Roqoo Depot

Eleven-ThirtyEight Interviews John Jackson Miller

Eleven-ThirtyEight has posted a nice interview with Kenobi author John Jackson Miller discussing his transition from Iron Man to Star Wars back in the day, the differences between writing comics and novels, and of of course Kenobi.

Moving on to Kenobi itself, the thing that most stood out to me about the book is the difference in scale compared to the average Luke/Han/Leia story—or even compared to Knight Errant. The closest analogues in recent memory, I think, are Shadow Games and Death Troopers, which like Kenobi are both distinctly “genre” stories—noir and horror, respectively. Have you perceived an increase in editorial comfort with smaller-scale stories in your time with the franchise? Do you think Star Wars publishing can survive a stronger focus on the Kenobi model, or does there need to be a mix of genre and “event” stories for the line to thrive?

John Jackson Miller: I know that Kenobi — which is mostly told through the eyes of people whose lives are impacted by Obi-Wan — is a very different kind of novel for the line, but I also think it’s kind of a natural choice, because his situation and mission preclude so many other kinds of stories. He is living on the frontier. He is limited in his mobility, or at least he feels he is. He is isolated from some of the bigger events elsewhere, to a great degree. And so this kind of story really was a perfect fit, and I think the editors agreed.

As to the line itself, that’s really beyond my pay grade. But the whole point of licensed fiction is to make use of the characters, settings, and situations to tell good stories, and I don’t think that locks a publisher into a single approach to storytelling. I think there’s a market for a story about how Obi-Wan Kenobi learns to live with loss and with his new limitations, just as there’s a market for telling about rival Sith battling for power.

Click here to check out the full interview which includes John’s casting or Orrin as Sam Neil circa Jurassic Park.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.