On May 4th, to celebrate Star Wars day, Star Wars announced the “Journey to The Rise of Skywalker” publishing line. After The Last Jedi kept Rey away from Finn and the Resistance, we’re finally getting the heroic team-up novels we deserve, with Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose working together to rebuild the Resistance, following their defeat at the hands of the First Order.
In the wake of The Force Awakens, there was plenty of fanfic about Rey, Finn, and Poe having exciting space adventures as they fought Kylo and the First Order. The Last Jedi opted to keep Rey away from the Resistance for most of the film, and for Finn and Poe to be separated. Some fans found this frustrating, as Rey and Finn’s chemistry anchored the first film, and the Finn/Poe ship was incredibly popular.
J.J. Abrams and the cast already promised us that the core heroic trio will go on adventures together in The Rise of Skywalker, but we won’t have to wait until December to get our trio fix. These books, which will go on sale beginning in October, will center on our heroic favorites and tease the coming conclusion to the Skywalker Saga.
The biggest bridge will probably be Resistance Reborn, which will follow our heroes and Leia as they regroup following the end of The Last Jedi. Kid and tween books include a Finn and Poe choose your own adventure book, and a novel centered on Rey, Rose, and Poe on an adventure together. (Where’s Finn?)
The entire list of books is phenomenal, from a book centered on a teen boy searching for the truth of the Force to the incredible art book for The Rise of Skywalker, but these Resistance-centric books are what I’ve been waiting for since 2015. While the movie will undoubtedly do an excellent job of conveying the relationships between these characters, it’ll be nice to see how those relationships grew, or in Rey and Poe’s case, began.
The one concern I have is that now Finn is now the only major hero character with no solo story. Rey is getting her own picture book and is featured in all the Resistance-centric books, Poe had a comic series, and Rose got a novel about her and her sister. Finn has had one one-off comic issue so far. I’d love it if, after The Rise of Skywalker, we got more Finn content. I’d love to see him retire from military life to help stormtroopers who defected like he did, or for him to lead a peaceful life where he helps others and gets to heal from his traumatic childhood. It’s what he deserves!
It seems as though Lucasfilm is ready to focus more on the hero quartet as we build up to a film where their relationships will be more central to the plot. Fans have been craving this kind of dynamic for a while; after all, who doesn’t love found families and friendship? By diving into these relationships and strengthening them before The Rise of Skywalker, the film will have even more impact.
Check out the full list of coming books on StarWars.com and let us know which book you’re most excited for!
(image: J.J. Abrams on Twitter)
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