Greg Weisman Talks Rebels and Drops Rain

Today is a big day for Greg Weisman, one of the executive producers of the upcoming animated television series Star Wars Rebels. It’s publication day for his first novel, Rain of the Ghosts, a young adult tale with a female protagonist.

Rain of the Ghosts is the first in Greg Weisman’s series about an adventurous young girl, Rain Cacique, who discovers she has a mystery to solve, a mission to complete and, oh, yes, the ability to see ghosts.

Welcome to the Prospero Keys (or as the locals call them: the Ghost Keys), a beautiful chain of tropical islands on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. Rain Cacique is water-skiing with her two best friends Charlie and Miranda when Rain sees her father waiting for her at the dock. Sebastian Bohique, her maternal grandfather, has passed away. He was the only person who ever made Rain feel special. The only one who believed she could do something important with her life. The only thing she has left to remember him by is the armband he used to wear: two gold snakes intertwined, clasping each other’s tails in their mouths. Only the armband . . . and the gift it brings: Rain can see dead people. Starting with the Dark Man: a ghost determined to reveal the Ghost Keys’ hidden world of mystery and mysticism, intrigue and adventure.

In addition, he made his video premiere on the Star Wars YouTube channel, introducing himself and his background to fans and sharing some preliminary teases about Star Wars Rebels and its overarching storyline.

Weisman also has an interview in the latest issue of Star Wars Insider, #146, with some more intriguing comments about Rebels.

SWI: How important is it to have strong female characters in the show?

GW: For us, it’s very important. We have two strong female leads in the show among our set of characters and we think they are going to be fan favorites very quickly. That’s always been a personal priority for me in all the work I’ve done, to have a strong and diverse cast of characters, both in terms of gender and race. Star Wars has always had a great tradition of female heroes as well as male heroes and our show will have both and that goes the same for the villains….

Finally, it’s worth noting that when his involvement in Rebels was first announced back in May, Weisman hinted in a tweet that Rain of the Ghosts may have more similarities to Rebels than might otherwise appear. Fans eager to piece together clues on Rebels before it premiere, still perhaps nearly a year away, will certainly want to give his book a read.


B.J. Priester is editor of FANgirl Blog and contributes reviews and posts on a range of topics. A longtime Star Wars fandom collaborator with Tricia, he is editing her upcoming novel Wynde and collaborating with her on several future projects set in that original universe. He is a law professor in Florida and a proud geek dad.

Lex

Lex

B.J. Priester has been a Star Wars fan since he played with the original Kenner action figures as a young boy. His fandom passion returned after watching Attack of the Clones in 2002 and reading the entire New Jedi Order series in 2003. He voraciously caught up on the novels and comics in the Expanded Universe in addition to writing fanfiction, frequently co-authoring with Tricia. B.J. has served as editor of FANgirl Blog from its inception, as well as contributing reviews and posts on a range of topics. He edited Tricia’s novel Wynde, and is collaborating with her on several future projects set in that original universe. Currently a tenured law professor in Florida, B.J. has been a practicing lawyer in Washington, D.C., a law clerk to a federal appeals court judge, and a law journal editor-in-chief. He is also a proud geek dad whose son who is a big fan of Star Wars and The Clone Wars.