George Lucas on SW Literature

Hmmm... What was his involvement with Splinter of the Mind's Eye? I'm sure he had to be involved with it as it included concepts from the SW drafts like the Kaiburr Crystal.

 

Yeah, Evil Homeless Obi-Wan wasn't an especially good move either. I don't think it's so much the evil part-a decent author could craft a believable fall for Obi-Wan, IMO, but the homeless/clone/whatever bits that mess it up.

 

It was kinda sorta a treatment for a TV sequel to ANH if ANH didn't become a big enough hit to warrant what would become ESB. Or so I have heard.

 

Stewjon is "official"? That was funny at the event, but...



And I'd have to agree that evil Obi-Wan up there looks more like a train-hopping hobo than any sort of menace.

 

Yeah, I was initially excited at evil Obi-Wan in BF3, but then I saw the picture. Evil Obi-Wan is Dooku, not Hobo With A Sabre.

 

I always liked Marvel Comics perspective regarding Lucas' words about their literature:

Marvel & Canon


• Star Wars #1, July 1977, Marvel Comics
  "The Story Behind Star Wars - The Movie and the Comic Mag
  by Roy Thomas
  It started slowly, this Star Wars project. Both for George Lucas and even for Marvel Comics.
  It's a couple of years now since I met George Lucas... We met, shared a dinner and a few anecdotes and that was it.
  Or so it seemed.
  For, a few months later, a friend of George Lucas' looked me up. His name was Charlie Lippencott, and he was (for lack of a better term, he said) media director of George Lucas' new film, Star Wars, about which I knew nothing but the name.
  Fairly understandable, since at that statge filming ahdn't even been started.
  Charlie informed me, after a spaghetti dinner and some more swapped anecdotes, that he and George would like Marvel Comics in general and me in particular to handle the comic book adaptation of Star Wars..."



• Star Wars #1, July 1977, Marvel Comics
  Marvel Bullpen Bulletins (Archie Goodwin, Ed.)
  "ITEM! To emphasize what Stan was saying in the Soapbox about the House of Ideas zooming along, let's kick off this column with a few words about another new title we're springing on you this month... STAR WARS!
  If that sounds familiar, it might be because we've plugged it a bit in the past, but a much better bet is that you've been hearing about the multi-million dollar, super science-fiction film from Twentieth Century Fox upon which our comic is based. STAR WARS is an epic of the far-flung future where intergalactic war and intrigue ruin rampant... To do it justice in graphic story format, Mr. Lucas and company handpicked Marvel for the awesome adaptation task, singling out Rascally Roy Thomas as writer/editor and Wholesome Howard Chaykin as artist..."



• Birth of Non-Movie Canon (OR Dispelling the Big Green Bunny Hatred Myth)
  Star Wars #6, Dec. 1977 Marvel Comics
  "...And yes, as heralded at the end of this issue's wind-up of the film story, just 30 days from now Thomas and Chaykin will be carrying on the story of our Star Warriors, into new areas not covered by the movie itself. It came about this way:
  George Lucas himself, of course, had had plans for more than one 'Star Wars' film ever since its inception several years ago. In fact, there exist several earlier screenplays under the name 'Star Wars' which bear almost no resemblence whatever to the film as it eventually emerged, and Roy was given these to scan to see if there was anything that could be turned into a comic-book Star Wars #7 and beyond. While the screenplays are fascinating, they seem if anything to occur in the months and years before the movie itself, and we're pretty certain that it's really the likes of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbaaca, the droids Artoo and Threepio, that everyone wants to see more of.
  Accordingly, Roy got together for lunch in Hollywood the other day with George Lucas (as well as amiable Mark Hamill, who plays Luke in the movie) to discuss the direction he and Howie would take the trip. Messrs. Thomas and Chaykin had already plotted #7 and set the direction for an issue or two beyond, but they wanted to be sure that their own scheme of things did not conflict with future plans of George himself, who oversees the movies, books, and other priceless items which'll be emanating from the Star Wars Corporation in the months to come.
  Fortunately for all (since we labor always in the shadow of the Dreaded Deadline Doom), George was enthusiastic about what Roy and Howie had done, and the other directions he suggested for the trip were nearly identical to what our writer/artist team wanted to do anyway. )Which, perhaps is natural is only natural since Roy and Howie have been two of the movie's biggest boosters since long before the film was even completed, let alone released!)
  Thus, beginning next issue, you'll be treated to the first

 

In retrospect TTT would have worked better with the clone being that of one of the well known prequel jedi such as Qui-Gon, Mace Windu or Dooku.

It's unfortunate that Zahn doesn't go back and rewrite TTT like Lucas does with the SE or the Blu-ray edits.

 

In hindsight, I much prefer the Zahn-ian concept for modern-era Too-Bad-They're-Noghri-Sith to the modern-era's Lost Tribe of the Sith. I mean, hell, despite Lucas' prohibition to the contrary, if we have to get Sith in this era anyway -- then their appearance in TTT was... so artfully done. As compared to the modern Sith's appearance in FotJ.

It would of course, however, make the baby Anakin cry to experience the inevitable overuse and see the Sith then become glorified bodyguards for the Skysolos, then drop off the face of the galaxy from disuse rather than Jedi genocide. Or worse yet, get their choobies kicked by the next uber-alien of the month, once the Noghri-aura wore off.

So, no. I retract. In hindsight, I guess it is better this way. Because of what later people would do to those Sith after the TTT was completed.

 

Urgh, no. It's dumb enough that he's a clone for...no apparent reason; you can manage to ignore that because it's more or less irrelevant to his character. Making it someone we know would be worse because it'd be in your face all the time.

 

Whilst I think Zahn has had a a great series of SW books, making the clone Obi-Wan's clone would have been... not a good idea

I mean Luke would spot it instantly for a start...

Joruus C'boath was more... interesting I think

Although I was not quite as impressed by his "template" - the original he seemed just as insane as the clone... :/

 

I imagine that he sort of had to factor in that aspect (the craziness of the 'template' C'baoth) after the fact because, as he points out in the author notes in the hew HttE edition, he was completely wrong about the Clone Wars in the Thrawn trilogy; they're set at the wrong time, and he has Pellaeon reflect on FIGHTING the clones, and recalling their mental instabilities while doing so. It wasn't until the prequel movies came out that he had any inkling that the clones were actually the Republic's army. And, you know... weren't crazy.

So when he went about writing Outbound Flight however many years later, he probably had to alter the premise a bit and make the original a bit off his rocker as well to better fit the ideas that the prequel trilogy put forth regarding clones. Which, of course, creates some continuity problems for the way that Thrawn explains things to Pellaeon but better that, I guess, than continuing to work off the wrong idea.

 

With all of the mayhem that Lucas' actual Clone Wars plans created for TTT, such an overly complex retcon was never needed. The simpler one is that Spaarti clones produced from Spaarti clone cylinders are different from Kaminoan clones produced in Kamino cloning chambers.

And if one wants to get really nitty gritty about the Clone Wars clones, Alpha 02 -- a Kaminoan variety -- went shyrack-poodoo crazy, so apparently there may be side-effects regardless of which process is done.

 

I have to say I love C'baoth. His arrogance is so over the top, I get a huge kick out of it. He's like a cross between Moses coming down from the mountain, Count Dooku and General Zod. C'baoth is really the only Zahn character I like, he made Outbound Flight entertaining all on his own.

Anyway, a miscellaneous question for the people of lit, if anyone knows it will be here.

Does anyone remember George Lucas speaking fondly of Kyp Durron?