#Sam Witwer is amazing as Maul | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kuwdora · 10 months

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Star Wars audiobooks! I've been restless for new Star Wars since Andor ended. Been going through a handful of Disney era and Legends novels over the last few months. I have enough reactions to get down into an actual post. Mostly I'm just going to be foaming at the mouth over Marc Thompson and Sam Witwer's narration and falling over myself about the characters. I have listened to: Dark Disciple, Last Shot, Disney Thrawn trilogy, Heir to the Empire, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. Lots of these books I liked, some of them I didn't but the narration and characters are still amazing. Motherfucking MARA JADE. Asajj Ventress!!!!!!!! I have no rational mind about Maul and I am one of those feral stick figures chewing on Thrawn. Hnnghh.

First of all, let me start with Marc Thompson. He's been doing the audiobooks for years and years now. Here’s a great intro where he’s talking about the differences of doing character voices and learning the importance of bringing the right dynamic to the prose. He slips so seamlessly into his Star Wars voices reel, ahaha.

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Here is a really cute Lip Sync Battle where Marc Thompson will say a line and then have a fan lip sync the same line back at the camera. His energy, his energy I love it so much. Everyone is having SO MUCH FUN. There’s also a cameo by Star Wars author Christie Golden in this video. Super cute.

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First book:

Dark Disciple - Christie Golden Narrated by Marc Thompson

Alright I actually had picked this up ages go from my library and never read it but since I’ve been on an audiobook kick, Marc Thompson got me goin’ with alllll his voices.

I love Asajj Ventress so I was pretty much guaranteed to enjoy something from this book. Apparently it was written based on some unfinished scripts for an arc that would have happened if the show didn’t get cancelled. Knowing this makes a lot more sense with regards to the pacing and I think I would have preferred the animated episodic for this since I think a lot of the early Quinlan and Asajj stuff dragged a little too much. However I did appreciate getting more of a deeper dive in Asajj’s head and it really made me want to go digging through AO3 for some amazing character studies that I know must exist at this point.

But yeah, I didn’t think I’d enjoy the eventual romance between Asajj and Quinlan but Quinlan was such a perfect set-up for a fall from the Jedi Order. I think I’m just really easy when it comes to whumping the fuck out of Jedi with torture and their own emotional repression.

I was really into all the Dathomir scenes and the history of Asajj with her sisters being touched upon again and how she managed to not “go crazy from the dark side” because of the balance she found because she was a Nightsister.

A++ for Asajj having to go to Boba fucking Fett to mount a rescue mission inside a fake heist.

Really I think I’m just so easy for murdery women with a rage boner. Fuck Dooku.

Marc Thompson’s narration was a delight and I definitely would recommend this for anyone who enjoyed The Clone Wars series and wanted to get a little more Asajj screen time. Here’s a scene where someone pulled Clone Wars clips and put Dark Disciple audio underneath. Marc Thompson bringing incredible Dooku subservience and Sidious danger, hhhngh.

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7/10, would listen to again even though I'd rather see the finished episodes.

Last Shot (A Han and Lando Novel) - Daniel Jose Older Narrated by Marc Thompson, Daniel Jose Older and January LaVoy

This book was extremely disappointing. Normally I am a fan of seeing fan-favorites have their mid-life crises but I was extremely bored and over with Older’s take on Han having an existential crisis of who he was as a father an husband in this post-Empire world. Lando on the other hand, was having a crisis of genuinely having fallen in love and not knowing how to handle that. I fucking loved that.

This book had multiple timelines and jumped around a lot and I don’t know if I just wasn’t focused enough while listening but the timeline jumps were jarring and incomprehensible at times. The action plot ended up being rather unsatisfying.

It was also very jarring to have three narrators for the different timelines and I kind of feel bad because I went and looked and Older’s narration is just consistently getting panned across all reviewers—and for good reason. Thompson and LaVoy are experienced voice actors and with Older in the middle, Older just seems slapdash in his reading. If it was just Older all the way through I might have been more forgiving but going back and forth with everyone… it really was painful at times.

It was a slog to get through this book, really. What I actually really enjoyed was all the original characters: an Ewok slicer, a nonbinary hot shot pilot, and Lando’s love of his life whose name is slipping my mind even now, agh. I wasn’t fan of the villain character, unfortunately, and it was a bit of a letdown that the action plot was just… I don’t know, boring. It was a riff on transhumanism except with droids and a bit of droid supremacy to it and I was just... tired by it.

