There’s no better way to resolve issues in decades-old films than to write an official book that explains away or justifies all of those issues. At least, that’s the path being taken by the Star Wars team, which has commissioned a new, canonical novel called Star Wars: Bloodline, which takes place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
The novel is written by Claudia Gray, who says the book attempts to clarify Leia’s early accent inconsistencies by way of an explanation given by real-life Carrie Fisher. She told Entertainment Weekly,
“[In interviews Fisher] sort of laughs at her younger self for being so influenced by Peter Cushing. But I thought: I’m gonna use that. So there’s an explanation in the book that she’s actually making fun of Tarkin. She’s mocking his accent in that moment. She remembers that’s what she was doing. So that moment has been explained. It’s no longer a problem.”
Gray also rewrote the metal slave bikini as a moment of empowerment for Leia by rebranding it as the Huttslayer outfit. “Not only did I like recasting that outfit as a memory of Leia being really strong and kick-ass, but think about it – for a human being to kill a Hutt with her bare hands? That’s unbelievable.”
Gray let loose the fact that Rian Johnson, who will be directing Episode VIII, had a say in the story of the book, so it’s safe to say that, of all of the Extended Universe books available, Bloodline will be most essential to those fans who aren’t particularly interested in reading dozens of books, yet still want to experience a bit more (relevant) adventure with the stars of the series.
Star Wars: Bloodline is available now.