|
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and (a time where no Star Wars novel had gone before), and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release, without actually making the film. The venture paved the way for the theatrical release of the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition in the following year, and the later releases of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy.
Project overview Several products were released, including a novel, a junior novelization, comic series, videogames, trading cards, a soundtrack, role-playing games, toy figurines, vinyl dolls, a series of MicroMachines toys, statuettes, model kits, a line of new action figures and vehicles, and so on. The entire Shadows of the Empire project, though not technically a film, can be collectively considered the closest project to a film in the Star Wars official continuity, without actually being a film. This story is significant in the fact that Lucas reportedly said he would have made a story like this into a movie if he had had the time and effort to do so back in the early 1980's. Story The main story is told by the novel, written by Steve Perry, the comic series by Dark Horse and the Nintendo 64/PC game. Each is designed to tell one part of the overall story; the story is complete only when all three venues are explored. The novel tells the overall story, focusing on the main characters. The comic book series focuses on bounty hunter Boba Fett's battle to keep possession of the frozen Han Solo. The video game allows players to control new character Dash Rendar, whose adventures in the game weave in and out of the overall storyline. All the while, a battle for the life of Luke Skywalker takes place between Darth Vader and Prince Xizor, as each tries to please Emperor Palpatine. Novel The main plotline is told in Steve Perry's novel, Shadows of the Empire, published by Bantam Books. It introduces Prince Xizor, the alien underlord of the largest criminal organization in the galaxy. His goal is to take Darth Vader's place at Emperor Palpatine's side. The novel also sticks with the usual characters. Han Solo is still frozen in carbonite, being taken to the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt by the bounty hunter Boba Fett. It shows Princess Leia's secret search for Boba Fett, the construction of Luke Skywalker's new lightsaber and Darth Vader's search for his son. It introduces a new character to the saga, Dash Rendar, a Han Solo-type smuggler, who acts primarily as a replacement for Han Solo and as a part of the action sequences. Battle of Gall The novel treats the Battle of Gall, a conflict initiated by members of the Rebel Alliance during the search for Boba Fett and his carbon-frozen prisoner, Han Solo. It occurs before the Battle of Dubrillion and after the Battle of Hoth. Lando Calrissian informs Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa that Fett has been spotted on Gall. They depart for Gall, where they join Skywalker's Rogue Squadron. Fett, they learned, stopped at Gall to repair his ship; they plan to ambush Fett and free Solo. However, this mission is confounded by the presence of an Imperial Enclave. Luke concocts a risky plan, utilizing the Rogues to hold the Enclaves' fighter complement while Lando and Leia engage Fett's ship. The rescue begins; the Rogues strafe one of the Empire's destroyers. The Rogues meet light resistance and keep the fighters away from the Grand Trench - where the Outrider is leading the Millennium Falcon towards the spaceport city - only losing one pilot when Will Scotian is forced to return to base after sustaining damage to his craft. However, another wave of TIE fighters approaches, destroying Rogue Six; worse, the second Star Destroyer joins the battle, launching its own fighters into the fray. Still, the Falcon reaches spaceport after a harrowing run through the Grand Trench, though they are beset by Fett and a dozen TIE fighters. Near the imperial base, the Rogues prepare for a mock hyperspace jump to fool their pursuers into believing they had left the system. Plotting a course towards their base on the moon of Kile, the Rogues see Wes Janson's X-wing firing on Luke. The frantic Wes realizes his astromech droid had taken control of his ship, and Luke was forced to disable his fellow pilot's fighter, before towing him back to base. There Luke finds that the astro-droid had been programmed to kill him. Meanwhile, the rescue mission has failed. Forced to evade incoming TIE fighters, the Rebels had been unable to prevent Fett's escape, and without the Rogues on hand, the Slave I fled into hyperspace. Dejected, the crew returned to base, where the matter of Luke's attempted assassination led to an even bigger conflict. Battle of Xizors Skyhook The series also displays several different accounts of a plot development over Xizor's Skyhook, which has been deemed by fans to be the Battle of Xizor's Skyhook. Once Prince Xizor and the Black Sun began competing with Darth Vader for the Emperor's favor, Vader vowed that he would eliminate his rival. Xizor, in turn, wished to disgrace Vader in the Emperor's eyes. Knowing Vader's interest, Xizor began searching for Luke Skywalker in hopes of killing him and making Vader, placed in charge of searching for him by the Emperor's decree, seem like an incompetent fool. When Vader learned of