Marc Thompson was KILLING it tho. His performances always fucking delight me. January LaVoy’s narration of Lando and L-3 were also really great even though I just wasn’t into the scenes themselves.

3/10 - do not recommend, HOWEVER I would read fic about the lady ewok hacker Peekpa.

Darth Maul: Shadow hunter By Michael Reeves Narrated by SAM WITWER

I am, as the fannish parlance goes, Not Normal about Maul or Sam Witwer's performance as Maul.

This novel takes place just before the events of The Phantom Menace and it’s a Star Wars story that is very, very narrow in scope. The stakes are still very high because someone has gained information about the Trade Federation’s impending blockade and Sidious sends Maul to go and take care of it. The whole story takes place in the underbelly of Coruscant and I gotta say, it’s really refreshing after going through a bunch of Star Wars shows, books and films where it’s all galactic hopping whirlwind stuff to have that's in one place and happening in a short amount of time. I think it's something like 2 or 3 days that all the events happen.

Michael Reeves is a man of deep characterization and creates an amazing sense of place in the Black Sun alley of Corusant. We get very little Sidious and Maul interaction but what bits we do get are fascinating and haunting. I do like the ‘less is more’ approach here with these two...although I will say I’m not sure I would have picked up this book if I hadn’t gone through The Clone Wars and lost my goddamn mind over Sam Witwer’s portrayal of Maul.

And his performance here. In this book. I don’t know what it is about Witwer but when he does Maul my brain just lights up in a way that I haven’t really gotten outside of live theater performances. He brings this sense of ruthlessness and competence to Maul, his gleeful rage and oscillating mania as he ends up tracking an information broker and Jedi Padawan. Oh, Witwer is truly just. Fucking amazing, okay.

I would love this book even if it wasn’t Witwer narrating it but my god he elevates it to a whole new level. I got my copy from the library but it is immediately on my to-buy list once I can buy books again.

Michael Reeves also wrote for Batman the Animated series and Gargoyles which makes a whole lot of sense in the way he’s able to just create such lush sensory detail of place and people, oh holy fuck. He’s the writer who wrote the Gargoyles episode about Broadway accidentally shooting Elisa with her gun (this is an episode that got pulled from airing and I don’t think they have on Disney+ right now). Aw man, alright I definitely need to read more of his stuff now.

The action plot is Lorn Pavan is a down-on-his-luck fellow who got information he shouldn’t have and he is trying to sell it, Darsha the Jedi Padawan gets sent down to bring in a Black Sun informant and things go tits up for her in horrible ways. Darsha and Lorn’s paths collide and they try to survive Maul. I love everything about these characters, except for the end where Lorn started having romantic feelings about the Padawan. Blech.

Also somehow I think I-5 is now my second favorite droid character I’ve come across in the greater Star Wars canon (Chopper will always be my #1 grumpy cat droid). Witwer has the best dry delivery for the droid character. Like. It’s so fucking GOOD.

I’m also impossibly impressed and obsessed with Witwer’s performance of Sidious and the Jedi Council. His Qui-Gon is SO FUCKING GOOD. His Palaptine has my teeth rattling in my head oh my god.

Here’s the first 5 or so minutes of Shadow Hunter, hhnngh. You get Maul, Sidious a drunk Lorn Pavan, and my new droid bestie I-5:

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I am 100% going to be reading Michael Reeves’ other Star Wars novels. Apparently he has a series that follows a Jedi-in-hiding post-Order 66 and I want to just dunk my head in all the Star Wars noir, I guess, yes please.

10/10 - I love, would heartily recommend to anyone wanting a kind of story that’s more heavy on character and setting and also SAM WITWER!!!!!!!!! Maul. Hnnghghghgh.

TIMOTHY ZAHN TIME.

Thrawn Trilogy (Disney era) Thrawn, Thrawn Alliances, Thrawn Treason Narrated by Marc Thompson

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This was my second time through the Disney novels. I watched Star Wars Rebels first, then my friend jb_slasher told me about Thrawn having novels. I had vaguely heard of Heir to the Empire over the years and also my friend recommended the Disney trilogy so I figured I’d start with that since I was diving off from Disney canon anyway.

My god I love this trilogy so fuckin’ much. Marc Thompson out here nailing it. This Thrawn is the type of character who is always the smartest person in the room and I should get irritated by that like all the other characters but mmmm, I have a competence kink. And I am just over the moon with how he instills loyally and allegiance in his crew who can now have a commander who is not interested in politicking his way through things but actually is committed to strategy and whatnot.

