New Star Wars Novel To Explore Chirrut & Baze's Backstory

The Force has been strong these past few years. The animated series Star Wars Rebels and The Force Awakens have both been huge hits for Lucasfilm and Disney, and a never-ending stream of comics and novels have helped to flesh out the all new canon of the Star Wars universe. Meanwhile, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has proven that a standalone film set in the galaxy far, far away can be every bit as successful as the movies focused on the Skywalker family. Rogue One has already made half a billion domestically and joined the $1 billion club globally thanks to massive approval from fans and critics alike.

Meanwhile, connections between the movies and other media continue as Rebels makes more and more connections to Rogue One. Saw Gerrera has already popped up on the series (voice by Forrest Whitaker) and there's a good chance some of the other characters from the film could follow suit. We're also set to learn more about both Saw and Jyn Erso thanks to a new Star Wars book announced yesterday. It looks as if Lucasfilm has no plans on slowing down either, as another book highlighting some of the galaxy's newest Rebels was just revealed today.

Thanks to Making Star Wars, we now have the cover and first description for an upcoming book that will focus on Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus. Titled Star Wars: Guardians of the Whills, the book will be written by bestselling author and comic book scribe Greg Rucka, known for his work on Black Widow, Elektra, and Daredevil.

Rogue One Prequel Book Star Wars Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka

"Baze and Chirrut used to be Guardians of the Whills, who looked after the Kyber Temple on Jedha and all those who worshipped there. Then the Empire came and took over the planet. The temple was destroyed and the people scattered. Now Baze and Chirrut do what they can to resist the Empire and protect the people of Jedha, but it never seems to be enough. When a man named Saw Gerrera arrives with grand plans to take down the Empire, it seems like the perfect way for Baze and Chirrut to make a real difference and help the people of Jedha. But will it come at too great a cost?"

Though the book is aimed at young adults, it will still likely appeal to many Star Wars and Rogue One fans. The Whills is one of the deepest aspects of Star Wars lore and Rogue One marked its first mention on screen. Not only does it connect Chirrut and Baze to the Jedi and Force, but also to A New Hope and the other films as the opening crawls are all based on journals from the Whills.

Though this part of the canon has been fleshed out plenty in older tie-in media, it'll be interesting to see how it fits into the new mythology. As the Guardians of the Whills are essentially a religion built around the Jedi, diving into Chirrut and Baze's past will likely shine a lot of light on the lore connected to the Force, the Kyber crystals that power the Death Star and lightsabers, and what the temple on Jedha was once like. The book will also be intriguing as it will fill in the story of two of Rogue One's most mysterious characters and how they connect to Saw. Hopefully, we'll see the Ghost crew interact with Chirrut and Baze on a future episode of Rebels, but the upcoming book looks like it will be both fun and informative.