial impetus for the character that became Cade Skywalker was -- "What if Han Solo had become a Jedi?" To paraphrase a(n) (in)famous cover blurb from SW Republic -- "A ROGUE - with a LIGHTSABER?!" Word or warning -- Cade isn't Luke. He's not really Anakin, either. He has the burden, the legacy, of the Skywalker name but he's determined to forge his own destiny.
We are blending elements from SW continuity, including the NJO era -- it's all part of Legacy's "history".
At the same time, we've also designed it to be accessible to new readers or people who aren't familiar with the New Jedi Order -- everything the reader will need to know to understand the story will be in the story.
NRAMA: Will there be familiar faces appearing in Legacy?
JO: If you're asking specifically about Luke, Leia, Han, the droids and so on, we're not looking to tie Del Rey's hands. Appearance in our series would mean they survived whatever the Del Rey authors are planning and that would compromise their work. We have no intention of doing that.
Star Wars: Legacy kicks off with a 25-cent #0 issue from Dark Horse this Wednesday.
Imperijalna krtica
Valjda neće biti i iste osobnosti.
Baš me interesira tko je ovaj Krayt tip.
Darth Baneo tome pricam,nisam bas skužio sad dal su jedi u tom carstvu,ili su meta istrebljivanja
ak je ovo prvo,onda je to totalno bezveze IMO,mislim da jedi ne bi služili carstvu
kao ni X-Winga, (o samoj priči ne mogu govoriti) Sithovi isto tako, onaj glavni mi je smiješan, sliči mi na onu grupu iz Finske koja je pobijedila na Eurosongu
Stormtrooperi su mi prilično jednaki za budućnost, no otom potom.
Pa tek je prvi broj. Napravili su temelje i sad dalje razvijaju priču... 
Da je djetinjasta, slažem se. ^^
Chrome, but this forum works even with Imperial browsers. Droids and Internet Explorer browser forbidden.
