- Alexander Freed is here to talk about his new book
"Alphabet Squadron."
- Plus, we'll show you how you can load
your Star Wars: Story at Galaxy's Edge
simply by glancing at your phone.
- Tell them what they're watching, Yoda Fountain.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- This is The Star Wars Show.
From the Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco,
here's your hosts, Andi and Anthony.
- Hello and welcome to The Star Wars Show,
a show that is truncating its episode this week
because tomorrow is a national holiday and the entire studio
is on vacation. - Except for us.
- So we're going to speed through this
so we can get to the beach. - Fast news.
Here we go.
- Marvel Comics is celebrating its 80th anniversary
with Marvel Comics #1,000 which will include
a one page Star Wars story.
- The story, written by Charles Soule with art by Terry Dodson,
is still a secret.
But StarWars.com landed a first glimpse
at one panel showing off a pretty steamy Darth Vader.
- Marvel Comics #1000 features 80 different creative teams,
each taking a different page of the issue,
and will hit store shelves this August.
Finally this week, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
has opened to all guests at the Disneyland Resort
without a reservation.
- And one of the more interactive aspects
is the Play Disney app that turns your smartphone
into a Star Wars datapad, further
immersing you into the story of Black Spire Outpost.
- In fact, here's a little something we
made to show you how it works.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- One of the sort of core design philosophies of Star Wars:
Galaxy's edge at a whole is this idea that your choices matter.
We're trying to create this place
where guests feel like they can have
their very own hero's journey.
And we need to create opportunities for the things
that the guests do to have an impact on the broader world.
So one of the ways that we're doing that
is through the Play Disney Parks app.
- At Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, our guest
will be able to use Play Disney Parks to interact with the land
in a number of different ways.
Your Play Disney Parks app will actually
turn into an in-story Star Wars datapad that gives you
the tools and equipment to be able to interact
with the world around you.
One of my favorite things is actually
being able to translate Aurebesh to English.
It's a language that I've never necessarily been able to read.
I'm actually able to sort of translate some
of those characters into English and see what that written
language actually says.
And it makes me feel like I'm more immersed in that story.
- Based on the way the guests interact with the environments,
with props, within the land, what jobs they choose to go on,
all of that affects the sort of persona
that they're starting to create for themselves.
And as a result, the way the world around them
starts to engage with them.
- We really want all of our guests
to have their own unique Star Wars Story.
So everyone's experience is actually
going to be a little bit different depending
on the choices that you make about what you interact with as
well as the different factions that you
decide to ally yourself with.
So if you decide to do a lot of things for the First Order,
you're going to have a different experience than those who
decide to help the resistance.
- The Play Disney Parks app also integrates with Millennium
Falcon: Smugglers Run.
So at the end of that ride experience,
guests are actually paid out in Galactic Credits
depending on how well they've done.
But those Galactic Credits, they don't just sort of
disappear into the ether.
They actually get carried over into your Star Wars datapad.
So there's this really lovely sort
of continuity of experience that sort of starts
on your mobile device or maybe in the attraction
but are linked together.
- In order to immerse yourself, you're
going to want to use Play Disney Parks while in the land.
And we actually really encourage our guests
to download the Play Disney Parks app before they come
to the park so that they're ready to go on their Star Wars
adventure when they arrive.
[CHATTERING]
- My guest this week is the author of "Star Wars
Battlefront: Twilight Company" as
well as the novelization of "Rogue One: a Star Wars Story."
His latest is "Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron."
Alexander Freed, thank you so much for being here.
- Thank you for having me.
- One of the things that I absolutely love about all three
of the novels that you've worked on in the Star Wars Galaxy
is you are a big fan of how all characters
are sort of morally ambiguous.
Like, not everybody can be all evil or all good.
So who are the people that kind of take up these causes?
Why is that so interesting for you to delve into?
- One of the fun things about working in the Star Wars
universe for me is that it's a setting that does
have an absolute good and an absolute evil.
