Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina
“You'll never find a more despicable hive of scum and villainy.” These words describe the Mos Eisley Cantina, the deadliest watering hole in the galaxy,
where the worst of the worst go to get a drink. Rick’s Cafe of the Star Wars universe. It's an iconic place and holds a special place in Star Wars lore and the eyes of fans who watched the background characters in the scene for years, and speculated on their back stories. These back stories and more were answered when Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina was published in 1995. A period of relative calm in the fandom, when Han shot first, before the dark times, before the toxic fandom.
The book is a collection of vignettes about the background characters in the Cantina, as if The Canterbury Tales were set in a galaxy far, far away. One story, Be Still My Heart: The Bartender's Tale is about the Cantina’s bartender, Wuher, and his lifelong goal: to create the perfect drink for Jabba. It’s essentially Flaming Moe’s set in the Star Wars universe. The Desert Wind Turns: The Stormtrooper's Tale is about a stormtrooper driving an AT-TT. The protagonist sees the empire as a force for good and dreams about crushing the rebels. It provides a new perspective on the rebellion from the villain’s point of view. A Hunter’s Fate: Greedo’s Tale adds humanity to a character known for getting fried by Han Solo. It avoids the pitfalls of many prequels and delivers a meaningful and engaging story. Classic Star Wars characters make limited appearances in the stories. Each author uses them in a limited capacity effectively.
Each story is written by a different author, who were all up and coming names at the time of the book’s publication and went on to become established names in science fiction. The book’s editor, Kevin Anderson, went on to write the Dune series after the passing of the original author, Frank Herbert. Another notable contributor is Timothy Zhan who wrote one of the most influential books in the extended universe: Heir To The Empire, a New York Times bestseller that introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn was a character who appeared in Star Wars: Rebels and was recently referenced on The Mandalorian.
Tales the Mos Eisley Cantina is an important piece of Star Wars history and lore. Before its publication, most stories were centered around the main trio: Han, Luke, and Leia. This book broke new ground by featuring unknown characters as the protagonists. It showed that there could be meaningful and compelling stories told about minor characters. This laid the foundation for the expanded universe, which was a collection of comics, books, and video games that told Star Wars Stories outside of the films. It helped deliver on the promise of a galaxy far, far away and should the universe be something more. Without Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina, we may not have The Mandalorian.
Sadly it's been lost to time and faded into obscurity. Disney relegated all the stories in the extended universe to legends (non-canon). While certain parts of Legends have been recanonized (like Thrawn), it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
If Disney were to make it canon again there are some options. The book would make a great limited series on Disney+, which could be weekly installments featuring the individual stories. We are living in the age of anthology tv series. Shows like True Detective and Fargo have broken new ground in this medium. This collection of stories is tailor-made for this genre. It would allow Star Wars to explore new genres and be the cure for franchise fatigue. The future of Star Wars is on tv, as shown by The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, and The Mandalorian. A show set in the galaxy’s deadliest watering hole would be enticing and get people watching.
Regardless of the book’s future, it's a great read and a nice piece of escapism during the quarantine.
where the worst of the worst go to get a drink. Rick’s Cafe of the Star Wars universe. It's an iconic place and holds a special place in Star Wars lore and the eyes of fans who watched the background characters in the scene for years, and speculated on their back stories. These back stories and more were answered when Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina was published in 1995. A period of relative calm in the fandom, when Han shot first, before the dark times, before the toxic fandom.
The book is a collection of vignettes about the background characters in the Cantina, as if The Canterbury Tales were set in a galaxy far, far away. One story, Be Still My Heart: The Bartender's Tale is about the Cantina’s bartender, Wuher, and his lifelong goal: to create the perfect drink for Jabba. It’s essentially Flaming Moe’s set in the Star Wars universe. The Desert Wind Turns: The Stormtrooper's Tale is about a stormtrooper driving an AT-TT. The protagonist sees the empire as a force for good and dreams about crushing the rebels. It provides a new perspective on the rebellion from the villain’s point of view. A Hunter’s Fate: Greedo’s Tale adds humanity to a character known for getting fried by Han Solo. It avoids the pitfalls of many prequels and delivers a meaningful and engaging story. Classic Star Wars characters make limited appearances in the stories. Each author uses them in a limited capacity effectively.
Each story is written by a different author, who were all up and coming names at the time of the book’s publication and went on to become established names in science fiction. The book’s editor, Kevin Anderson, went on to write the Dune series after the passing of the original author, Frank Herbert. Another notable contributor is Timothy Zhan who wrote one of the most influential books in the extended universe: Heir To The Empire, a New York Times bestseller that introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn was a character who appeared in Star Wars: Rebels and was recently referenced on The Mandalorian.
Tales the Mos Eisley Cantina is an important piece of Star Wars history and lore. Before its publication, most stories were centered around the main trio: Han, Luke, and Leia. This book broke new ground by featuring unknown characters as the protagonists. It showed that there could be meaningful and compelling stories told about minor characters. This laid the foundation for the expanded universe, which was a collection of comics, books, and video games that told Star Wars Stories outside of the films. It helped deliver on the promise of a galaxy far, far away and should the universe be something more. Without Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina, we may not have The Mandalorian.
Sadly it's been lost to time and faded into obscurity. Disney relegated all the stories in the extended universe to legends (non-canon). While certain parts of Legends have been recanonized (like Thrawn), it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
If Disney were to make it canon again there are some options. The book would make a great limited series on Disney+, which could be weekly installments featuring the individual stories. We are living in the age of anthology tv series. Shows like True Detective and Fargo have broken new ground in this medium. This collection of stories is tailor-made for this genre. It would allow Star Wars to explore new genres and be the cure for franchise fatigue. The future of Star Wars is on tv, as shown by The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, and The Mandalorian. A show set in the galaxy’s deadliest watering hole would be enticing and get people watching.
Regardless of the book’s future, it's a great read and a nice piece of escapism during the quarantine.
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