The new novel Star Wars: Bloodline deals with the political morass Senator Leia Organa finds herself in after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, as the New Republic tries to find its feet. While we’ve known that Star Wars: Episode 8 director Rian Johnson contributed to the plot of the novel, Lucasfilm Story Group’s Pablo Hidalgo confirmed the specifics of his contributions on Twitter.
The specifics of what Rian Johnson needed told in Star Wars: Bloodline are our best indication yet of what’s in store when Star Wars: Episode 8 arrives on Dec. 15, 2017.
Some Bloodline fun facts. I'll try to keep them spoiler free. @claudiagray did an amazing job of combining a number of story threads.
— Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) May 8, 2016
The scandalous revelation in the book was actually a pitch for a pre-TFA animated short proposed back in 2012 called 'Scandal of Blood'
— Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) May 8, 2016
The disposition of the New Republic, its political factions and the napkin incident were pieces that came from Rian.
— Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) May 8, 2016
Casterfo is a character that existed, in various forms, in the earliest versions of the TFA story. And @claudiagray gave him distinct life.
— Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) May 8, 2016
The 'Scandal of Blood' idea is what Rayne & I called 'Star Wars House of Cards' & said, this should be a book someday. 4 years later, it is!
— Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) May 8, 2016
Here’s a quick translation of Hidalgo’s data dump, replete with spoilers:
- “The scandalous revelation”: Senator Leia is outed as the daughter of Darth Vader.
- “The napkin incident”: An assassination attempt on Senator Leia and several other senators. She was warned by the word “RUN” on a napkin.
- “Casterfo”: Ransolm Casterfo is a member of the Galactic Senate and a political opponent of Leia. He’s really into collecting Imperial memorabilia.
Johnson’s main contribution would seem to be the political divide between the Centrists and the Populists in the New Republic. Here’s how the novel describes the political spectrum:
“ The New Republic has become divided into two factions: Populists, who desire to see a New Republic government united between other joining planets. The other faction are known as Centrists, who demand a military-controlled government. The Centrist faction begin to secede from the New Republic to form the First Order with the aid of remnants from the Empire.”
This divide between the Populists and the Centrists is likely to emerge in Star Wars: Episode 8, even if most of the Senate got blown up by the First Order on Hosnian Prime in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
With leaks from the set suggesting Rey and Finn will find themselves in well coiffed urban centers, Star Wars: Episode 8 may dive headlong into the rich and powerful Galactic core interests shaping and supporting the First Order.