Xizor's actions, he issued an ultimatium to Xizor: stop searching for Skywalker or die. Later, after Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and Dash Rendar destroyed Xizor's palace on Coruscant, Xizor fled to his skyhook in orbit and instructed his fleet to intercept and destroy the fleeing Rebels. While doing so, he made the mistake of saying on an open channel "I've got you now, Skywalker!" When Vader's spies hear of this, they informed the Dark Lord, and Vader, sensing opportunity, instructed the Imperial fleet to destroy Xizor's forces and skyhook. In the ensuing confusion, assisted by Wedge Antilles and Rogue Squadron, the Rebels escaped, though with considerable losses. It appeared that Dash Rendar was killed during the fight, but through a carefully timed hyperspace jump he escaped. Comics The comic book emphasizes the destiny of Boba Fett and his fellow bounty hunters, first seen in a brief scene on The Empire Strikes Back. It also tells the story of Jix, Darth Vader's assistant, who infiltrated Jabba the Hutt's gang of bikers to prevent that band's attempt to murder Luke Skywalker. The series was written by John Wagner and illustrated by Kilian Plunkett. The comics were written and drawn at the same time of the novel, so the first issue could be released immediately after the book. However, the story told by the comics has many differences. The first, and most important one, is that the comics tells what happened to Boba Fett and his "friends," the bounty hunters hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back. Steve Perry, author of the project's novel, was a consultant of the comics. While the stories in the book and comics seldom intersected, it was necessary that characters, scenes, and dialogue match when they did come together. Game LucasArts's Shadows of the Empire game was one of the first made available for Nintendo's 64-bit system, Nintendo 64. The most commercial product in the Shadows of the Empire line, the Nintendo 64 game was released at the same time of the video game console as a marketing strategy. The computer version came more than a year later. In the game, you control the mercenary Dash Rendar in his efforts to help Luke Skywalker and rescue Princess Leia from Prince Xizor's hands. The game is divided in four parts (or chapters). The first one takes place during the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back where Dash is drawn into the battle of Hoth. In the second part, Dash Rendar confronts some of the bounty hunters found in the movies, like IG-88 and Boba Fett in an attempt to get back Han Solo. In the third chapter, Boba Fett has escaped and the player's mission changes: you must now save Luke Skywalker's life by fighting a deadly gang of bikers in Mos Eisley, and then recover Imperial secret plans of the second Death Star, with Skywalker's help. Finally, in the last chapter, Dash Rendar, with Luke and Lando Calrissian, travels to Coruscant to rescue Princess Leia from Prince Xizor's stronghold. Certain parts of the game contradict elements from the book and comic book, but the overall story remains the same. Soundtrack An unusual soundtrack was scored by composer Joel McNeely, after a suggestion by John Williams, and performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus. It was published by Varèse Sarabande. Familiar themes from the movies can only be heard in tracks one (Main Theme from Star Wars) and eight ("The Imperial March"). The disc also includes an interactive track for personal computers, containing concept art and additional information about the project. Track listing Features Toys Kenner was one of the companies that made the toy line for the Shadows of the Empire project. Their line contained action figures (including new characters such as Xizor and Dash Rendar), vehicles (from the Outrider to swoop bikes) and "two-pack" pairings of new and classic characters (such as IG-88 and Boba Fett). The classic characters figures were given a new spin with Chewbacca disguised as Snoova, a Wookiee bounty hunter, and Luke Skywalker costumed in an Imperial uniform (all the better to infiltrate Imperial City). Lewis Galoob Toys, famous for their line of "Micro Machines" miniature toys and playsets, also developed a full Shadows of the Empire toy line. It included three sets of miniatures and a boxed Action Fleet set with two swoop bikes and riders and four miniature articulated figures. Also included in the sets are the classic Star Wars characters (Luke, Vader, the Emperor) as well as the new Shadows characters (Xizor, Dash Rendar, Guri and Leebo). Kenner action figures Kenner vehicles Trading cards The Topps company developed the Shadows of the Empire trading card line. The 100-piece Shadows of the Empire card set from Topps represents all three platforms that tells the story - the book, the comic series and the game, making it a unique storytelling medium and a highly anticipated collectible. The cards are the work of Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, the twin artists who painted one of the more popular original Star Wars release posters. The 100 card set featured double UV-coating and an extra-thick 20 pt. card stock for everlasting collectibility, all with full-bleed painted images on a 21/2" x 31/2" card. The Shadows of the Empire card series is highlighted by 72 cards that virtually storyboard the events in