Nearly two years after the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, countless questions remain about the events of the sequel trilogy, which skipped over seemingly crucial story details for the sake of expediency. Tie-in works have filled in some of the blanks, such as how Palpatine survived Return of the Jedi and the full power of Rey and Kylo Ren's Force dyad, but an upcoming book could very well solve the trilogy's last secrets.
Written by Adam Christopher (Empire State, The Age Atomic), Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith is set almost 20 years after the Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi. In the novel, Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian reunite to find Lando's missing daughter and deal with the Sith that may be involved in her disappearance.
One of the more intriguing aspects of Shadow of the Sith, set for publication on June 28, 2022, is the exact when of it all, considering virtually everything released so far canonically has taken place a decade or more before (The Mandalorian) or a decade after (Star Wars Resistance). This moment is a sweet spot for a lot of threads flying loose through hyperspace, including the nature of the First Order. If all that anyone had ever seen were the films in the Skywalker Saga, it could be forgiven if the impression was that the galactic-wide celebration witnessed during Return of the Jedi's special edition was a short-lived sigh of relief.
When The Force Awakens opens, a new generation of Imperials seems all powerful and undisputed as the semi-legitimate ruler of the Galactic Order. Given the vast resources at their disposal, and the sphere of influence they seem to wield, it seems as if the 30 years separating this film from its predecessor must have been filled with their conquest of the galaxy, despite the destruction of the Death Star. This selection from the official press release though sheds some illumination about this period:
The Empire is dead. Nearly two decades on from the Battle of Endor, the tattered remnants of Palpatine’s forces have fled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. But for the heroes of the New Republic, danger and loss are ever-present companions, even in this newly forged era of peace.
That implies the First Order wasn't a prominent threat at this time, and the New Republic Luke helped forge has existed in relative calm until now, which is revelatory. It suggests the Imperial remnant flourished quickly, and out of nowhere, and the galaxy it would come to terrorize had known a generation without war. Lando has been searching for his daughter for some time when he comes across a Sith assassin named Ochi of Bestoon, who is searching for a girl named Rey. All the while Luke is clear about only one thing, a disturbance in the Force centered around a dead planet name Exegol.
Conceivably this would answer lingering questions concerning the back and forth the trilogy perpetrated regarding Rey's parentage, but also Luke's movements and awareness of Exegol, specifically. What plans did he put in motion, what warnings did he offer and what threats did he himself attempt to neutralize? At this point is his new Jedi Order still thriving with Grogu and Ben Solo as his students or has he already committed the sin of uncertainty that would destroy his fledgling academy? There had been speculation about Jannah, who was introduced in The Rise of Skywalker as a First Order deserter turned resistance fighter, as potentially being Lando's daughter, but the film never addressed the issue. Will this confirm that loudly whispered connection or set the stage for an entirely new character to make a name for herself?
There are so many questions but it seems that the answers, or at least some of them, are coming.
Written by Adam Christopher, Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith arrives on June 28, 2022.