New STAR WARS Novel Addresses Leia's Feelings on Darth Vader Right After the Events of RETURN OF THE JEDI
Lucasfilm has announced a new book coming out titled The Princess and the Scoundrel, and it’s set directly after the events of Returns of the Jedi. In fact, it picks up in the wake of the Battle of Endor, as a conflicted Princess Leia talks with Luke about Darth Vader after he burned Vader's body.
As you know, Leia Organa learned that Darth Vader was her father towards the end of Return of the Jedi, but the film never really explored her reaction to that. This new story will do that.
StarWars.com shared an excerpt from the book, which reveals that she can’t understand why her brother Luke Skywalker so easily accepts that Vader is their close relation. She can’t help but think about the interrogation she endured at Vader's hands in A New Hope, and ultimately puts their different attitudes down to the fact that "Luke had never been tortured by their biological father the way she had."
Here’s a little piece of the excerpt that was shared to give you an glimpse into what was going through Leia’s mind:
“How are you?” Luke’s voice was sincere, but Leia wasn’t sure how to answer him. This was supposed to be a triumph, but all she really felt was confused. Not just about what Luke had told her about her lineage — their connection was something she’d felt for some time, and it had been easy to accept Luke as her brother. She would not think about what that meant of her biological father. No — it wasn’t just that.
“It’s the Force, isn’t it?” Luke asked.
Leia nodded. She had told Luke that she didn’t — couldn’t — understand the power he had, but he seemed eerily calm and confident that she could actually wield the Force as he did. Leia might not have any real experience with the Force, but there was no denying the power Luke had… the power she felt, too, like a fluttering of flitterfly wings just on the edge of her consciousness. Waiting for her to seize it.
“He told me to tell you –” Luke started, but Leia’s head whipped up, eyes fierce as she glared at him.
“Don’t,” she warned.
“They were his last words. He wanted me to tell you –”
“I don’t care.”
“He was good,” Luke insisted. “There was still good in him, after all…”
My father was good, Leia thought, but in her mind she pictured Bail Organa, not Darth Vader. Thinking of Bail made her think of Breha, her mother. Of her home. Of everything she had lost.
When she had spoken to Luke earlier this night, Leia had told him that she remembered the mother they shared, their birth mother. It had been vague images, feelings, really, nothing more. But she did have a memory — of love, of closeness, of things she could not describe. It was impossible to put her feelings into words, but there was no denying their truth. It felt like… a connection, a bond made of light.
Yet Luke, who was a Jedi Knight, strong in the Force, had no memory of the woman who had birthed them both.
Did he have memories of their father? Was that why he was so capable of forgiving the monster that was Darth Vader? They had been separated at birth, not just from each other but from their biological parents. Maybe Leia had a connection with their mother, and Luke had a connection with their father.
Leia bit back a bitter laugh. Perhaps it wasn’t as deep as that. Perhaps it was merely that Luke had never been tortured by their biological father the way she had.
Yeah, I’m with Leia on this. It’s always been hard for me to see Darth Vader as a good person because he has done so many unforgivable things! Sure, he saved his son, but it’s his son! Even evil people love their kids. Anyway, is this a novel you’d be interested in ready?
The Princess and the Scoundrel was written by Beth Revis and it will be released on August 16th, 2022,
