"Star Wars Battlefront II," the next iteration of the video game series based on the "Star Wars" film franchise, will be released in November and will present the story from the point of view of Imperial solders. A novel titled "Inferno Squad" will be released Tuesday as a direct prelude to the game. It will introduce fans to story and the characters from the same unique viewpoint.
The novel will follow the exploits of the titular squad in their missions following the events of the spin-off film "Rogue One." It offers a fresh look on the "Star Wars" universe as it tells a new tale from the point of view of soldiers of the Galactic Empire, who have always been associated with the evil side in the saga's narrative arcs.
Speaking about taking on the opposite viewpoint as other "Star Wars" novels, author Christie Golden said in an interview with The Verge, "There's a person under the helmets. I was trying to build up their quirks, their sense of humor, the things that are important to them, because everyone's got them."
She also said that the new viewpoint reflects how information technology has changed the world in terms of getting to know things outside one's own world view. "We now have a better chance than ever to know the people who aren't like us," she said. The author noted that nowadays, we are able to watch other people's movies, news broadcasts, and reach out to any part of the world. "It's not as easy to demonize people and make them one dimensional any longer, because you can look at them as people," she added.
Another frontier that sees "Star Wars" taking giant steps is the casting of female lead characters. Both the novel and the upcoming game will feature a female protagonist named Iden Versio who is played by actress Janina Gavankar in the game. The ongoing "Star Wars" trilogy is led by Rey, played by Daisy Ridley. The 2016 film "Rogue One" starred Felicity Jones in the lead role of Jyn Erso.