Also fucking Zahn made Thrawn go back to space college. And gave him a little protege who he grew to admire. Eli Vanto is a great character, I am reading a lot of slash about them obviously but yeah, I loved seeing his growth throughout the trilogy. And THRAWN ALLIANCE. Y’all. Y’all. The Star Wars memes about Thrawn and Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker are AMAZING and really do the hilarity so much justice. Here's a fantastic book trailer cut together with Marc Thompson' narration, hnngh.

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This man absolutely knows who Darth Vader is and Darth Vader is like “oh fuck no you don’t.” And when Thrawn had met Anakin during the Clone Wars and Anakin had to try and work together with him? Perfection. Bonus Padme getting to be a ridiculous and foolish badass when she goes looking for trouble. And also her also having a competence kink for Thrawn, too. It cracks me the fuck uuuuuup, okay.

Thrawn absolutely hates politics so fucking much and I love to see how that is the primary way he gets thwarted or has to build his strategy around. Because people are fucking assholes and political everywhere. Seriously, have I mentioned how much I love Marc Thompson??

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Thrawn Treason gave us more of Thrawn’s people and whatnot with the Chiss which I also liked but I’m really less interested in their motivations and experiences as a culture on the edge of the Empire. More here for Vanto now getting to be the fish-out-of-water and leveling up and getting all the respect he deserves.

MARC THOMPSON, y’all. He does a great Thrawn, an AMAZING whinybaby sycophant Ronan of the Starkiller Project, and his Eli Vanto Space Yokel intonation is 💋. Also I feel like the loyalty and trust that Thrawn earns from his subordinates really feeds into this praise kink thing that everyone develops by being around him. I love it.

10/10 will lose my mind and listen/read this trilogy again and also read all the fanfic about it.

Heir to the Empire Timothy Zahn

I am sorry it took me 30 years to get here but I AM NOW HERE FOR MARA JADE’S RAGE BONER. Let me repeat: MARA. JADE. !!!!!!!!!

Also holy fuck. Luke Skywalker getting to be smart, technically creative and able to navigate through terrible situations in spite of a Force-Blocking Macguffin is AMAZING. I was not expecting to be this into a post-Empire Luke but I really fucking loved it.

I also love all of the Han and Lando scenes in this (WAY MORE than Last Shot, sorry Daniel Jose Older).

Leia and Chewie!! On Kashyyk!! Talon Karrde was so great (Thompson made him kind of sound like Antonio Banderas??)

Thrawn and his bestie Pelleaon! What a fascinating dynamic.

I actually was not very into Thrawn’s vibes in this book as much as I was in the Disney stuff. I don’t know if it’s because of the vibes they wrote him in Star Wars rebels that got filtered back into Zahn’s take on him for the books (or if it was the other way around?) - Like, the calculating tactical and man of strategy is still there, but… hm, I’ve been struggling to articulate what about it that didn’t tickle me as much. He’s still playing the long game in every situation but I don’t know… I think there’s this more pragmatic view of people he has in the Disney books that he doesn’t get here in the first of this trilogy. I haven’t gotten to the other two books from this series yet so maybe I’ll feel differently later. The anniversary edition of the audiobook that I got from my library was narrated by Marc Thompson and he (you'll be so surprised) fucking nailed it all for me. Love love love.

10/10 timothy zahn, I love you. You got an amazing way of writing action. I gotta read more of your stuff. Anyway, I'm also starting the Ahsoka novella that I think (??) is not quite canon anymore since they got a final season for Clone Wars, but it's by E.K. Johnston and narrated by Ahoska's voice actor Ashley Eckstein. Don't have enough thoughts about it yet but I love Ahsoka so I'm sure I'll have a decent time.

#this is like 2k of me rambling and talking about my star wars feels wheee #star wars #kuwdora reads #star wars books #heir to the empire #thrawn alliances #thrawn treason #asajj ventress #thrawn #mara jade #sam witwer #darth maul #marc thompson #my posts #textpost #shadow hunter

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clonewarsarchives · 2 years

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Clone Wars Features in Star Wars Insider

[see chronological list below cut]

Cast interview

#108 Double Trouble (Matt Lanter and Ashley Eckstein)

#110 Voice of the Force (Tom Kane)

#111 More than a Hobbie! (Corey Burton)

#112 The Voice Will Be With You, Always (James Arnold Taylor)

#115 The Journey of Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger)

#116 Attack of the Clone (Dee Bradley Baker)

#116 The Perils of Padmé (Catherine Taber)

#117 The Duches and The Jedi (Anna Graves)

#117 Boba Fett is Back (Daniel Logan)

#122 The Sultry Sith (General + Nika Futterman)

#122 Master of Villaninous Voices (Corey Burton)

#123 Matt Lanter and the Rigors of Mortis!

