Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ enigmatic villain General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) is a little less of a mystery following the release of Life Debt: Aftermath.
Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy is shedding some light on what happened in between Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and last Christmas’ Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
The first novel came out all the way back in September, and explored the awakening of a new government following the fall of the Empire.
The sequel, Life Debt, hits stores today — and with it comes some interesting details about one of the new players to the Star Wars universe: General Hux, who was played by Domhnall Gleeson in The Force Awakens.
The Radio Times has the scoop, writing, “Hux is the illegitimate son of an Imperial officer who always believed it was his destiny to rule the galaxy, and was probably driven to evil by his horrible full name: Armitage Hux.”
The Star Wars Wikia further reveals that the name of his father was Brendol Hux, a Commandant for the Imperial Academy on Arkanis.
We also learn that Hux was one of the supporters of the Empire who escaped when they surrendered to the Rebel Alliance, and was part of forming the First Order. That certainly explains why he is afforded so much respect and authority within the First Order, and why he’s got a complicated relationship with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
Kylo, being a relative newcomer to the cause, has clearly risen to prominence because of his lineage and command of the Force. Hux, an illegitimate child who fought his way up the ranks and stayed loyal to the Empire until the end, probably doesn’t think too highly of his circumstantial bedfellow.
It also reopens the question of his age, already something of a mystery considering he supposedly trained a group of Stormtroopers the same age as him since birth.
(Note that the Star Wars Wikia lists him as having been born roughly four years before the Battle of Endor, and having served the First Order for approximately 30 years.)
Interested in learning more about what went on between episodes VI and VII? Pick up Chuck Wendig’s Life Debt: Aftermath yourself! Here’s the official summary from publisher Del Rey:
The galaxy is changing, and with peace now a possibility, some dare to imagine new beginnings and new destinies. For Han Solo, that means settling his last outstanding debt, by helping Chewbacca liberate the Wookiee’s home world of Kashyyyk.
Meanwhile, Norra Wexley and her band of rebels pursue Admiral Rae Sloane and the remaining Imperial leadership across the galaxy. Sloane, increasingly wary of the mysterious fleet admiral, desperately searches for a means to save the crumbling Empire from oblivion. Even as Imperial forces fight to regain lost ground, Princess Leia and the New Republic seek to broker a lasting peace.
But the rebel’s hunt for Admiral Sloane is cut short after the disappearance of Han Solo and Chewbacca. Desperate to save them, Leia conscripts Norra, Sinjir, Jas, and the rest of their team to find the missing smugglers and help them in their fight for freedom.