I will be the first to admit that much of the allure of Star Wars has left me. There’s just been too much to it over recent years. Too much debate. Too much studio intrigue. Too much… well, too much Star Wars.
For the most part, my admiration of Star Wars was never based on its epic scale. Rather, it was the smaller, more intimate moments of the franchise that I found captivating. I wrote about this in a special May the 4th post highlighting my continued appreciation of the scene in Return of the Jedi that features the rancor keeper’s mourning over his beloved fallen monster.
I say all this in the lead up to introducing a seemingly minor upcoming release — that is, in the scale of Star Wars products — that has drawn my interest and anticipation. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the release of Return of the Jedi, forty comic creators have united for the release of From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi.
I first became aware of this book when putting together my pull list for my new favorite comic store, Baltimore’s own Dreamers and Make-Believers. Per their description of the anthology, “40 storytellers re-create an iconic scene from Return of the Jedi through the eyes of a supporting character, from heroes and villains to droids and creatures.” That is some Rosencrantz and Guildenstern shit that I can really get behind.
Among the forty new stories announced are a look at the history of the Sarlacc, a day in the life of Wicket the Ewok, and — wait for it — the tragic history of the rancor trainer. Honestly, you had me at “tragic history of the rancor trainer.” Take my money.
He’s so sad.
I like the concept of examining major Star Wars events through these minor characters because Star Wars, at its worst, has always had a compulsion to tie everything back to the same handful of characters, rather than allowing the universe to grow. At the very least, I know there won’t be a big reveal that the rancor keeper is a Skywalker.
From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi is scheduled to ship August 29, 2023. After that we can just wait until 2039 for the release of From a Certain Point of View: The Phantom Menace. It’ll be great.
