Page 56 - Star Wars Insider #188
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SITH UNSEEN: A RETROSPECTIVE

















                        SITH
































                         A           RETR OS P E C T I V E





                         Collectibles, merchandise, and all kinds of licensed products have been a part of
                         Star Wars since the very beginning, and are naturally must-buys for hardcore fans
                         and collectors alike. But often these supplements to the main feature fi lms off er more

                         than simply tie-in entertainment. Insider examines how novels, games, and comics
                         expanded Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith beyond the confi nes of its onscreen story.


                         W ORDS: J AY S T OB IE




                                          n an age where             While this approach is now             the story behind it. And anyone
                                          every cinematic         commonplace—and since the                 who wanted to learn about the
                              I           universe creates        2014 reset of Star Wars fictional          film’s aftermath need only turn
                                                                                           ’

                                                                                                            to Luceno’s follow-up novel, Dark
                                          a tight web of
                                                                  history, has been a core element
                                          narrative links         of Lucasfilm’s storytelling—the            Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader  .
                                          between movies          company pioneered the use                    The connections presented
                         and their spin-offs, modern genre        of a well-focused, multimedia             in these off -screen off erings
                         fans have become accustomed              push when Star Wars: Revenge              alluded to Revenge of the Sith in
                         to seeing the latest blockbusters        of the Sith was released on May           various ways, from referencing
                         arrive with an abundance of              19, 2005. Prior to that date,             unseen characters to describing
                         tie-in material, in the form of          expectant fans could already play         the events that immediately
                         video games, novels, comics,             Star Wars Republic Commando               preceded the movie’s opening
                                                                             :
                         and more. These supplementary            to get a sneak peek of General            crawl. While these stories have
                         sources often divulge new details        Grievous and the build-up to the          since been superseded by new
                         and subplots that relate to the          Battle of Kashyyyk. Once the film          tales from Marvel, Del Rey, and
                         feature’s central story, offering        hit theaters, fans who wondered           others, examining the plots of the
                         fans an ever more immersive              about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s cryptic            most prominent licensed product

                         experience in which to explore           line concerning “that business            from 2005 offers a fascinating

                         characters, events, and even             on Cato Neimoidia” had the                window on efforts at the time to
                         entire worlds beyond the                 chance to read James Luceno’s             create a cohesive narrative across
                         confines of the movie itself.             Labyrinth of Evil and discover            diff erent media.






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