#123 Coming of Age (Ashley Eckstein)

#123 It’s CAT versus JAT!

#125 Talking Tarkin (Stephen Stanton)

#129 Taylor Made (James Arnold Taylor)

#130 Super Trooper (Dee Bradley Baker)

#132 Back from the Depths! (Sam Witwer)

#199 Sam Witwer Unleashed!

#199 Ahsoka Lives! (Ashley Eckstein)

#201 The Animated Anakin (Matt Lanter)

Crew interview

Dave Filoni

#95 Fighting the Clone Wars (with Catherine Winder, producer)

#102 Directing the Troops & The Creator Strikes Back (George Lucas)

#104 Send in the Clones

#114 Bringing Back the Bounty

#115 Ready for Battle

#116 The Art of Mandalore

#117 The Unusual Suspects

#120 Third Wave

#121 Mythmakers (with George Lucas)

#125 Clone Ranger

#134 Behind and Beyond the Battle Lines

#140 Unexpected Journeys

Guest director/Animation director

#107 Creating Clones (Rob Coleman, director for 1.06-7)

#130 Animated Discussion (Keith Kellog, animation director)

#132 Notes from the Frontline (Walter Murch, director for 4.08)

#133 In Pursuit of Perfection (Duwayne Dunham, director for 3.11 & 4.01)

Sound/Music

#107 Sounding Out the Troops (David Acord, sound designer)

#117 Sound Affects (David Acord)

#116 Tales of a Sound Droid (Matthew Wood)

#111 Score de Force (Kevin Kiner, composer)

#126 Score Wars (Kevin Kiner)

Writer

#103 Cloak of Darkness (Henry Gilroy, Season 1)

#125 A Writer’s Tale (Katie Lucas, Nightsisters arc)

#126 The Write Stuff (Christian Taylor, Mortis arc)

Others

#108 Final Cut (Jason Tucker, editor)

#113 Second Strike (Cary Silver, producer)

#129 Producing Magic (Cary Silver)

#120 Back with a Bang (Joel Aron, CG Lighting and Effects Supervisor)

#124 Making Maquettes (Darren Marshall, concept artist)

#134 Darth Maul Death Sentence comics interview

#137 Cast & Crew Q&A

Short Story

#136 Reputation (Cad Bane)

#139 Speaking SIlently (Captain Rex)

#144 Hondo Ohnaka’s Not-So-Big Score

#159 Kindred Spirits (Asajj Ventress, prequel to Dark Disciple)

General/Meta articles

#118 Rise of the Bounty Hunters (Season 2 trivia)

#132 Rogues Gallery - Bounty Hunters from 4.17 The Box

#139 Rogues Gallery - Ahsoka’s younglings

#142 The Show that Changed Star Wars

#159 Asajj Ventress: A-typical Anti-Hero

#160 Ahsoka Tano: A Hero of Our Time

#179 Mortis: Planet of the Force

#195 The Comeback Clones (character profiles)

Episode Guide

#106 Cover + S1.01-10 Episode Guide

#125 50 Great Reasons to Rewatch Season Three

#134 10 Amazing Moments from Season Four

#136 S4 DVD highlights

#139 100 and Counting!

#200 Season 7 episode guide

in Chronological order

#95 Fighting the Clone Wars (Dave Filoni and Catherine Winder)

#102 The Creator Strikes Back (George Lucas) & Directing the Troops (Dave Filoni)

#103 Cloak of Darkness (Henry Gilroy, series writer)

#104 Send in the Clones (Dave Filoni)

#106 Cover + S1.01-10 Episode Guide

#107 Creating Clones (Rob Coleman, animation director)

#107 Sounding Out the Troops (David Acord, sound designer)

#108 Double Trouble (Matt Lanter and Ashley Eckstein)

#108 Final Cut (Jason Tucker, editor)

#110 Voice of the Force (Tom Kane)

#111 More than a Hobbie! (Corey Burton)

#111 Score de Force (Kevin Kiner, composer)

