Disney Developing 'Star Wars' Online Novel With China Publisher

Disney is working on a ‘Star Wars’ online novel with China's biggest online publisher, Tencent's China Literature. The studio is planing to release 40 older e-books in Chinese for the first time, reported Variety. The novels will be available on Tencent's digital reading platform at no cost for the first week. The companies have roped in Chinese internet novelist whose pen name is "His Majesty the King" to write a new "authentic Star Wars story with Chinese characteristics".

According to a statement posted on the official "Star Wars" Weibo social media page,  the novel will "bring in Chinese elements and unique Chinese storytelling methods".

"We hope we can help more Chinese readers engage with ‘Star Wars' stories and help the force of ?Star Wars' shine brighter in China," China Literature CEO Wu Wenhui told reporters in Shanghai.

A representative from Disney said the company is looking forward to "putting the vast world of the ‘Star Wars' universe at the fingertips of Chinese consumers".

Meanwhile, in a related development, filmmaker JJ Abrams has said that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will satisfy the audience and will give a meaningful ending to all the nine films made in the franchise created by George Lucas. Abrams is directing Rise of Skywalker, which is the last film in the latest Star Wars trilogy. "This (the film) is about bringing this thing to a close in a way that is emotional and meaningful and also satisfying in terms of actually answering (as many) questions as possible.

''So if, years from now, someone's watching these movies, all nine of them, they're watching a story that is as cohesive as possible," the filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly.

Abrams, who also helmed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, said he want to honour the legacy of Lucas with his film. ''While there were many things that were planned for and discussed - George Lucas himself said when he created this he saw it as three, three-act plays - that doesn't mean there isn't discovery, that doesn't mean there aren't things that come up that make you realise, 'Oh, here's an opportunity.'

''It also doesn't mean that there's a list of pay-offs that we have to do because of set-ups. But we also were very much aware this is the end of the trilogy and it needs to satisfy. We went into this thing knowing it has to be an ending. We're not screwing around," he said.

The Rise of Skywalker will release in December this year.