George Lucas told Matthew Stover, author of the ‘Revenge of the Sith’ novelization, to ‘just make it good.’
When it came to penning the novelization of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the planning all came before the aftermath of the film’s eventual polarizing release. And by chance, Matthew Stover’s version of the events of the film ended up being one of the saving graces of George Lucas’ closing chapter in his saga, at least to the old guard of fanboys. We all know that the generation who grew up on it and the animated shows ended up being more embracing of the maker’s final contributions to the Star Wars universe.
In an exclusive with Entertainment Weekly, Stover shared his new author’s note, now added to the book’s 20th anniversary re-release. In it he discusses his unique approach to writing the film as a novel with George’s Lucas’ blessing and inspiration from Greek myths.
What sets the book apart from the film is that it allowed Stover to expand on Anakin’s perspective during his fall from the light side. And it’s something that made him nervous from the start. “It had come to me during the panic attack I’d suffered after signing the contract to write this novelization, which had ignited because I’d foolishly committed to write the keystone in the arch of the Skywalker saga for the biggest audience of my career—and the entire Star Wars-loving universe would be hoping for a thrilling space opera, despite the plain fact that every main plot point had been spoiled for decades.”
Stover continued, “Add the challenge of writing a novelization without ever seeing the final movie, because the movie wasn’t done and wouldn’t be out before the book went to the printer.