#112 The Force Will Be With You, Always (James Arnold Taylor)

#113 Second Strike (Cary Silver, producer)

#114 Bringing Back the Bounty (Dave Filoni)

#115 Ready for Battle (Dave Filoni)

#115 The Journey of Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger)

#116 Attack of the Clone (Dee Bradley Baker)

#116 The Perils of Padmé (Catherine Taber)

#116 Tales of a Sound Droid (Matthew Wood)

#116 The Art of Mandalore (Dave Filoni)

#117 Sound Affects (David Acord, sound designer)

#117 The Duches and The Jedi (Anna Graves)

#117 Boba Fett is Back (Daniel Logan)

#117 The Unusual Suspects (bounty hunter lineup)

#118 Rise of the Bounty Hunters (Season 2 trivia)

#120 Third Wave (Dave Filoni)

#120 Back with a Bang (Joel Aron)

#121 Mythmakers (Dave Filoni and George Lucas)

#122 The Sultry Sith (General + Nika Futterman)

#122 Master of Villaninous Voices (Corey Burton)

#123 Matt Lanter and the Rigors of Mortis

#123 Coming of Age (Ashley Eckstein)

#123 It’s CAT versus JAT (Catherine Taber and James Arnold Taylor)

#124 Making Maquettes (Darren Marshall)

#125 Clone Ranger (Dave Filoni)

#125 A Writer’s Tale (Katie Lucas, screenwriter)

#125 Talking Tarkin (Stephen Stanton)

#125 50 Great Reasons to Rewatch Season Three (EPG)

#126 The Write Stuff (Christian Taylor, screenwriter)

#126 Score Wars (Kevin Kiner)

#129 Taylor Made (James Arnold Taylor)

#129 Producing Magic (Cary Silver)

#130 Super Trooper (Dee Bradley Baker)

#130 Animated Discussion (Keith Kellog, animation director)

#132 Back from the Depths! (Sam Witwer)

#132 Notes from the Frontline (Walter Murch, director for 4.08)

#132 Rogues Gallery - Bounty Hunters from 4.17 The Box

#133 In Pursuit of Perfection (Duwayne Dunham, director for 3.11 & 4.01)

#134 Behind and Beyond the Battle Lines (Dave Filoni)

#134 Darth Maul Death Sentence comics interview

#134 10 Amazing Moments from Season Four (EPG)

#136 S4 DVD highlights (EPG)

#136 Reputation (Cad Bane, short story)

#137 Cast & Crew Q&A

#139 Rogues Gallery - Ahsoka’s younglings

#139 100 and Counting! (EPG)

#139 Speaking SIlently (Captain Rex, short story)

#140 Unexpected Journeys (Dave Filoni)

#142 The Show that Changed Star Wars (General)

#144 Hondo Ohnaka’s Not-So-Big Score (short story)

#159 Asajj Ventress: A-typical Anti-Hero (General)

#159 Kindred Spirits (Asajj Ventress, short story prequel to Dark Disciple)

#160 Ahsoka Tano: A Hero of Our Time (General)

#179 Mortis: Planet of the Force (General)

#195 The Comeback Clones (General character profiles)

#199 Sam Witwer Unleashed!

#199 Ahsoka Lives! (Ashley Eckstein)

#200 Season 7 summary (EPG)

#201 The Animated Anakin (Matt Lanter)

#insider #masterpost

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nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius · 2 years

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It will never cease to amaze me how Star Wars actors are so different from their characters and yet the same and they’re all one massive family

Like, take Sam Witwer. He’s the most chill guy ever compared to Darth I-Must-Have-Revenge the Dramatic Bitch™️ and yet he’s perfect to play Maul, I can’t imagine one without the other.

And Moses Ingram!! I’ve watched interviews and she was never even that into Star Wars before she was cast and everyone immediately adopted her into the family and was ready to fight any racists to the death

And Ewan and Hayden need no explanation

I just love it, I love how happy all the actors are, there’s so much heart in this whole universe and it means everything to me

#star wars #sw #star wars cast

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saricess · 2 years

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"Ahsoka is great at fighting for her friends, but Maul is terrible at fighting for someone else. (in that Ahsoka/Maul duel) Maul is fighting for the galaxy (since he's the only one with a plan to take down Sidious) and he doesn't want to kill Ahsoka. Maybe cut off her arm, build her a mechanical one, but eventually they'd team up."

