For the first time, we’re going to have an original ‘Star Wars’ story created in China. Disney has teamed up with Tencent Publishing’s China Literature to make this new tale happen. The story will be penned by a popular Chinese author who writes under the pen name “His Majesty.” There is no word yet as to if this story will be canon or translated into English.
On top of this news, the new partnership also revealed that there would be 40 existing “Star Wars” stories also translated into Chinese for the first time. The plan is to roll them out through the online platform, which China Literature owns that has over 217 million monthly members.
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We’ll see if this can help spark interest in the “Star Wars” franchise, which didn’t see a release in the 1970s there and so they don’t have the same built-in fanbase which exists across much of the globe. While ‘The Force Awakens‘ did earn $124 million in the country, the following releases saw a decrease of viewers at the box office with ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘ only earning around $70 million and ‘The Last Jedi‘ barely making $43 million.
Of the partnership Wu Wenhui, CEO of China Literature stated:
“We hope that more Chinese readers will be exposed to the Star Wars story and let Star Wars renew its vitality in China. At the same time, through creative experimentation and exploration, we will jointly bring Chinese-style Star Wars stories to Chinese readers.”
I’m sure Disney and Lucasfilm can agree with this sentiment. China is the largest market they have yet to break into with the franchise and have so much room for growth in the country.
Are you interested in the release of a Chinese-created “Star Wars” story? Do you think that Lucasfilm will have this be canon, and we could see an eventual release stateside? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Deadline
