Bloodline (novel)

"The sun is setting on the New Republic. It's time for the Resistance to rise."

- Leia Organa

Bloodline is a canon novel written by Claudia Gray. The story takes place six years prior to Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens and centers on Princess Leia Organa as she serves as a member of the Galactic Senate of the New Republic. Throughout the novel, Princess Leia contends with different threats to the Republic, both internal and external, in a series of events that ultimately leads to the formation of the Resistance that appeared in The Force Awakens.

The novel, which was released on May 3, 2016, was first announced on October 10, 2015, before the premiere of The Force Awakens. It was originally given the title New Republic: Bloodline before it was shortened to simply Bloodline. Rian Johnson, the director of Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, contributed some ideas to the novel. The title was given a paperback release on January 31, 2017.

Publisher's summary
WITNESS THE BIRTH OF THE RESISTANCE

''When the Rebellion defeated the Empire in the skies above Endor, Leia Organa believed it was the beginning to a lasting peace. But after decades of vicious infighting and partisan gridlock in the New Republic Senate, that hope seems like a distant memory.''

''Now a respected senator, Leia must grapple with the dangers that threaten to cripple that fledging democracy&mdash;from both within and without. Underworld kingpins, treacherous politicians, and Imperial loyalists are sowing chaos in the galaxy. Desperate to take action, senators are calling for the election of a First Senator. It is their hope that this influential post will bring strong leadership to a divided galaxy.''

''As the daughter of Darth Vader, Leia faces with distrust the prospect of any one person holding such a powerful position&mdash;even when supporters suggest Leia herself for the job. But a new enemy may make this path Leia's only option. For at the edges of the galaxy, a mysterious threat is growing....''

Exposition
On Hosnian Prime, Senator and Princess Leia Organa and other members of the New Republic's Galactic Senate attend a ceremony to dedicate a Jelucani fogstone statue of her late adopted father and Rebel Alliance founder Bail Organa. After her colleague Senator Tai-Lin Garr speaks about the fruits of the Galactic Civil War, Leia gives a brief speech about her father's legacy. Despite the show of unity among the senators, tensions are growing between the Populists, who favor greater autonomy, and the Centrists, who favor a stronger central government and more powerful military. Following the dedication ceremony, Leia socializes with the other senators including the Centrist Lady Carise Sindian, who solicits Leia's help in inheriting the governorship of Birren. Leia promises to have her staff look into the matter.

Mission to Bastatha
Back in her office, Leia confides with her intern Korr Sella that she intends to step down as Senator in the near future, citing her frustration with the growing deadlock and bickering in the Senate. Leia later raises the topic again with her husband Han Solo, who has become a successful starship racer. Both live separate lives but regularly correspond via Hologram. The following day, the Twi'lek Senator Yendor of Ryloth calls on the Galactic Senate to take action against a Nikto crime cartel led by Rinnrivin Di, who is disrupting Ryloth's offworld trade. After some debate, Senator Leia agrees to undertake a fact-finding mission to the planet Bastatha, which serves as Rinnrivin's base. While the Centrists are reluctant to aid a Populist Senator, the young, charismatic Ransolm Casterfo of Riosa volunteers to accompany Leia in a show of bipartisanship.

After making preparations for her trip with her pilot Greer Sonnel, Leia visits Ransolm's office to gain his trust. While Leia is disconcerted by the presence of old Imperial artifacts in Senator Casterfo's office, she finds Ransolm to be friendly and trustworthy despite their philosophical disagreement about the former Empire. Later, Greer arranges for the New Republic starfighter pilot Joph Seastriker to escort Leia's ship to Bastatha, which is reputed as a seedy world. Leia travels with her protocol droid C-3PO, intern Kor Sella, and Senator Casterfo to Bastatha; a hot, irradiated planet where the population lives underground.

Upon landing, the New Republic delegates are agreed by Magistrate Tosta and Xun, who take them on a tour of a casino to showcase their efforts to market Bastatha as a tourist destination. While at the cantina, Leia notices an older woman who is part of a group from Daxam IV with dark, streaked hair watching them intently. Back at their ship, Leia and Ransolm receive an invitation to met with a private business delegation, which turns out to be Rinnrivin's Nikto henchmen. The armed Nikto kidnap Leia and bundle her away into a hovercraft. They take her to meet Rinnrivin himself, who tells her about his people's desire to break free of Hutt domination. Rinnrivin also attempts to lobby Leia to get the New Republic to deregulate its spice trade. Before they can proceed further, their meeting is disrupted by Ransolm, who rescues Leia; having planted a tracker on her cloak.