Sam Witwer (The Cartoon Podcast: Sith Happens)

#star wars #the clone wars #star wars cast #sam witwer #darth maul #ahsoka tano #i listened to the whole thing and i enjoyed it so much #sam was so determined for maul and ahsoka to team up #and his knowledge and love for star wars is so amazing and wholesome

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former-ly-darth · 2 years

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Unfortunately, I like to see my favorite characters in pain.

#sorry maul #darth maul #the clone wars #star wars #darth sidious #I’m still working at balancing the ratio of the gif so it’s 10MB but also at least visible #anyway #I used to be a whump writer #poor maul #Sam Witwer does an amazing job making him scream in pain #Sam Witwer Just does an amazing job voice maul in general

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marvel-starwarsfangirl · 4 years

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Folks, I know that New York Comic Con was online but like, I just got to talk to Sam Witwer and he is amazing.

#star wars #darth maul #maul #sam witwer #sam witwer is amazing

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fireflyfish · 4 years

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I’m sorry I was ever mean to you Sentient Hat Rack.

#tcw #tcw season 7 #tcw season 7 spoilers #THE SASS!!#THE CHARM #SAM WITWER YOU AMAZING PRECIOUS BEAN #Well... I guess I like Maul now

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witwerlove · 5 years

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HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY TO STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 THE PHANTOM MENACE

#sam witwer #star wars #the phantom menace #ray park #darth maul #twitter #2019 #i've heard that story before but it's amazing #life is weird like that #i was 8 years old when tpm came out #it was the first sw movie i saw in the theater but i barely remember it #being a child of the prequel era i've always had a soft spot for it <33333

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galacticshq · 3 years

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ANONYMOUS said: maul fc ideas ?

maul zaddy. the scream i let out would wake the dead ‘non, please we beg you to use one of the amazing fcs listed below ! hopefully our members chime in with their faves as well so you can see some of our enthusiasm !

sam witwer, ricky whittle, guillermo díaz, wentworth h miller, adam beach, boris kodjoe, josh duhamel, winston duke, ian anthony dale, keanu reeves, malcolm-jamal warner, eric balfour, henry simmons, charles michael davis, tony yang, brian michael smith, gao weiguang, asia kate dillon, tatanka means, & iko uwais !

