The toughest battle Han Solo ever fought was against his own self-interest.
Four previous limited books have followed other characters.
He doesnt want to believe that change, but he has.
Credit: Lee Bermejo/Marvel Entertainment/Lucasfilm
The story involves a starship race known as the Dragon Void Run.
Hans been dreaming of entering this thing for his entire life, Liu says.
It must be pretty cool to be given the keys to theMillennium Falcon.
Mark Brooks/Marvel Entertainment/Lucasfilm
Thats who I wanted to be when I grew up.
Not a bad life-goal.
Hes just a total badass.
Marvel Entertainment/Lucasfilm
He has no super powers, but hes streetwise, hes tough, hes brave, hes a survivor.
Hes got this hard shell and can be a total jerk.
Hes also fronting quite often, isnt he?
Marvel Entertainment/Lucasfilm
What I love is that Han actually isnt as cool as hed like you to think.
I love that about him so much…
He feels like a real person.
Hes just, like, a regular dude.
When you begin work on a series like this, what are the marching orders from Marvel and Lucasfilm?
Hes the Han we know and love.
Hes really trying to figure out who he is.
Any particular inspirations that led you to the race idea?
I started thinking about this old movie from the 80s that I really enjoyed, which isCannonball Run.
I thought, okay, what if this is sort of like Han Solo inCannonball Runin space?
Everyone wants to be in it, everyone dreams of winning it.
He wants to win, right?
He wants to do the selfish thing?
He wants to win!
Yes, he wants to win!
When you mentionCannonball Run,I think of that as a comedy.
Would you describe this seriesis it largely a humorous story?
I wouldnt say that.
There are moments I hope anyway of humor, because it is Han.
I feel like the character of Han Solo is irreverent.
A very, serious, precious story about Han Solo would not be that enjoyable.
What can you tell me about the other characters well see?
You cant have a Han Solo story without Chewbacca.
No, you cant.
How does Chewbacca feel being along for the ride in this race?
To me, Chewie was always the heart and soul of the relationship.
He was like the better angel, where Han is way more comfortable skirting the edges of morality.
Chewie will go along, but hes like, Hey, man.
I always loved that about him.
I love that he is so incredibly loyal to Han.
Theyre absolutely 100 percent family.
I always loved that Chewie can tell Han these hard truths that Han doesnt really want to hear.
Even though technicallywecant understand what Chewie is saying, we get it.
Chewie is kind of like Hans Jiminy Cricket.
Yes, I was thinking that.
Hes like the seven-foot tall, crossbow-wielding, wolfman Jiminy Cricket.
NEXT PAGE:Who else well encounter and a preview of Mark Brooks interior art.
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Which other characters may we run into in your series?
We will definitely see Leia.
I couldntnotwrite Leia in the same way that I would have wept if I couldnt write Chewbacca.
That was also a bit of a dream come true.
Again, this is sort of at the start of their relationship.
Can you tell me about some of the new places and characters youre adding to the Star Wars galaxy?
Yeah, so for example, the race itself is called the Dragon Void Run.
Its been around for thousands of years.
One of the pilots is this legendary female alien who is called Loo Re Anno.
Shes never lost a race, shes part of a dying species.
She might be the last of her kind, these aliens that dont really have a home planet.
In fact, her people actually founded the Dragon Void Run thousands of years ago.
He reminds her of herself at a much different time in her life.
What kind of creature is she?
Shes a new species.
We took that invitation and ran with it.
I think readers will love the design that Mark Brooks came up with.
I think hes done a beautiful job with her.
Can you describe her a little bit?
Shes incredibly tall and incredibly elegant.
Theres a beautiful, reptilian quality to her.
I think shes one of my favorite characters.
Shes really lovely to write.
Is there a villain in the story?
The Empire pokes its head into it briefly, but theyre not the main heavies.
I knew absolutely nothing.
[NOTE: For those who still havent seen the movie, were getting into spoiler territory.]
[Laughs] Oh no!
You got a bad feeling about this!
I got areallybad feeling about this.
When the scene actually came about, I really felt sick to my stomach.
Of course, one doesnt expect characters to go on forever, but it was really sad.
It was really, really sad to see him go out.
As much as I love the movie,thatwas hard.
Did it lead you to add any foreshadowing or emotional beats to your story?
It has actually colored how I think about the book.
I havent quite answered that for myself yet, but its definitely in my head.
It cant not be, because writing the book feels very bittersweet in a way.