But that doesn't mean that everyone
is absolute good or absolute evil, right?
Like, most people in this galaxy are just
living in the middle somewhere knowing that--
and maybe not even fully aware that, yeah,
the Emperor is awful, right?
Like, there is no moral ambiguity to Palpatine.
Palpatine is a creature of pure darkness.
And the light side of the Force is out there too,
but most people are just trying to live their lives.
And how do you do that?
And how do you determine sort of where your moral compass points
when you're in that reality?
- Yeah.
And to that point, can you tell us a little bit about "Alphabet
Squadron" and some of these pilots and these characters
that we meet?
Because they all fit into almost smack dab
in the middle on all of them.
- Yeah.
I mean, "Alphabet Squadron," it's
five pilots with very different backgrounds, all of whom
have been fighting in the galactic civil war for a number
of years, all of whom have accumulated their own traumas
through this experience.
Leading the group, you've got Yrica Quell,
who was with the Empire for many years
and has only finally defected after the Battle of Endor.
And the question that she wrestles with
is have I defected too late?
Right?
Like, am I past the point of redemption now?
Is there still a point to joining the New Republic now,
not even the rebellion anymore? - Yeah.
That's one of the things that Yrica
is always kind of thinking is I knew
I should have done it earlier.
Why didn't I do it earlier?
- Yeah.
- "Alphabet Squadron" ties in to a lot of other Star Wars stuff
that's going on right now.
It's kind of an intertwining piece with "Tie Fighter," which
is going on right now in Marvel Comics, which also
kind of intertwines with "Han Solo: Imperial Cadet"
and shares a couple of characters.
And then obviously, we've got the very strong Rebels
connection as well with Hera obviously being
a huge presence in the book.
How is it working alongside and with all
of these different areas of Star Wars and kind of, like,
making all this gel and come together?
- Easier than you'd think.
When there is a mutual respect there
and a desire to go, OK, everyone,
do the best story that you can here.
And let's all be working in the same sandbox, right?
Like, we're going to be sharing these toys.
But the goal here is that all of these things on their own
are going to be great.
And we're going to look for as many ways as possible
to bind those together.
- This is going to be a trilogy as well.
- This is going to be a trilogy.
Yeah.
There is more story to be told.
- Right on.
Well, thank you so much for coming, Alexander.
The book is absolutely phenomenal.
Go pick up "Alphabet Squadron" right now
and read "Tie Fighter."
They are both amazing.
Thanks, man.
- Thank you so much. [WHISTLING BEEP]
- You're-- - --watching--
- --the-- - --Star--
- --Wars-- - --show.
- The 4th of July is tomorrow.
And lots of our loyal viewers are showing off
their Star Wars patriotism using the ever-so-clever hashtag
Yavin4thofJuly.
- Daniel Russell recreated Old Glory using lightsabers,
R11Jango is proudly waving the Yoda flag outside of his house,
while Brian's Comics watched fireworks from Black Spire
Marketplace saying it was the next best
thing to celebrating the fall of the Empire on Endor.
- Dewback showed us a dewback with a sparkler in their mouth
wrapped in an American flag.
And Josh Radicchi flew the Galactic
Republic flag high and proud.
- Thanks to everyone that submitted this week.
- And as always, remember to like the video,
subscribe to the channel, and follow us on Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram.
- Thanks for watching.
And may the force be with you.
And be safe with sparklers.
- Always be safe with sparklers.
- Very serious.
[ENGINE ROARING]
[BEEP]
- 3, 2--
- Hello and welcome to The Star Wars Show, a show that is--
[BEEP] [CLEARS THROAT]
[BEEP] - [MOANS]
[BEEP] Oh, my god.
[BEEP] - [GIBBERISH] See?
See? This time, it was me.
[BEEP] [LAUGHTER]
[BEEP] - Nailed it.
[BEEP]
[ELECTRONIC BEEPING]