Steve Perry is well known to Star Wars fans for the brilliant Shadows of the Empire novel that was release in 1996. He has also been involved in other Star Wars projects alongside Michael Reaves and wrote the sequel comic book series for Shadows of the Empire in the 5-part mini series Shadows of the Empire: Evolutions for Dark Horse Comics.
Perry has had a prolific career that includes working on titles such as; The Matador Series, Conan, Men in Black and Tom Clancy’s Net Force to name a few. He has also worked on many TV series and graphic novels during that time.
Jedi News recently caught up with him to talk about his career and of course, Shadows of the Empire.
Jedi News – Hello there Steve, welcome to Jedi News! How are you?
Steve Perry – Doing well, the state of the world considered.
When researching for this interview I had noticed that writing has not always been your primary career and like so many authors you had a few jobs before going ‘full time’ as a writer. But there is one job that caught the eye on your list, and I cannot start this interview without mentioning your job as a Private Detective. What can you tell us?
We were living in L.A. A buddy had gotten a job working at an employment agency and a job as a camera op for a detective agency came through his office, He quit and took the job, and then raved about how much fun it was.
So, I applied at the same detective company. But they didn’t really have an opening and were loath to hire somebody with a wife and baby, in case it didn’t work out.
I decided to show them I could do it, so, I followed their head of detectives around for a couple of days and wrote a report on him, He spotted me, but didn’t let on. My skills could be trained, he said later, but having the nerve to do what I did showed the kind of initiative they wanted to see. (I am leaving out the illegal stuff I did to get the job.)
The 25th anniversary of the release of Shadows of the Empire is now upon us. 1996 is such a long way back now, what are your memories about the initial pitch to you about the Shadows project?
I had written a movie novelization for Tom Dupree at Bantam, for The Mask. Pay was not great, and he needed it fast, so I hustled it in. He liked what I did, so he said he owed me one.
Meanwhile, I had done some novelizations of Dark Horse’s Aliens graphic novels, also with Bantam, and Mike Richardson had talked me up to Lucy Wilson, at Lucasfilm, when she said she was looking for a writer.
Tom explained the project. I was, of course, a Star Wars fan, and between Richardson and Dupree, Lucasfilm decided to give me a shot. Happy to get the chance.
It must have been quite daunting to be handed the responsibility of filling the gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, what was your initial reaction?
I was both thrilled and nervous. I had lunch with Kevin Anderson and Kris Rusch, both of whom played in George’s sandbox, and the number of potential readers was scary, but I was fairly confident of my writing abilities by them.
Did knowing what was coming next in the events of Return of the Jedi hinder or help your creativeness?
Very much a help, because I got to retcon stuff. A bit worrisome because I was going to tell a story to which the ending was known to readers. Some tension was going to be missing.
Shadows is a collective story told through 3 mediums: video game, comic book, and novel. The 3 differing angles of the story would have to dovetail together to bring us the overriding timeline of events, how much guidance were you given on the direction of your storyline?
Don’t forget the toys, collectables and the soundtrack. What they had was a general idea, the underworld/criminal elements, Xizor, some of the hardware, ships, and robots, but no real story. We all got together at the Ranch and brainstormed the story around a big conference table. I took notes, offered my suggestions, and then went home to write an extensive outline. Once that was approved, it became the foundation for the storylines.
Don’t worry, those aren’t things I could ever forget!
How collaboratively did you have to work with John Wagner (Comic adaptation writer) and Jon Knoles (LucasArts Game Developer) on the events of Shadows?
I worked more with John since Dark Horse was writing the comics. The game used the outline. So, past the brainstorming session, I didn’t have any direct input.
Did any of your input make it into the game or comic book stories?
Comics, to be sure we didn’t step on each other’s toes. They very much wanted Boba Fett, so I stayed away from his character, mostly.
It is a well-known fact that Dash Rendar’s appearance was based on Jon Knoles. Were you lucky enough to have a sneaky cameo in Shadows?
I used to stick myself into books in a bit part now and then, but I don’t recall if I did it in SOTE. Might have done.
What can you remember from the launch of Shadows?
It was a big deal. Lot of flash. I was never asked to sign an NDA, but I was careful not to say anything in public until Lucasfilm had already done so.
Book climbed to #5 on the New York Times bestseller list, and Bantam sent me a gold-embossed, leather-bound copy of the novel. which I thought was way cool.
During the events of Shadows Han Solo was always going to be off limits as he is sealed in carbonite and in the possession of Boba Fett. Were there any tinges of disappointment to be unable to write for such an iconic character?
