Lucasfilm has announced its latest Star Wars novel, From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. The anthology book will take a look at the middle entry in the original trilogy which, for many, remains the single greatest movie in the history of the franchise. But borrowing from the famous line uttered by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, this won’t be telling the story in the way we know it. This will, instead, shed new light on the events with all-new stories.
This second From a Certain Point of View anthology is bringing in 40 authors to retell the events of The Empire Strikes Back with 40 different stories. But it won’t be through the eyes of characters like Han, Luke or Leia. Instead, it will be told through the eyes of background characters, including heroes, villains, droids and creatures. Lucasfilm has released the cover for the book as well, which features Yoda sitting near the edge of his swamp on Dagobah.
This is set to become the second entry in an anthology series of books utilizing the same general premise. The first From a Certain Point of View book hit shelves in 2017 and took on the original Star Wars in honor of its 40th anniversary. Similarly, it recounted the events that lead to the Rebellion taking down the Death Star, but in truly unique ways. There is even a story that dives deep on Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes, aka the band from the cantina, that reads like a VH1 Behind the Music special. So the door is wide open in terms of what to expect from the follow-up. Lucasfilm is using this new book as part of its year-long celebration of Episode V to honor its 40th anniversary, as the movie originally hit theaters in May 1980.
All participating authors opted to forgo any financial compensation for their contributions to the book. Instead, their fees will be donated to First Book, a nonprofit organization that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to educators and organizations serving children in need. Penguin Random House, the publisher of the upcoming book, will also donate $100,000 to First Book, and Disney/Lucasfilm will donate 100,000 children’s books, valued at $1,000,000, to support First Book and their mission of providing equal access to quality education.
Fans are encouraged to follow along with the hashtag #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack over the weekend as several of the authors will be teased on social media. The full list of authors who contributed stories to the book is set to be revealed on Monday, June 16. From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back is set to hit shelves on November 10. Be sure to check out the newly-revealed cover art for yourself. This news comes to us via StarWars.com.
