Movies - Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

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	Movies - Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

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 Return of the Jedi (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. Whereas the novel focuses on Luke, Leia, Lando, C-3PO, R2-D2, Vader, and Xizor, the comics focus on Boba Fett, while the video game focuses on Dash Rendar.

If you just read the book, for instance, the reader may have the feeling something is missing. In order to understand everything, you must collect all three products. Certain elements from each part of the story are unknown until you have read or played another part of the project. By reading the book, you get the ending to the story, but don't find out the complete events leading up to it, which served well as a marketing strategy.

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.

Shadows of the Empire, 1st printing paperback, 1996. Steve Perry, ISBN 0-553-57413-2

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.

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