Any Star Wars fans heading to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con can get their hands on an exclusive book jacket for Star Wars: Legacy, an upcoming novel by Madeleine Roux that depicts the growing master-apprentice bond between Leia and Rey following the events of The Last Jedi.
The news was announced on the Disney Books Instagram, stating that any fan in attendance who purchases a copy of the novel from the Penguin Random House Booth on the show floor will receive the exclusive jacket, subject to supply. The exclusive jacket features full-spread artwork by artist “02png” in addition to the original cover by Sophie Cowdrey.
The jacket shows Leia instructing Rey, who is wielding a lightsaber, in a grassy area with a vast waterfall in the background. We know from a recently released excerpt that the pair will travel to the planet Tython, a sacred world to the Jedi and the site of the seeing stone activated by Grogu in The Mandalorian, so there is a strong possibility that this is the planet depicted on the cover.
Star Wars: Legacy looks to explore the connection between Rey and Leia, which is something that occurs off-screen between movies. In the first two instalments of the sequel trilogy, Rey first encounters Leia after being rescued from Starkiller Base before swiftly being sent off again to Ahch-To to find Luke Skywalker, returning in time to rescue the Resistance survivors on Crait. A year later, in The Rise of Skywalker, we see Rey and Leia in an established master-apprentice relationship. This novel looks set to show how that bond was forged, as described in the official description for the novel.
“After barely escaping the First Order on Crait, Rey and the Resistance are struggling to rebuild. Her friends need the last Jedi more than ever, but Rey feels alone and overwhelmed. Jedi tradition is built on masters and apprentices, and Rey’s teacher is gone. Leia Organa tries her best to train Rey in the ways of the Force as Luke did for her so many years ago, but Leia’s knowledge is limited, Rey’s lightsaber is broken, and the specter of Kylo Ren and regrets from the past haunt them both. How can Leia pass the torch when she herself is unsure of the way?
But then, the ancient Jedi texts offer a glimmer of hope: a long-forgotten Jedi temple on Tython that might hold the key to repairing Rey’s saber. Rey leaps at the chance to journey there—and to her surprise, so does Leia.”
If you’re heading to SDCC, you can grab an exclusive edition of Star Wars: Legacy; otherwise, pick a copy from your favourite bookstore when the novel is released on July 28.
A teacher from Wales in the UK, Aled has loved Star Wars ever since that Star Destroyer flew over his head and blew his mind.