Leia and Ransolm escape Rinnvirin's lair in a stolen hoversled and are soon found by Seastriker's X-wing starfighter. While Leia is annoyed with Ransolm for interrupting her meeting, the two gain a sense of respect for each other. Leia finds Casterfo to be an intelligent, moderate, and honest Centrist and considers introducing him to her colleagues Garr and Varish Vicly in order to build a sense of bipartisanship. The Bastatha authorities later secure Rinnvirin's lair but the crime lord has already escaped. However, Leia discovers that Bastatha's gambling revenue is being funnelled into a network of shadow corporations based in the Outer Rim. Leia thinks this operation is too sophisticated for the Hutts and suspects another party; recalling the mysterious woman from Daxam IV.

First Senator
Returning to Hosnian Prime, Casterfo and Leia speak in support of Senator Yendor's petition and urge the New Republic to take action against Rinnrivin Di's cartel. In response, various Populist and Centrist senators accuse Ransolm and Leia of endangering each other and withholding information. As the proceedings continue, Senator Carise Sindian of Arkanis takes the floor to call on the Senate to consider a motion to abolish the officer of Chancellor and create a new office called First Senator, that will wield considerable power over the military and economy. While the Senate is not swayed by Sindian's arguments, most of the Centrist and neutralist senators are swayed by Senator Casterfo, who points to the gridlock and infighting in the Senate. As a result, the Senate carries Casterfo's motion, much to the dismay of the Populists including Leia.

While disagreeing with Casterfo, Leia and her Populist colleagues respect his sincerity. At the urging of Tai, Varish, and C-3PO, Leia reluctantly agrees to delay her retirement plans and stand as the Populist candidate for First Senator. Though Han is annoyed with her change in mind, he respects his wife's decision. Later, Leia holds an audience with Lady Carise Sindian in her office to discuss the governorship of Birren. During the meeting, Leia reveals that she was adopted by Bail and Breha Organa. In return for keeping this matter a secret, Leia agrees to help the Centrist Senator ascent to the governorship. Sindian promptly makes preparations to travel to Birren to claim her title.

Later, Jorph Seastriker and his fellow starfighter pilots including Greer and Temmin Wexley watched an starfighter acrobatic competition near the Senate building. While chatting with Senator Organa and Greer, Jorph learned that Leia was dispatching Greer on a mission to the planet Pamarthe to investigate whether Rinnrivin was hiring pilots from there. Under Leia's direction, Jorph and Greer travel to Pamarthe where they learn that a group known as the Amaxine warriors operate a base on the planet Daxam IV. Back on Hosnian Prime, Leia chats with Sindian, who is departing to Birren to claim the governorship of that planet. During the course of their conversation, Leia remarks that the post of First Senator might not be a bad idea. While traveling to Birren, Lady Carise yearns for the day when the galaxy would be rightly governed and the strength of the Centrist worlds revealed.

After returning to Hosnian Prime, Jorph and Greer discuss their findings with Leia aboard her starship, the Mirrorbright. Jorph and Greer talk about Daxam IV and the Amaxine warriors, a purported warrior people who had left the galaxy after refusing to make peace with the Old Republic. While Jorph has been unable to find any record of the Amaxines in the public informational grid, he found references to the Amaxine in certain clusters of the galaxy; mainly Centrist worlds. Greer suspects that some Centrist senators are taking bribes in return for hiding Rinnrivin's drug cartel. Leia admits her admiration for Senator Ransolm, describing him as the only Centrist senator she can trust.

Princess Leia and Ransolm later meet for dinner at the Hanging gardens near the Senate complex. During the dinner, Leia discusses her findings about the Amaxine warrior and their apparent connection to Rinnrivin and the Centralists. In return, Ransolm talks about his support for the move to reintroduce the death penalty to Riosa and expresses an admiration for Leia's role in killing Jabba the Hutt. Ransolm then goes on to talk about his harsh childhood under Imperial rule and the loss of his parents. Finding a kindred spirit, Leia in return tells Ransolm about her torture at the hands of Darth Vader prior to the destruction of Alderaan. Due to their meeting, the two uneasy allies become friends. However, Leia omits to mention that Vader was her true father.