Steve Perry's novel. The series also contains six cards dedicated to vehicles, another six to the comics, and six more keyed to the video game. Each pack came with nine cards. Trailer In 1996, to promote the release of the project, Lucasfilm released a trailer showing clips from The Empire Strikes Back and . A voiceover was provided that explained the events of the new story and how they connected with the two films. The trailer was meant to give the project the feel of an actual film and film release. The trailer, which was originally broadcast on QVC, was also shown several times at fan conventions, including the 1996 Wondercon convention, each time by the head of Lucasfilm fan relations, Steve Sansweet. However, Lucasfilm quickly pulled the trailer, fearing that people might think the project was actually a film. Since the pull of the trailer, many fans searching for it to view have found the trailer extremely difficult to locate, even on the internet. From the book The Secrets of Shadows of the Empire, this is the complete text from the trailer, as originally read by an unknown narrator: When a renegade hero became a friend in desperate need, and a dark villain faced his greatest challenge... When the Empire turned more and more to the forces of the underworld... The underworld moved in to crush the Empire and the Rebellion in a single stroke... After The Empire Strikes Back and before Return of the Jedi, there was a time when heroes and villains alike lived in the Shadows of the Empire. from The Secrets of Shadows of the Empire by Mark Cotta Vaz To correspond with the 10th anniversary, the official site posted the trailer in their videos section. It can be found here. Fan film A group of Brazilian fans have created Shadows of the Empire in Action Figures, a fan film based on the project utilizing stop motion techniques to make the characters move and interact, using the action figures from the 1996 release. The film also uses the official soundtrack and concept art created for the original project. The complete film is available for download here. Sequel A sequel was written to the original story by Steve Perry, the author of the Shadows of the Empire novel. The project is known as Shadows of the Empire: Evolution, and was created in the form of a series of five comic books. These books were later combined to create a compilation book. Story The story is set around the time of . Xizor, the leader of the Black Sun criminal organization, has been destroyed, and Guri, a beautiful human-replica droid and Xizor's personal assassin, is left wondering what her future will hold now that she no longer has anyone to answer to. Throughout the ongoing struggle for underworld supremacy, Guri endeavors to uncover hints of her human side-if it even exists. But in her quest to alter her programming and gain humanity, Guri becomes the quarry of both bounty hunters and Rebels (led by a Jedi-to-be named Luke). Secrets lay buried in her android mind that make her such valuable prey. Shadows of the Empire: Evolution was Perry's first foray into comics. Comics There were five comic book installments that made up the overall story: Prequel A prequel novel was planned to the original Shadows of the Empire story. The book was to be written by author Charles Grant. The novel was cancelled, apparently due to a Lucasfilm Licensing move from Bantam to Del Ray. Film In the 1997 Special Edition re-release of A New Hope, Shadows swoop bikes and ASP labor droids make an appearance, as does Dash Rendar's ship, the Outrider. Though originally developed for the Special Edition of A New Hope, the Sentinel-class landing craft (also known as the "Imperial landing craft") also made its first appearance in Shadows of the Empire. This is the craft seen lifting off in A New Hope when the stormtroopers are roaming Tatooine on the Dewbacks. Prince Xizor makes a cameo appearance at the podrace in The Phantom Menace. A Micro Machines model was used to portray him. Radio In the 1996 ''Return of the Jedi'' radio drama, Brian Daley makes several references to events from Shadows. Comic A tie-in comic book series was released from writer Ryder Windham in January 2000. The comic book series was known as Star Wars: Shadow Stalker, and was a prelude to the original Shadows of the Empire story. The new comic expanded on the adventures of the character, Jix, from the original story. The series also incorporated characters from the Archie Goodwin Star Wars newspaper strip story "Iceworld", reprinted by Dark Horse comics in Classic Star Wars. Video game Several missions in the X-Wing Alliance computer game refer to the Shadows timeline, including the missions to acquire the design schematics of the Death Star II. The game depicts assisting Dash Rendar in the capture of the Imperial freighter Suprosa, which was carrying the secret plans to the second Death Star. Also, Dash Rendar's YT-2400 Outrider can be seen in the game. The Outrider can also be seen very very briefly in the GameCube and PS2 game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, in the sequence after the opening crawl and after The Dooku/Palpatine conversation. Once the space arena comes into view, the Outrider flies from the bottom middle of the screen towards the lower right side. It may be a bit hard to spot, but it is there. Miscellanea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| |