In her latest Padmé-focused young Adult novel, Queen's Hope author E. K. Johnston explores Anakin Skywalker's relationship with his stepbrother, Owen Lars, and Owen's future wife, Beru, after meeting the pair in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The second prequel trilogy film depicted the characters finally meeting in person on-screen, after never sharing a scene following their first appearances in Star Wars: A New Hope. It is, so far, the only time Anakin has met the Lars family in canon.

In Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is pulled back to Tatooine by visions of his mother, Shmi (Pernilla August), in pain. He and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) discover Shmi had been freed from slavery by Cliegg Lars (Jack Thompson), marrying the moisture farmer and joining him, son Owen (Joel Edgerton), and his girlfriend Beru Whitesun (Bonnie Piesse). Owen and Beru, who are believed to return in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, welcome the Jedi, before informing him of his mother's kidnapping by the Tusken Raiders. After failing to rescue his mother, who succumbs to her wounds in his arms, Anakin brings her body back to the Lars homestead, burying her before leaving Tatooine with Padmé to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan Mcgregor) on Geonosis. Owen and Beru are later seen caring for a baby Luke Skywalker, entrusted to them by Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith's climax. The pair would care for the child up until the events of the original trilogy. Attack of the Clones didn't put much emphasis on Anakin's feelings towards the Lars family, instead focusing on his quest to save his mother, but the young Jedi's thoughts upon their meeting have now been revealed.

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In an excerpt of Star Wars: Queen's Hope posted on StarWars.com, Johnston's latest installment in her trilogy that is focused on Padmé Amidala, Anakin reflects on meeting the young Owen and Beru on the morning of his wedding day. Anakin remembers his first meeting with the pair and how they recognized him as soon as they saw him, welcoming him and Padmé into their home. Anakin concludes Shmi must have talked about him to them and that she must have urged them to welcome him if he ever came to visit her. Check out the excerpt from Johnston's novel below:

"That wasn’t true. They had known who he was the moment they saw him and had immediately taken him into their house. She must have spoken about him frequently and made it clear that if he ever came to visit, he was to be included."

Beru, Owen, Padme, and Anakin in Star Wars Attack of the Clones

Johnston's upcoming novel is the third of her trilogy centering Padmé Amidala, exploring her and Anakin's marriage during the early days of the Clone Wars. Starting with Queen's Shadow, Johnston explored the dynamic between Padmé and her Handmaidens as she becomes Senator, while Queen's Peril explored her perspective during The Phantom Menace. Johnston had previously written Ahsoka, a novel bridging the young Jedi's journey between Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.

With not only Edgerton and Piesse, but even Christensen returning in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Lars family is set for further exploration. Johnston's novel finally gives fans a glimpse into how Anakin viewed his new family in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, showing that they would have welcomed him and making Anakin's fall more tragic, as not only did his mother never stop talking about him, but his fall to the dark side isolated him from more family who had the potential to help. Though the novel is focused on Padmé, Star Wars: Queen's Hope will no doubt provide more insight into Anakin's growth when it releases on April 5, 2022.

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Source: StarWars.com

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