The Napkin Bombing and aftermath
The following day, Leia and her fellow Populist senators including Tai-Lin Garr meet at the Senate complex's banquet hall. There, Leia discovers a note written with the message "Run." Leia orders an evacuation and a bomb destroys half of the senatorial conference building. While no senators were killed during the so-called "Napkin Bombing", many people were wounded and the media treated the incident as the most serious security incident since the end of the Galactic Civil War. The Centrists and Populists soon begin accusing each other of staging the bombing to gain political capital. Ransolm and Leia suspect that the bombing is linked to their investigation into Rinnrivin's criminal cartel. Preliminary investigations show footage of an alleged female Twi'lek bomber. Ransolm decides to take Greer with him to Daxam IV to investigate the Amaxines while Leia decides to visit Ryloth with Joph Seastriker.

To avoid drawing attention, Ransolm and Greer rent a small Jeconne courier for their mission to Daxam IV. Ransolm has arranged to meet a dealer in old Imperial artefacts known as Crimson Blade. Upon landing, Ransolm and Greer discover that Crimson Blade is Arliz Hadrassian, the mysterious woman they had sighted at the casino on Bastatha. Hadrassian introduces herself as a former TIE fighter pilot who had lived during the time of the Galactic Civil War. Pretending to be an Imperial sympathizer, Ransolm spends the next two hours chatting with her. Later that night, Greer takes the Jeconne courier for a flight above Daxam's atmosphere and discovers that the Amaxines have several armed starfighter squadrons. She quickly deduces that the Amaxines are a paramilitary organization with significant funds and ties to organised crime.

Meanwhile, Senator Organa and her entourage visits Ryloth on the Mirrorbright where she is greeted by Emissary Yendor. While in the Ryloth archives, Organa and her team search for material on Rinnrivin. They find that he started off at the lowest rung of the Hutts' spice operation but mysteriously became the leader of one of the largest galactic criminal enterprises. Lacking sufficient evidence, they suspect that someone is secretly funding Rinnrivin. Taking their ship into space, Joph discusses his team's findings with Casterfo and Greer, who report that they have discovered some spy satellites above Daxam IV sending periodic updates to several worlds including Ryloth. They suspect that Ryloth is being used by Rinnrivin as a relay station. Leia is annoyed with Joph for "improving" Castero's orders without consulting her. However, she is mollified when Joph traces the signal to the Expansion Region planet of Sibensko, which is in Centrist space.

Back on Daxam IV, Ransolm reassures Greer that he is only toying with Hadrassian as part of his investigation. Later, Ransolm visits Hadrassian's compound and purchases the helmet of an Imperial Royal guard. After deeming Casterfo trustworthy, Hadrassian takes Ransolm to meet her Amaxine Warriors at a nearby camp. The Amaxine youths are training with Force pikes, the weapons of the former Royal Guards. Having studied the techniques in old holos, Ransolm volunteers to duel with an Amaxine warrior. Despite being haunted by his childhood memories of Vader, Ransolm manages to defeat his opponent but spares his life.

Later, Ransolm briefs Greer about the information that he managed to obtain on the Amaxines. He learns that the Amaxines operate several bases but their main headquarters is on the planet Sibensko, a watery planet known as a crime haven. Ransolm also gains Greer's trust. Unable to contact Leia on Ryloth, Casterfo contacts his sponsor Lady Carise and informs her about Rinnrivin's connection to the Amaxines. Carise, who is undertaking a coronation ceremony on Birren, downplays the threat posed by the Amaxines and tells her colleague to concentrate on more "important" things. As a result, Casterfo comes to realize that the Centrists are equally apathetic and inactive as their Populist opponents.

Connecting the dots
Following her mission to Ryloth, Leia and her team travel to Harloff Minor where she organizes a discreet meeting with Rinnrivin Di. During their meeting, Leia talks about her rise from rebel to Senator and then returns the holocube showing her killing Jabba. Based on her meeting, Leia deduces that Rinnrivin and the Amaxines do not see "eye to eye" due to Rinnrivin's objection to the Napkin Bombing. She suspects the Amaxine set Rinnrivin up or that they are both being funded by the same entity.

