Ahsoka: Peridia and the Eye of Sion Call Back to One of Star Wars' Oldest Storylines

May 2024 · 2 minute read

While these Zahn books aren’t considered canon anymore, Ahsoka is clearly borrowing elements of the Outbound Flight story, down to the very design of the Eye of Sion, a ring-shaped vessel outfitted with multiple hyperdrives not dissimilar to Outbound Flight’s construction — six dreadnaught ships attached to a central fuselage. And interestingly, the Dark Jedi-like Baylan is also clearly inspired by Zahn’s mad clone character Joruus C’baoth from Heir. The original Jorus was a Jedi Master who led the Outbound Flight mission, so the fact that Baylan’s about to embark on this extragalactic journey is another purposeful nod to Zahn.

But more important than the easter eggs and references is the way Ahsoka could use Peridia to further open up the Star Wars universe in the same way Heir did in 1991. Published almost a decade after the end of the Original Trilogy, Heir essentially kicked off a decades’ long push to tell fresh stories that introduced brand new locations and a huge cast of Star Wars characters beyond those seen on the big screen. It’s how we got fan favorites like Thrawn, Mara Jade, Jacen and Jaina Solo, and countless others across books, comics, and the games (Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors, looking at you!). By taking the first steps into the New Republic era, Heir introduced a sandbox for creators to shape whole new Star Wars sagas that in several cases were just as good as the adventures of Luke, Han, and Leia at the movies.

With so little currently established about Peridia, outside of its implied connection to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, this new galaxy could offer a similar blank slate on television for future creators to tell stories that don’t involve mandatory trips back to Tatooine or Coruscant, or battles between Republics and Empires. In fact, as was the case in the old Expanded Universe, we might find that something much worse than the Empire is waiting for our heroes in deep space.

Danofgeek

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