#star wars rp #appless rp #fantasy rp #disney rp #mumu rp #darth maul

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gffa · 4 years

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark, coming August 25, promises to be a beautiful tribute to the just-completed animated series. The anthology will collect 11 stories by 11 authors — Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Zoraida Córdova, Jason Fry, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greg Van Eekhout, Tom Angleberger, E. Anne Convery, Sarah Beth Durst, Yoon Ha Lee, and Anne Ursu — including 10 retellings of memorable episodes and arcs and one original Nightsisters-based story. So if you loved the tales of Ahsoka, Maul, and clanker-busting clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark will give you the chance to experience them again in a whole new way. Like Captain Rex on a recon mission, StarWars.com reached out to each author to learn why they love The Clone Wars, and which stories they’re telling. Lou Anders (“Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General,” based on the episodes of the same name): I love The Clone Wars for expanding the story of Anakin’s fall from grace. Skywalker really shines in the series, and we see what he truly was, and what he could have been, and by giving him so many opportunities to excel in the early season, his ultimate fate is that much more tragic. I also love the series for gifting us my all-time favorite Star Wars character, and one of my favorite characters from any universe — Hondo Ohnaka! My chapter is a retelling of the first season story arc that plays out across the episodes “Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General.” I wanted to explore this storyline because I find Count Dooku a fascinating character. Sometimes pure, mustache-twirling, mwa-ha-ha evil can actually be boring to write, but a villain who feels they are justified, either because of perceived slights or intellectual superiority or the failure of their rivals or birthright are much more interesting, and Dooku is a bit of all of this. For research, I obviously watched tons of Clone Wars. But I also read up on everything about Dooku I could find, and I listened to Christopher Lee and Corey Burton’s interpretation of the character over and over, trying to internalize their speech patterns. Dooku is so gorgeously supercilious. It was just a blast to get in his head and see the world from his perspective. (And the fact that the storyline gave me another chance to write for my beloved Hondo Ohnaka was an added bonus!) Tom Angleberger (“Bane’s Story,” based on the episodes “Deception,” “Friends and Enemies,” “The Box,” and “Crisis on Naboo”): There’s a lot to love in The Clone Wars, but I think it’s Ahsoka’s arc that really stands out the most. Ventress’s arc does, too, and the way that these arcs cross at the just the right moment is really great Star Wars! My chapter is based on the “Crisis on Naboo” story arc. It’s basically a Space Western. The baddest bounty hunter of them all, Cad Bane, is hired to kidnap the Chancellor. What he doesn’t know is that almost everyone is lying to him, especially a fellow bounty hunter who is really Obi-Wan in disguise. In the TV version, we see it all from Obi-Wan’s point of view, so we know that Bane is getting played. In this retelling, we see it all from Bane’s point of view and, boy, is he going to be mad! To prepare I watched both The Clone Wars AND old spaghetti Westerns starring Bane’s inspiration: Lee Van Cleef. Preeti Chhibber (“Hostage Crisis,” based on the episode of the same name): I love the story that the prequels tell, but because of the nature of what they were trying to do — tell a decade and a half worth of story in three films — we’re missing major moments in what the war really means to the galaxy at large, and in the Skywalker saga itself. The Clone Wars tells us that part of the narrative, it gives us the shape of what entire populations of people had to go through because of this war manufactured by the ultimate evil. And within that scope gives us the hope and love and beautiful tragedy we associate with Star Wars on a larger scale. (Also, Ahsoka Tano — The Clone Wars gave us Ahsoka Tano and for that I will be ever grateful.) I’m writing Anakin’s story during “Hostage Crisis” — an episode in the first season of The Clone Wars. I decided to write the story entirely from Anakin’s perspective, which meant being inside his head before the fall, but where we are starting to see more of the warning signs. And then there’s also the romance of this episode! Anakin’s love for Padmé is real and all-consuming and, as we eventually find out, unhealthy. So, this is a romantic episode, but one that shows us Anakin is ruled by his heart. And that that’s a dangerous thing for a Jedi. In order to best wrap my own head around what was going on, I watched the episode itself several times, and read the script, and then I watched the chronological episodes of Anakin’s run-ins with Cad Bane, so I could get a real feel for where he was with his understanding of Bane’s character. E. Anne Convery (“Bug,” based on the episode “Massacre”): I love it because I think it’s a story that manages, while still being a satisfying adventure, to not glorify war. It does this mainly by following through on the arcs of wonderful, terrifying, funny, fallible, and diverse characters. From the personal to the political, The Clone Warsredefines the ways, big and small, that we can be heroes. My chapter is the “original” tale, though it still touches on The Clone Wars Season Four episode “Massacre,” with brief appearances by Mother Talzin and Old Daka. If I had to boil it down, I’d say that it’s a story about mothers and daughters. Honestly, it felt a little like cheating, because writing new characters meant I got to be creative in the Star Wars universe somewhat unencumbered by what’s come before. I did, however, have several long text chats with Sam Witwer because I was interested in Talzin’s motivations. We talked about stuff like her capacity (or lack thereof) for love. I think I came away thinking she was more a creature driven by issues of power, control, and the desire for revenge, whereas Sam was a little kinder to her. I mean, he is her “son,” so you can’t really blame him for wanting to think better of her! I always love a story within a story, and I was interested in the space where the high mythology of Star Wars and the home-spun mythology of fairy tales could intersect. I drew on my own background in mythology, psychology, and the language of fairy tales, plus