After their offworld side trips, Leia and Ransolm return to Hosnian Prime to discuss their findings. Leia agrees to guide the official investigation into the Napkin Bombing while Ransolm agrees to investigate his Centrist colleagues. Both senators also agree to investigate Sibensko. As part of his investigation, Ransolm invites thirty fellow Centrists to a private reception where he displays his Imperial artefacts, knowing that several of the senators are avid collectors. During the reception, Ransolm deduces that many of the Centrists are sympathetic to the "Old Empire". Due to his harsh childhood at the hands of the Empire, Casterfo finds himself disillusioned with the Centrist party.

Meanwhile on Birren, Lady Carise discovers a wooden music box among Lord Mellowyn's possessions. This music box is engraved with the message "FOR PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA OF ALDERAAN." Inside the box, she finds a recorded audio message from Senator Bail Organa telling his adopted daughter of her true parentage. Lady Carise learns that Leia and her brother Luke Skywalker are the offspring of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, the man who became Darth Vader. Lady Carise toys between honoring her sacred vow to Leia and using it as weapon to damage her political rival's credibility.

Joph and Greer travel to Chrome Citadel where they accept a job to smuggle materiel from Daxam IV to Sibensko. With the Populists rallying around her, Leia decides to leave for Sibensko before her candidacy is officially announced. While Leia and Ransolm make preparations to travel with the two pilots to Sibensko, Lady Carise returns to Hosnian Prime and contacts Arliz Hadrassian via hologram. Both are secretly working for the First Order, a remnant of Imperial loyalists hiding in deep space, and plot to undermine the New Republic in order to prepare the Galaxy for the return of the First Order. While Hadrassian is convinced that Ransolm is an Imperial sympathizer, Carise points out that he is still loyal to Leia. She decides to use her new-found knowledge to turn Ransolm against Leia.

The moment of truth
Before Senator Organa's scheduled nomination hearing for the post of First Senator, Lady Carise visits Ransolm and tells him Leia's secret. Later, Senator Varish nominates Leia on behalf of the Populists as First Senator in the presence of the Galactic Senate. However, Ransolm objects to her nomination on the grounds that she has concealed her true parentage as Darth Vader's daughter. As proof, Castefo presents Leia's music box which contains Bail Organa's recording. With the Senate in uproar, Leia admits that her father was Darth Vader. While Senator Ransolm is praised by his Centrist colleagues, he feels tormented for betraying Leia's trust and friendship.

In the wake of Ransolm's revelation of her true parentage, Leia loses the support of most of her Populist colleagues except Senators Varish and Tai-Lin; with the former reading out the entire constitutional passage declaring that no person should have to answer for the crimes of a parent. However, Kor Sella angrily resigns in protest of Leia's perceived dishonesty. Leia regrets keeping the secret of her parentage between herself, Luke, and Han and withholding that information from her son Ben Solo. While listening to a holorecording of her adopted father, she pens a letter to comfort her son Ben.

Despite the political fallout from Leia's scandal, Joph and Greer elect to remain loyal to the Senator and confirm they are still keen on participating in the mission to Sibensko. Leia informs them that Rinnrivin is funnelling large amounts of spice and money to Centrist worlds and that a paramilitary organization called the Amaxines are massing for war. She suspects the Amaxines are behind the Napkin Bombing. Before leaving, Leia settles some "unfinished business" with Ransolm. Casterfo is bitter towards her for withholding the truth about her parentage due to his hatred for Darth Vader. Following an angry exchange, Leia storms out of Casterfo's office; leaving a guilt-stricken Ransolm to reflect on his actions.

Prior to her departure, Leia returns to the Galactic Senate to officially withdraw her nomination for First Senator. She then gives a brief speech outlining how she learned about her true parentage from her brother Luke Skywalker. Lady Carise takes the floor to assassinate Luke's character; prompting Senator Tai-Lin to defend Luke's character and service to the New Republic. Tai-Lin then defends Leia and stresses that she retains his personal friendship and political support. Leia obtains approval from the Senate for a leave of absence; Ransolm does not join his fellow Centrist senators in questioning her motives.

Mission to Sibensko
While preparing to depart on the Mirrorbright for Sibensko, Greer experiences bloodburn and collapses on the floor. Joph and Dr. Harter Kalonia treat her and fret about revealing her secret. Prior to leaving with Greer and Joph, Leia contacts her husband Han Solo and tells him about her secret mission. Leia, Greer, Joph, and C-3PO travel to Sibensko on a freighter. They used a tracker to locate Rinnrivin's holocube. At the spaceport, Leia poses as an indentured servant and Threepio as her overseer. Joph and Greer discover that their dealer Padric is an Amaxine and that their cargo is destined for Hosnian Prime.

