Shadows of the Empire (multimedia)

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This page is about Lucasfilm's 1996 multimedia project. For Decipher's cancelled expansions, see Shadows of the Empire. For the Reflections II Effect cards, see Shadows Of The Empire and Shadows Of The Empire (Dark). For the 2004 Players Committee set, see Virtual Set 7: Shadows Of The Empire.
Shadows of the Empire
Type Multimedia project
Company Lucasfilm
Year 1996
Setting Between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi
Novel Steve Perry (Bantam Spectra)
Comic John Wagner (Dark Horse Comics)
Video game LucasArts / Nintendo (Nintendo 64, Windows)
Soundtrack Joel McNeely (Varèse Sarabande)
1996 Bantam Spectra hardcover. Art by Drew Struzan.

Shadows of the Empire is a 1996 Lucasfilm multimedia project. The story sits between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Lucasfilm released it as a film campaign without producing a film.[1][2]

Background

In 1994, Bantam editor Lou Aronica proposed a Star Wars crossover to Lucasfilm publishing director Lucy Autrey Wilson. Licensees met at Skywalker Ranch later that year, including author Steve Perry and LucasArts staff.[1][2] Lucasfilm producers first wanted a story between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Dark Forces designer Jon Knoles placed it between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, covering the delivery of Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt.[2][3] The 1997 Special Editions of the original trilogy followed the campaign.[1]

Lucasfilm cut a trailer from original-trilogy footage. It played at US comic conventions. Lucasfilm then pulled the trailer so viewers would not expect a theatrical film.[4] The trailer also aired on QVC.[2] The voiceover said: "After the Empire Strikes Back and before Return of the Jedi, there was a time when heroes and villains alike lived in the Shadows of the Empire."[5]

Novel

Steve Perry wrote the novel for Bantam Spectra. Drew Struzan painted the hardcover. Bantam issued the hardcover in 1996. The novel is the backbone of the project.[1][2]

Perry's plot follows Prince Xizor, Falleen head of Black Sun, as he tries to kill Luke Skywalker and take Darth Vader's place beside the Emperor. Dash Rendar, a smuggler, stands in for Han Solo while Solo is frozen in carbonite. Leia, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and Luke hunt Boba Fett, fight Tatooine swoop gangs, and raid Xizor's palace on Coruscant.[1]

Comic

Dark Horse published a six-issue series by John Wagner, with art by Kilian Plunkett. Perry consulted on the story. The comic follows Boba Fett and the other bounty hunters from The Empire Strikes Back. It also follows Jix, a Vader agent inside Jabba's swoop gang. The novel and comic share characters and some scenes. Each tells extra material the other omits.[1][4]

Video game

LucasArts developed Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire for the Nintendo 64. Nintendo published it in North America in December 1996. A Windows port followed in 1997. Mark Haigh-Hutchinson directed. Jon Knoles designed. The player is Dash Rendar.[6][1]

Levels include the Battle of Hoth, a duel with IG-88, a Mos Eisley swoop chase, the second Death Star plans, and the raid on Xizor's palace. The game sold more than one million copies.[6][1]

The 1997 Special Edition of A New Hope includes swoop bikes and Dash Rendar's ship, the Outrider.[1][2]

Soundtrack

Varèse Sarabande released Joel McNeely's score on 23 April 1996, performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Drew Struzan painted the album cover. The disc reached stores before the hardcover. The Nintendo 64 and Windows games sample the recording.[1][2]

Toys and merchandising

Kenner issued action figures and vehicles, including Xizor, Dash Rendar, the Outrider, and a swoop bike. Galoob issued Micro Machines. Topps issued a 100-card set painted by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt. West End Games issued role-playing books.[1]

Star Wars CCG

Decipher listed a full Shadows of the Empire expansion in The Duelist in 1996. Issue 14 said some planned cards would appear in Special Edition. Issue 15 reported the expansion canceled. The cancelled expansions keep the title Shadows of the Empire. Special Edition printed Makurth, Flare-S Racing Swoop, and Swoop Mercenary.[7][8][9]

A later mini-expansion of about 20 cards was advertised for August 2000. The Death Star II starter-deck rulebook named Prince Xizor, Dash Rendar, and their starships. That set never shipped. Reflections II: Expanding the Galaxy issued those characters as unique premiums, including Guri, Outrider, Stinger, and Virago.[10]

Prince Xizor, Reflections II.
Dash Rendar, Reflections II.
Outrider, Reflections II.

The Players Committee named its seventh numbered Virtual Set Shadows Of The Empire on 16 July 2004.[11]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Wikipedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Dave Gonzales, The Story of 'Shadows of the Empire,' the 'Star Wars' Spinoff Movie That Was Everything but a Movie, Thrillist, 22 December 2016. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  3. ↑ Shadows Of The Empire – Remembering Star Wars’ Most Audacious Video Game Adaptation, Game Informer, 26 September 2018. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pax Holley, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire turns 15 years old, Cavalcade of Awesome, 26 April 2011. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  5. ↑ Star Wars: The forgotten history of Shadows of the Empire, The Irish Times, 14 December 2019. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Classic Postmortem: Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire, Game Developer, 6 April 2009 (originally Game Developer magazine, January 1997). Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  7. ↑ "Game News & Updates", The Duelist #13 (October 1996), p. 74. Scan: The Duelist #13, Internet Archive.
  8. ↑ "Game News & Updates", The Duelist #14 (December 1996), p. 78. Scan: The Duelist #14, Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ Allen Varney, "Inside the Industry", The Duelist #15 (February 1997), p. 84. Scan: The Duelist #15, Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ SWCCG Collecting Encyclopedia 3.2. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  11. ↑ Virtual Set 7: Shadows Of The Empire — 16 July 2004 release, citing swccgpc.com news page (Internet Archive, 22 September 2004).
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