Into the Dark: Interview with Claudia Gray

The High Republic has so far explored new territory in terms of Star Wars lore while still grounding its core to the galaxy we all know and deeply love. Into the Dark, the third novel of the all-new era of Star Wars storytelling, delves into the challenges of being a Jedi from a unique perspective—focusing on Padawan Reath Silas, who is suddenly thrown outside his comfort zone after a series of dramatic and unexpected events test his scholarly-rather-than-adventure-seeking aspirations. Author Claudia Gray (whose past Star Wars work has already stolen the hearts of many fans) sat down with TatooineTimes.com to dive deep into her development process for creating Into the Dark and most importantly its memorable characters—starting with its protagonist, Reath.

“We’re used to seeing Jedi Knights who are naturally, these big, swashbuckling adventurers. But these people were chosen as babies, so they wouldn’t all have the same personality. There are some of us—and I very deliberately say us, including me—who know that our personal strengths may not lie in the adventuring area. I wanted to sort of have Reath be that guy.”

Claudia Gray recalled that her main inspiration outside the galaxy far, far away for creating Reath Silas was Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter franchise. “He loves to be in the library, loves books, loves learning, and in so many ways is a huge nerd and would really rather just be nerding out all the time. But when everything goes down, who do you actually want by your side in the fight? You want Reath there … he’s fully capable.”

Reath’s journey is not a solo one. The Padawan is joined by a group of Jedi, each one with a unique set of traits—from the haunted Cohmac Vitus to the independent Orla Jareni to the brave and bold Dez. These dynamics allow Reath to not necessarily measure his persona, but instead challenge himself to discover his talents and strengths and experience the real breadth and depth of what being a Jedi can mean. “There’s nothing wrong with him. He doesn’t have to grow out of being who he is … he just has to be able to accept it. It shows that in The High Republic era, as opposed to the prequels, there’s not as singular or dogmatic view as to what a Jedi Knight should be. There’s a lot of different ways that people pursue it,” Gray shared.

Into the Dark introduced the readers to a new role within the Jedi Order: the Wayseekers. Claudia Gray shone a light on incorporating these individuals that operate independently of the Jedi Council. “Wayseekers are fully honored. They’re not considered to have left the Order. They can come back in a year, in 50 years, or never come back at all. It doesn’t make them any less a Jedi. There’s a little bit more flexibility and a little bit more sense that each individual person has their own path to and through the Force,” Gray said. “In this era, the Jedi Order understands that a lot more than they do at the time of the prequels; in fact, I feel like Dooku and Ahsoka Tano might have been somebody who, rather than walking away from the Order, would have become Wayseekers for a while and just gone their own way.”

Into the Dark is not purely Jedi centric as many readers would expect from a The High Republic novel. Leox, Affie, and Geode are among the most diverse crew in all Star Wars storytelling.

“The first character to sort of emerge for the story was Leox. I was trying to think of a pilot who would have some kind of roguish quality but not be Han Solo. I think Leox wound up about halfway between Matthew McConaughey and the dude from The Big Lebowski. He’s on his own path and in his own way a very spiritually mystical kind of guy … some of the stuff that he says, if you really think about it, actually dovetails pretty neatly with what the Jedi teach and think,” Gray said.

“I wanted the story to have another younger person besides Reath. That’s when I came up with Affie Hollow, the adopted daughter of the head of the Byne Guild,” Gray explained. “It would say a lot about her that instead of just spending her mother’s money or being a pampered passenger in one of the big, elegant ships she really likes being on this little ship where she really gets treated seriously and is part of the crew and actually gets to learn something.”

“With Geode I knew I needed another person there, a navigator. I didn’t want somebody talkative since Leox can go on at some length sometimes, and also I didn’t want to just do Chewbacca,” Gray said. “I must give credit where credit is due. I was talking about this with my boyfriend and he said, ‘You know, maybe it should just be a rock,’ and I was like, ‘Roooock!’ Of course, he’s not a rock, he’s a Vintian, but it’s very hard to tell the difference if you are not a Vintian.”

So far, the Sith have been the predominant representatives of the dark side of the Force. Gray recalls her inspiration behind the Drengir—a new, frightening threat for the Jedi—watching The Empire Strikes Back while reflecting on the flora within the swampy planet of Dagobah. “Plant life is not separate from the rest of it. It’s all part of the Force.”

“I think the Drengir are a fun enemy partly because in the Star Wars universe, almost nothing is truly alien. They’re not like animal life forms … they don’t want to be. They don’t get us and they don’t want to get us. Having this enemy that can’t be reached or reasoned with or even just comprehended in an instinctive way was a really good way to challenge the Jedi on the Amaxine station,” Gray added.

Although the Drengir were the main villains of the story, the author beautifully included the Nihil into the mix, this time bringing more complexity to the murderous space pirates through Nan.

“I thought it would be interesting to present the Nihil from a completely different perspective and in the most sympathetic way possible. You have this elderly man who is taking care of a young woman who’s just apparently out of childhood. Nan comes across as a little younger than she is and genuinely curious about the Jedi and the Republic, just not for the reasons that Reath thinks,” Gray explained. “She’s acting on behalf of this other entity that has its own power and views of the galaxy. I wanted to make it clear that the Nihil are not all necessarily monstrous. The people who joined feel like it’s a dog eat dog world out there. You have to look out for yourself, and this is maybe your best chance at having a better life.”

Get your own copy of Into the Dark today and make sure to stay in touch with Claudia Gray’s upcoming Star Wars projects, especially from The High Republic, on Twitter and Instagram.