The Star Wars Writers Round-table is taking place at New York Comic Con, here are the highlights from the event as they happened.
On the panel were the writers Timothy Zahn (Thrawn), Chuck Wendig (Aftermath: Empire’s End), James Luceno (Catalyst), EK Johnston (Ahsoka) and Charles Soule (Marvel’s Poe Dameron). Michael Siglain and Jennifer Heddle of Lucasfilm hosted the discussion.
Update: Kieron Gillen (Marvel’s Darth Vader) is a surprise guest on the panel.
Star Wars Writers Roundtable at #NYCC pic.twitter.com/9EkYZsi1ZW
— Lillian Noble (@LillianSNoble) October 7, 2016
Currently, @ChuckWendig is reading The Expanse, and was influenced by the writer to his right, Timothy Zahn. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
James Luceno names Elmore Leonard and Thomas Pynchon. Ahsoka author @ek_johnston enjoys Anne McCaffrey. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
Kieron Gillen has a huge background in reading horror. Makes sense with the Darth Vader series. pic.twitter.com/aqeQs8SfNc
— Coffee With Kenobi with Dan Zehr (@CoffeeWthKenobi) October 7, 2016
Watch a long thanks to our very own, Johnamarie Macias on periscope!
https://twitter.com/BlueJaigEyes/status/784409652259717120
Between A New Hope & The Empire Strikes Back, @CharlesSoule's father would make up bedtime stories about Star Wars that continued the saga.
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
The Empire Strikes Back was @KieronGillen's first Star Wars movie, which means he's writing the prologue to his own saga entry point.
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
"I keep coming back to how fun it is." -Ahsoka author @ek_johnston on the appeal of Star Wars. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
.@ek_johnston was the same age as Padme when Phantom Menace came out. Inspired by her awesomeness. #NYCC #BookCon pic.twitter.com/Nmxl9HXYFV
— Jamie Greene (@theroarbots) October 7, 2016
E. K. Johnson, author of the Ahsoka novel: pic.twitter.com/COJXkYtwW8
— The Star Wars Report (@StarWarsReport) October 7, 2016
Characters you're afraid to write? Boba Fett for @KieronGillen. Ahsoka for @EK_Johnston. Palpatine for @CharlesSoule. #NYCC #NYCC2016
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
E.K. Johnson was super nervous to write Ahsoka because she comes with a definite voice.
— The Star Wars Report (@StarWarsReport) October 7, 2016
Gillen mentions that Boba Fett is a really difficult person to write. He doesn't have many lines so it's a delicate balance
— Coffee With Kenobi with Dan Zehr (@CoffeeWthKenobi) October 7, 2016
Soule says that Palpatine is such and evil genius that it's makes him hard to write
— Coffee With Kenobi with Dan Zehr (@CoffeeWthKenobi) October 7, 2016
Question about which character was the hardest to write. Gillen: Boba Fett, Johnston: Ahsoka, Soule: Palpatine, Luceno: C-3PO, Wendig: Han
— The SWU Network (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Luceno had to write Palpatine and Sidious as different characters before his identity was revealed. He didn't want to give away the secret.
— The Star Wars Report (@StarWarsReport) October 7, 2016
.@ek_johnston says she would love to write about Sabine Wren one day #NYCC #StarWars
— Lillian Noble (@LillianSNoble) 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
— The SWU Network (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Gillen would actually want to write Leia in the future
— Coffee With Kenobi with Dan Zehr (@CoffeeWthKenobi) October 7, 2016
The breadth of Star Wars fandom, from con-goers to his mom, always amazes @kierongillen. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
James Luceno describes Catalyst as "essential reading" for #RogueOne. Backstory on Krennic and Jyn Erso's family. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon pic.twitter.com/E5wZx7LS66
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
How does @KieronGillen describe the final scene between Aphra and Darth Vader? "Apocalyptic." #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon pic.twitter.com/oYUqtPnmN8
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
Fans of a certain battle droid from @Chuck Wendig's Aftermath series will love the upcoming project from @CharlesSoule. 🙂
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
Wendig: TFA comics may feature Phasma in a trash compactor, Empire's End feature the empire ending #NYCC #StarWars
— The SWU Network (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
Timothy Zahn talking about writing the character of Thrawn from a new perspective. #StarWars #NYCC pic.twitter.com/n5yKB0XpWl
— Lillian Noble (@LillianSNoble) October 7, 2016
Thrawn in #StarWarsRebels is "starting to feel real" for Timothy Zahn, who is excited to see fan reaction. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon pic.twitter.com/HeXNURO5Rd
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
#TimothyZahn is writing #Thrawn as though it's the same EU character just younger. #StarWars #NYCC #bookcon
— Steele Wars Podcast (@SteeleWars) October 7, 2016
More #RogueOne books are coming in the spring, including juniior novels featuring Jyn Erso, Baze and Chirrut. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon pic.twitter.com/3xyTyCDJ3q
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
A Jyn YA novel, Greg Rucka writing a Baze And Chirrut middlegrade.
— Coffee With Kenobi with Dan Zehr (@CoffeeWthKenobi) October 7, 2016
Jyn Erso is getting a YA novel next year! #NYCC #StarWars
— The SWU Network (@TheSWU) October 7, 2016
There will be a whole 40th anniversary publishing program
— Coffee With Kenobi with Dan Zehr (@CoffeeWthKenobi) October 7, 2016
More news soon about books celebrating the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. #NYCC #NYCC2016 #BookCon pic.twitter.com/xQUwic4bzW
— Star Wars (@starwars) October 7, 2016
The panel ends with the promise of a big Marvel reveal next week…
