A New Book That Celebrates 40 Years of Star Wars From a Certain Point of View

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the franchise, Del Rey Books has assembled Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, a book that celebrates the very thing that makes the galaxy George Lucas created so beloved—that feeling it gives you that everybody on the screen has a story to share—while also honoring the film that changed cinema history.
Available this October, the book recreates the plot of  A New Hope, but instead of following Luke, Leia, and Han, it pieces together the events of the film as seen through the eyes of dozens of minor characters, some of whom may have been onscreen for a few seconds. Over 40 authors contribute to 40 “scenes,” including everyone from writers of prior Expanded Universe novels, to comedians, to pop culture commentators and podcasters, vignettes that add to the greater whole. Names like:

• Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
• Renee Ahdieh
• Tom Angleberger
• Meg Cabot
• Rae Carson
• Adam Christopher
• Zoraida Cordova
• Delilah S. Dawson
• Paul Dini
• Alexander Freed
• Jason Fry
• Christie Golden
• EK Johnston & Ashley Eckstein
• Paul Kemp
• Mur Lafferty
• Ken Liu
• Griffin McElroy
• John Jackson Miller
• Nnedi Okorafor
• Daniel José Older
• Mallory Ortberg
• Madeleine Roux
• Gary D. Schmidt
• Cavan Scott
• Sabaa Tahir
• Glen Weldon
• Chuck Wendig
• Gary Whitta

It’s a lineup as varied as the midnight crowd at Mos Eisley Cantina.

And if you ask me, it is the perfect way to honor forty years of Star Wars. In our world, the Force might not bind us all, but it has brought an awful lot of us together in our shared love for a universe that often feels as real as our own. Yes, it’s an adventure with beloved characters, strange aliens, laser swords, and super-cool special effects. But it’s the setting we keep coming back to. Some movies feel like they end just outside of the camera frame. Star Wars feels like it goes on forever. Even as Luke first meets Han Solo, it’s easy to believe something equally cool is going on at the next table (in that sense, it’s a new spin on beloved mid-’90s anthologies like Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, which went farther afield as they showed us the hidden lives of background characters.)
Another thing to celebrate: all contributing authors are donating their proceeds to First Book, a charity providing books and learning materials to children in need. Penguin Random House will also donate $100,000 to the charity; Disney and Lucasfilm will donate 100,000 books.
We’ve had four decades of films and books, of conventions and cosplay, of fan films and fanfiction. Forty years of adventure (hrm), excitement (hrm)…but it all started with the first Star Wars. It all comes from there, and From a Certain Point of View celebrates that birthday by taking a look at all the people that Leia and friends met along the way. It’s not that we don’t still love stories of the old gang, but the idea of revisiting A New Hope through fresh eyes is appealing, and not a bad way to celebrate turning 40. As someone born around the time the first fans were buying their second or third tickets, I can confirm that it’s typically an age when midichlorian levels start to drop. Always in motion is the future, but Star Wars still offers a pretty fun place to hang out.
Preorder Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, available October 3.