No, I knew that going in. Dash was the substitute I came up with, kinda like Han’s younger brother, in my mind.
Leia’s story in Shadows deals with her inner torment and almost feels like you put into a love tryst when she encounters Prince Xizor in his palace. She has announced her love for Han on Bespin, she is also confused by her feelings and relationship with Luke, and when the seductive pheromones exuded by Xizor kick in, the predicament she experiences is so well written. How did you approach such a complex area?
Very carefully. Somebody at Lucasfilm, I recall it as either Lucy Wilson or Sue Rostoni, was lobbying for Xizor’s pheromones to overcome Leia’s resistance. I thought this was a bad idea, and I was not going to go there, not wanting to be hunted down by fans with torches and pitchforks.
Even so, even though Leia’s resolve was what it was, I still got flak from outraged fans: Leia she would never do that to Han! and I would ask them to re-read that scene, because (SPOILER) she *didn’t* do that to Han.
Black Sun has played a pivotal role in Star Wars since Shadows, from the Dark Horse Darth Maul comic book series to current canon ventures on and off screen. Although Shadows is now classed as a Legend, does it surprise you that this is one of the enduring things from the book you wrote?
Yes and no. I thought the project would do well; it was almost a full dress-rehearsal, had everything but the movie. And it was gritty and different, and filled a gap about which fans were curious. I didn’t think I would still be getting small royalty checks twenty-five years on. I swiped Back Sun from myself, having used it in a novel earlier.
Dash Rendar seems to perish when the Outrider collides with a piece of Xizor’s Skyhook at the very end of the story, but we never have explicit confirmation of his death in the book. Fans still clamour to think he escaped to fight another day due to the ending of the game, but was there ever any intention to kill off his character?
No, that was deliberately ambiguous, because the answer to it shows up in the video game. Had there been more comics after Evolution, you would have seen Dash pair up with Guri for more adventures, at least if I had written them.
Dash lives, unless they killed him off recently and I missed it.
With the huge investment made by Lucasfilm and LucasArts, was there ever any discussions around eventually developing Shadows into a movie?
Not that I recall, couldn’t have used the original actors, age-wise. I thought it would have been a great animated movie or TV series, using their voices. And if CGI gets past the uncanny valley, sure. Some kid in South America did a Lego version…
How aware were you of the impact Shadows had on so many fans of Star Wars?
Judging from my fan mail, fairly aware. Got a ton of paper and email back in the day, still get notes from fans. Got two letters yesterday.
Shadows of the Empire: Evolution was a continuation of the story of Guri and Black Sun in comic book format. How did you start planning what came next?
I had Guri, one of my — I thought — most interesting characters. She was a slave, but once freed by circumstance, all I had to do was put her onstage and then watch what she did. I outline the story as I saw it unfold for Dark Horse, and they liked it.
Do you own any of the tie-in collectibles or toys?
A few pieces. Including three dust jackets for the novel. Kevin Anderson told me not to mention where I was living, because I would be getting calls from fans at three a.m. wanting to chat. I had already put that info into play, so I asked Tom Dupree if it was too late to drop it. He allowed that they had run a few proof jackets, but it wasn’t a problem. So, they trashed those, and he sent me the three with the earlier info on them.
Instant collector’s items, only three of them, and I got them all. Framed them. Talked to Steve Sansweet, he told me to hang onto them.
Also have a couple books personally autographed to me by George Lucas and Mark Hamill.
Wow, now they would be considered grail pieces for many Star Wars fans!
I have recently reread Shadows for the umpteenth time and it still captivates me to this day. Why do you think Shadows still has such a loyal fan base?
Well, it is a part of the universe that is pivotal and interesting. And not too badly written. It was fun to do, and I enjoyed writing it, and I think some of that comes across.
Which part of the Shadows experience created a lasting memory for you?
Pretty much all of it. Flying to San Francisco, driving to the Ranch, seeing that, meeting the creative team, the writing, the bestseller-status, the fans, the money, it was all good.
Are you still actively working, and if so, do you have any new projects on the go at the moment?
Yep, though not as active. Working on a final book in my Matador series, a time-travel novel collaboration with Daniel Keys Moran, some odd movie projects, some with Mike Richardson.
Steve, it has been absolute honour and pleasure to speak to you and we would like to extend a huge Jedi News thank you to you for being part of our Shadows of the Empire 25th Anniversary celebration.
Happy to be here, thanks for inviting me.
Steve Perry is still busy working on new art projects. You can learn more about him by visiting his website.
The team at Jedi News would like to say a big thank you to Steve for taking the time to talk to us.