I did my Star Wars research. Re-watching the Nightsisters episodes was just plain fun. Zoraida Córdova (“The Lost Nightsister,” based on the episode “Bounty”): The Clone Wars deepens the characters we already love. It gives us the opportunity to explore the galaxy over a longer period of time and see the fight between the light and the dark side. Star Wars is about family, love, and hope. It’s also incredibly funny and that’s something that The Clone Wars does spectacularly. We also get to spend more time with characters we only see for a little bit in the movies like Boba Fett, Bossk, Darth Maul! My chapter follows Ventress after she’s experienced a brutal defeat. Spoiler alert: she’s witnessed the death of her sisters. Now she’s on Tatooine and in a rut. She gets mixed up with a bounty hunter crew led by Boba Fett. Ventress’s story is about how she goes from being lost to remembering how badass she is. I watched several episodes with her in it, but I watched “Bounty” about 50 times. Sarah Beth Durst (“Almost a Jedi,” based on the episode “A Necessary Bond”): I spent a large chunk of my childhood pretending I was training to become a Jedi Knight, even though I’d never seen a girl with a lightsaber before. And then The Clone Wars came along and gave me Ahsoka with not one but TWO lightsabers, as well as a role in the story that broadened and deepened the tale of Anakin’s fall and the fall of the Jedi. So I jumped at the chance to write about her for this anthology. In my story, I wrote about Ahsoka Tano from the point of view of Katooni, one of the Jedi younglings who Ahsoka escorts on a quest to assemble their first lightsabers, and it was one of the most fun writing experiences I’ve ever had! I watched the episode, “A Necessary Bond,” over and over, frame by frame, studying the characters and trying to imagine the world, the events, and Ahsoka herself through Katooni’s eyes. The episode shows you the story; I wanted to show you what it feels like to be inside the story. Greg van Eekhout (“Kenobi’s Shadow,” based on the episode “The Lawless”): What I most love about Clone Wars is how we really get to know the characters deeply and see them grow and change. I enjoyed writing a couple of short scenes between Obi-Wan and Anakin that weren’t in the episode. I wanted to highlight their closeness as friends and show that Anakin’s not the only Jedi who struggles with the dark side. There’s a crucial moment in my story when Obi-Wan is close to giving into his anger and has to make a choice: Strike out in violence or rise above it. It’s always fun to push characters to extremes and see how they react. Jason Fry (“Sharing the Same Face,” based on the episode “Ambush”): I love The Clone Wars because it made already beloved characters even richer and deepened the fascinating lore around the Jedi and the Force. I chose Yoda and the clones because the moment where Yoda rejects the idea that they’re all identical was one of the first moments in the show where I sat upright and said to myself, “Something amazing is happening here.” You get the entire tragedy of the Clone Wars right in that one quick exchange — the unwise bargain the Jedi have struck, Yoda’s compassion for the soldiers and insistence that they have worth, the clones’ gratitude for that, and how that gratitude is undercut by their powerlessness to avoid the fate that’s been literally hard-wired into them. Plus, though I’ve written a lot of Star Wars tales, I’d never had the chance to get inside Yoda’s head. That had been on my bucket list! Yoon Ha Lee (“The Shadow of Umbara,” based on the episodes “Darkness on Umbara,” “The General,” “Plan of Dissent,” and “Carnage of Krell”): I remember the first time I watched the “Umbara arc” — I was shocked that a war story this emotionally devastating was aired on a kids’ show. But then, kids deserve heartfelt, emotionally devastating stories, too. It was a pleasure to revisit the episodes and figure out how to retell them from Rex’s viewpoint in a compact way. I have so much respect for the original episodes’ writer, Matt Michnovetz — I felt like a butcher myself taking apart the work like this! Rebecca Roanhorse (“Dark Vengeance,” based on the episode “Brothers”): I always love a backstory and Clone Wars was the backstory that then became a rich and exciting story all its own. The writing and character development is outstanding and really sucks you into the world. I chose to write the two chapters that reintroduce Darth Maul to the world. We find him broken and mentally unstable, not knowing his own name but obsessed with revenge against Obi-Wan and we get to see him rebuild himself into a cruel, calculating, and brilliant villain. It was so much fun to write and I hope readers enjoy it. Anne Ursu (“Pursuit of Peace,” based on the episode “Heroes on Both Sides”): The Clone Wars creates a space for terrific character development. The attention paid to the relationships between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Anakin and Ahsoka make for really wonderful and resonant stories, and give so much depth to the whole universe. I was at first a little scared to write Padmé, as her character felt pretty two dimensional to me. But the more I watched her episodes in Clone Wars, the more dimension she took on. She’s such an interesting character — she’s both idealistic and realistic, so when corruption runs rampant in the Senate she doesn’t get disillusioned, she just fights harder. She has an ability to deal with nuance in a way that is rare in the Republic — and it means she’s not afraid to bend a few laws to make things right. In this chapter, the Senate is about to deregulate the banks in order to fund more troops, and Padmé decides to take matters into her own hand and sneak into Separatist territory in order to start peace negotiations. Of course, neither Dooku nor the corrupt clans of the Republic are going to allow for this to happen, so the threats to the peace process, the Republic, and Padmé’s life only grow. This arc is the perfect distillation of Padmé’s character, and it made getting into her head for it fairly simple. But I did watch all the Padmé Clone Wars episodes and read E.K. Johnston’s book about her, as well as Thrawn: Alliances, in which she has a major storyline. I really loved writing her. Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark arrives August 25 and is available for pre-order now.

#obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #asajj ventress #ahsoka tano #katooni #yoda #captain rex #darth maul #novels #news #long post

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