After accessing a computer terminal, Leia and C-3PO discover that the Amaxines and a mysterious entity are funnelling billions of credits into Rinnrivin's crime cartel. They also discover that Riinrivin is funnelling the money to the Centrist worlds for what she suspects is an armed buildup. Shortly later, Joph reveals that the Amaxines are using Sibensko as a base. After C-3PO downloads the banking records into his memory banks, Leia orders her companions to leave while she investigates the Amaxine base. However, they are cornered by Rinnrivin and his henchmen.

A gunfight breaks out and Leia fires at the bolt connecting a water tunnel, causing it to crush Rinnrivin and his men to death. While her companions return to the freighter, Leia travels to the Amaxine base where she discovers a large hangar bay containing various starfighters including X-wing starfighters and old vintage TIE fighters. Leia is soon pursued by several Amaxines but manages to flee onto a landing platform that is protected by a force field. Leia is soon cornered by a Y-wing and a B-wing. Leia is saved from destruction by the arrival of her husband Han Solo, who uses a modified racer to shoot down the Amaxine fighters.

One of the stricken Amaxine fighters crashes into the sea, triggering a massive explosion which destroys the underwater spaceport and the Amaxine base; wiping out all evidence of the paramilitary group and Rinnrivin's financial dealings. Watching the destruction unfold, Leia and Han deduced that the stricken ship had triggered the explosions which destroyed the base. Despite the setback, Leia comforts herself with the knowledge that they stopped a paramilitary force planning to attack the New Republic. Later, back on Hosnian Prime, Leia updates her husband about her adventures with Casterfo and her plan to resign from the Senate once her term has expired. Leia fears that other like-minded groups seeking to subvert the New Republic are operating throughout the Galaxy.

Meanwhile, Lady Carise has an animated hologram conversation with a furious Arliz Hadrassian. Hadrassian attacks the Centrists for refusing to secede from the New Republic while Carise criticizes Hadrassian for their premature attack on the Galactic Senate. Hadrassian demands retribution against Leia but Lady Carise believes that the Populist politician's credibility has already been destroyed. Carise instead advises Hadrassian to target the next prospective leader of the Populist faction. After their conversation, Carise reflects on her work as a clandestine agent of the First Order. While Hadrassian viewed the Amaxine warriors as a vanguard against the Republic, Carise saw them as a distraction meant to sow chaos in order to prepare the galaxy for the First Order's return. In the First Order's scheme, the Amaxines were merely intermediaries that the First Order used to operate through Rinnrivin's cartel, which was helping to rebuild the former Imperial fleet.

Wrapping up loose ends
Despite Lady Carise's confidence that Princess Leia would not gain the numbers to address the Senate again in the wake of the Vader parentage scandal, a guilt-stricken Ransolm Casterfo votes in favor of the Senate granting the disgraced politician a hearing. As a result, Leia secures a slim majority by just one vote. This news brings comfort to Leia and Han, with the latter planning to return to managing the hyperspace championship round of the Five Sabers. Later, Leia attends a Populist function where her friend Tai-Lin Garr announces his intention to run as the Populist nominee for First Senator.

Later, Leia addresses the Galactic Senate and informs them that her investigation into Rinnrivin's crime cartel uncovered its links to the Amaxines, who were responsible for the Napkin Bombing. She cites the banking record data taken from the Amaxine warrior's secret base on Sibensko as evidence. She reported that the Amaxine's base was destroyed along with their entire storage of bombs, thermal detonators, and explosives. Leia then warns the Senate that the Amaxine warriors were preparing for a a full-scale military assault on the New Republic and urges her fellow Senators to be on their guard. While most of the senators are hostile and dismissive, Senator Ransolm vouches for Leia and informs the Senate about his trip to the Amaxine base on Daxam IV. He also tells the Senate that the Amaxine leaders spoke of war and admired the "Old Empire." Casterfo regains Leia's respect but his actions infuriate Lady Carise, who decides to eliminate the dissident Centrist senator.

