Question: How does it feel to finally reveal that the title of your latest Star Wars book is Revan?
Drew Karpyshyn: I'd like to start by saying how gratifying it was to work on this book. Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) was my first creative foray into the Star Wars universe, so writing Revan felt a little bit like I was returning to my roots. I also know a lot of fans have been patiently waiting a long time to find out what happened to Revan after KOTOR -- it's probably the number one question I'm asked on my website. I'm glad the story is finally being told, and I'm ecstatic that I'm the one who gets to tell it.
Question: How much of this is material that had been developed earlier for KOTOR? Was Revan fleshed out at that point, or was he always a sort of a cipher to be filled in later?
Drew Karpyshyn: Anyone familiar with the KOTOR games knows that we walked a delicate line with Revan: the legend and reputation of this great Jedi-turned-Sith were well established, but players were also able to define many aspects of the character as they played.
Obviously this wouldn't have worked for a book with Revan as the main character, so I decided to focus on certain universally established elements from the KOTOR games while also reinforcing previously established canon from the greater Star Wars universe, such as Revan being male and choosing the light side/redemption ending of the game.
However, by coloring in these details I was also able to delve much deeper into the character than we did when Revan was the "blank slate" of the games. It was a difficult decision, but I feel the payoff was worth it. Fans want to know what happened to Revan after KOTOR, and now they'll finally get to see that story.
Question: What other characters from Knights of the Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic II might we expect to see?
Drew Karpyshyn: You can't tell a story about Revan without also exploring his companions; they were such a key element of the KOTOR experience that it wouldn't feel right without bringing some of them back. Of course it would be impossible to include all of them in a novel in a way that would make a cohesive and fulfilling story, so I focused on those who felt most directly relevant to what happened to Revan after the KOTOR games. I don't want to give too much away, but Canderous, T3-M4, the Exile and Bastila Shan all have significant roles to play in the novel (along with some significant characters who appear in Star Wars: The Old Republic).
Question: How much time do the events of Revan span? And where does it sit in relation to the other Star Wars: The Old Republic novels?
Drew Karpyshyn: The story picks up right after the end of the first Knights of the Old Republic and continues through and beyond KOTOR II -- a span of roughly five years. There are allusions to the events of KOTOR II, but my focus was on the story taking place before, between and after the games -- I didn't want to rehash a story fans already knew.
Because we're set in the same time period as the KOTOR games, we're roughly 300 years earlier than the other The Old Republic novels... though the events of this book have a major impact on shaping The Old Republic universe.
Question: In what ways will readers who have read Revan benefit when playing Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Drew Karpyshyn: I think the novel will give them a much better understanding of the Sith Emperor and the Empire, for one thing. The Old Republic Sith Empire is very different from what people know from the movies, or even from the Great Hyperspace War comics that focus on characters like Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh.
The novel will also give them some very direct background and detailed information that ties in directly with key Flashpoints in the game. I can't say too much, of course, but like any great prequel the books will give you the details of what came before to add an extra layer of depth to the experiences in the game.
