A newly announced Star Wars tie-in novel, titled Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Free Fall, will explain the Poe Dameron retcon in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. J.J. Abrams rewrote Poe Dameron's backstory for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, adding a touch of the Han Solo scoundrel to him. He revealed that Poe had secretly been a spice runner before he joined the Resistance, smuggling illegal narcotics across the galaxy.
The problem, however, was that this retcon directly contradicted Poe Dameron's established backstory. It had been detailed in comics by Charles Soule and novels by Rebecca Roanhorse. According to these tie-ins, Poe was the son of two Resistance fighters, and he became a pilot shortly after his mother's death. Poe joined the New Republic Defense Fleet, and then joined the Resistance shortly after it was founded by General Leia Organa. None of these books or comics ever suggested he'd been a scoundrel - and it probably wasn't wise to try to turn him into one.
According to Polygon, a new Star Wars novel will explain the retcon. Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Free Fall is written by Alex Segura, author of the Peter Fernandez mystery series, and includes cover art by Alice X. Zhang, which can be viewed below. Per Polygon, the book "will wind back the clock to a time when Poe was just a hot-headed teenager." It will detail his early life as a spice runner, and his early adventures - and romance - with Zorii Bliss. Here's the official summary:
It’s been a few years since Poe’s mother, who was a pilot for the Rebellion, passed away, and Poe and his father have had more and more trouble connecting. Not sure what he wants to do with his life, teenage Poe runs away from home to find adventure, and to figure out what kind of man he is meant to be.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been heavily criticized for its major contradictions and various plot holes. The movie didn't even attempt to explain its own core concept, the return of Emperor Palpatine. Instead, it provided just a single hint, a line of dialogue lifted from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, when Palpatine was telling Anakin Skywalker about the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural," the Emperor observed. With the Skywalker saga now over, all these various questions and contradictions will no doubt ultimately be resolved in tie-ins like this Poe Dameron novel.
Segura stresses that his book won't just be a matter of connecting the dots, however. "It adds texture and weight to these unexplored parts of Poe’s backstory," he observed, "while also letting rip with an action-packed, thrilling adventure that’s firmly entrenched in the Star Wars mythos." In his view, Free Fall will be a galactic crime novel that explores the seedier side of the Star Wars galaxy, a spiritual successor to George Lucas' never made Underworld series. It will be fascinating to see how it all comes together in Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Free Fall.
Star Wars: Poe Dameron Free Fall releases Tuesday, August 4th.
Source: Polygon