Meanwhile, Joph and Greer decide to store the ton of explosives they had smuggled for the Amaxine warriors at a secret storage unit. Leia later reconciles with Senator Casterfo and commends the Junior senator for having the courage to face her. She also praises him for putting the greater good ahead of his own political faction and ambitions and standing up for what was right. Leia tells him that he would be an honorable politician and counsels him to find other like-minded allies to end the deadlock in the Senate and prevent a war. Ransolm resolves to continue fighting for his beliefs and values.

Ten days later, former Senator Leia accompanies her friend Senator Tai-Lin on his first campaign rally in a Hosnian Prime park. During the rally, Leia meets her former aide Kor Sella, who apologizes for spurning her because of her parentage. While the Senator addresses the public, he is gunned down by Hadrassian as retribution for the deaths of her Amaxine warriors. Before Hadrassian could be taken into custody, she killed herself in order to conceal her connections to Lady Carise. Following Tai-Lin's assassination, the Galactic Senate declares an official period of mourning. Using the data that C-3PO extracted from Sibensko, Hadrassian and her Amaxines are linked to the Napkin Bombing and Rinnrivin's crime cartel.

Lady Carise then uses doctored footage of Ransolm shaking hands with Hadrassian to frame the junior senator for the Napkin Bombing and the assassination of Senator Tai-Lin Garr. Leia quickly realizes that Ransolm was framed in order to discredit the rising politician. Later, Leia meets Casterfo has he is being led to a prisoner transport at the Senate complex hangar. Ransolm is facing trial, sentencing, and execution on his homeworld of Riosa. Leia offers to help the Senator to fight the charges against him but Casterfo is skeptical that she would succeed due to her tarnished reputation and a shadowy Centrist conspiracy. Before leaving, Casterfo describes Leia as his one true friend at the Senate. Based on her conversation with Ransolm, Leia deduces that the Centrists are only interested in war and are willing to eliminate members of their faction who did not share their zeal for power.

In the wake of Tai-Lin Garr's assassination and Casterfo's arrest, the Senate votes to postpone the vote for the First Senator. Lady Carise and her fellow Centrists supported this motion because they had begun concocting a new strategy: seceding the Centrist worlds from the New Republic and joining the emerging First Order. Realizing that Lady Carise was responsible for creating the scandal surrounding her true parentage, Leia contacts the ruling members of the Elder Houses and convinces them to pass a resolution stripping Lady Carise of her governorship of Birren and her royal titles permanently. Prior to leaving the Senate, Leia informs Carise of this news and tells her this is retribution for breaking her oath of secrecy and framing Ransolm.

Dawn of the Resistance
Later that evening, Leia meets with several New Republic officers, soldiers, and pilots including Nien Nunb, Caluan Ematt, Admiral Ackbar, Harter Kalonia, Joph, Greer, Snap Wexley, and Zari Bangel at an empty hangar bay. With the Senate unwilling to take action against threats to the New Republic, Leia tells them that she is establishing a new organization called the Resistance.

Development
"And I can't say it enough. [Claudia Gray] took a page full of ideas that we passed along to [Jen Heddle] and turned it into amazing novel."

- Pablo Hidalgo, Lucasfilm Story Group creative executive

Bloodline was first announced on October 10, 2015 with the title New Republic: Bloodline, as was the involvement of author Claudia Gray. Several of the ideas that Gray incorporated into the novel were developed specifically for the backstory of the film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, which is set six years after Bloodline. The character of Ransolm Casterfo existed in various forms in the earliest versions of The Force Awakens. Rian Johnson, the writer and director of Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, also proposed a number of ideas that made it into the novel. These ideas include the disposition of the New Republic's government and the makeup of its political factions.

A prominent part of the novel's story involves the revelation that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker, and that Leia Organa is his daughter. This was part of a proposed animated short, which would have been set before The Force Awakens, that was pitched in 2012. The short was titled "Scandal of Blood," which Lucasfilm Story Group creative executives Pablo Hidalgo and Rayne Roberts called Star Wars House of Cards. Both Hidalgo and Roberts hoped to see the story turned into a novel. This, like many other ideas that the Story Group presented to Senior Editor Jennifer Heddle, were incorporated into Bloodline.

A description of the novel along with an excerpt of its thirteenth chapter was released by USA Today on February 4, 2016. The novel has five point-of-view characters including Leia Organa, her staffer and pilot Greer Sonnel, the Centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo, the antagonistic Lady Carise Sindian, and the New Republic starfighter pilot Joph Seastriker.