Today was a big day for Star Wars at New York Comic Con due to an incredible panel assembled by Lucasfilm there this afternoon. Titled "Star Wars Presents: A Writers Roundtable", the panel featured some of the biggest names in Star Wars literature, including Timothy Zahn(Thrawn), Jim Luceno(Catalyst), Chuck Wendig (Aftermath, Life Debt), E.K. Johnston (Ahsoka) and Charles Soule (Lando, Obi-Wan & Anakin, Poe Dameron). The panel was moderated by Lucasfilm's Jennifer Heddle and Michael Siglain and featured tons of interesting discussion points, and even a few awesome announcements. Our reporters Chris Seekell and Dominic Jones were there to report back on all the most intriguing nuggets of info that were dropped. You can see all their work below:
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Panel starts now! Panelist are Kieron Gillen (Darth Vader), EK Johnston (Ahsoka), James Luceno (Catalyst), Charles Soule (Poe Dameron) cont— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Soule recalls hearing his dad make up what would happen in ESB before the film came out, including making up a snow planet #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Wendig: seeing his kid fall in love with #StarWars and seeing how generational the stories are is what inspires him— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Kieron Gillen's #DarthVader playlist he listens to while writing the series is just The Imperial March 13 times #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Johnston was 14 when TPM came out and having Padme, who was good at fashion and shooting people, was inspiring to her #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Zahn: #StarWars is universal themes throughout humanity that can connect with everyone on the planet #NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Soule: the hardest part of writing #StarWars is how good the other authors are and keeping up with them #NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Luceno's favorite scenes to write were Anakin waking up in the Vader armor in Dark Lord and the Jedi taking back Coruscant in the NJO— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Johnston can't say her favorite scenes because they are spoiler-y, but she also loved writing scenes on Alderaan #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Question about which character was the hardest to write. Gillen: Boba Fett, Johnston: Ahsoka, Soule: Palpatine, Luceno: C-3PO, Wendig: Han— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Zahn says he's not intimidated by one specific character, but rather by the overall process of writing #StarWars#NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Question about a character they haven't written for yet that they want to write for. Luceno: Watto, Johnston: Sabine, Wendig: HK-47 #NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Zahn wants to write more Palpatine, Soule: Luke (especially in unexplored eras of his life), Gillen: HK-47 and more Leia #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Gillen says the range of #StarWars fans really inspires him and is unlike anything else he's written #NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Wendig says when people find out he's a #StarWars writer that they always want to know secrets and assume he knows everything #NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Johnston says anytime #StarWars comes up with her family she has to explain that it's not the one with Patrick Stewart #NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Luceno: Catalyst is essential reading if you plan to see #RogueOne, gives backstory on Krennic and Erso family #StarWars#NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Johnston: Ahsoka starts right before Order 66, then follows her adventures (or lack there of) afterwards #StarWars#NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Wendig: TFA comics may feature Phasma in a trash compactor, Empire's End feature the empire ending #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Zahn: Thrawn novel will tell his backstory, how he rose through the ranks of the Empire to where he is in #StarWarsRebels#NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Zahn found out about Thrawn on #StarWarsRebels during a meeting @ LFL that no one tell him anything about, except a film crew would be there— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Time for audience Q&A: first question about if writers are assigned plots or come up with their own? #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Heddle says it's a mix of both, sometimes Story Group will come up with something and they try to find the best writer for it #NYCC— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Writers still have lots of creative freedom to work with the parameters of the assigned projects #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Question about whether the writers about if the consider what old Legends backstories are when telling new backstories #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Zahn says he doesn't look at Thrawn as a new character, but rather the same character in a new era, retrograded 15 years #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Michael Siglain (creative director LFL publishing) has a few more #EogueOne publishing annoucements— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
There will be a very cool publishing plan for the 40th anniversary across all the publishers and medium #NYCC#StarWars— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
— Star Wars Underworld (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Keep it here at the SWU for further coverage of NYCC as the weekend rolls on! Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for up-to-the-minute coverage.
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