The Real-Life Jedi: How Riley Howell Became A Hero In Both Galaxies
Image Source: NY Post
Six years ago, a courageous 21-year old student Riley Howell tackled a gunman at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He lost his life in the struggle but his actions saved many. During his life, Howell was something of a Star Wars historian.
The New York Times described him as “a deep scholar of Star Wars, amassing a legion of Jedi action figures with his brother, Ted, 14.” Lucasfilm sought to honor the young hero’s memory with a cameo in Star Wars lore. Fittingly, the character Ri-Lee Howell was made a historian.
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The character appeared in the book The Rise of Skywalker- The Visual Dictionary. The book’s Aionomica, or sacred Jedi texts, states, “Jedi Master and historian Ri-Lee Howell collected many of the earliest accounts of explorations and codifications of the Force in the Aionomica: a two-volume combination of codex, correspondence, and scrapbook. Though much of its contents would later be stored in holocrons (which have since been lost), the physical books have passages written in the hands of the original sages, carefully preserved by Howell.”
Image Source: GamesRadar
Before releasing the book, the Lucasfilm fan relations group reached out to the family. Fan relations team member Lucas Seastrom wrote, “Riley’s courage and selflessness brings out the Jedi in all of us. We hope that you may rejoice in his memory, and we join you in honoring his life example.” The letter continued, “As a small tribute, our Story Group has incorporated a reimagining of Riley’s name as a character in the Star Wars galaxy.”
Howell’s memory will now be immortalized in Star Wars canon and not just as a part of the lore but a lore master himself both in the Star Wars galaxy and our own. The brother of Howell's girlfriend was extremely touched by the kind gesture. He wrote in a Reddit post, “Riley was a massive Star Wars fan, and in the five-plus years I knew him he repeatedly surprised me with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Star Wars universe.
The fact that his character is a historian who put together an incredibly important text for the Jedi religion, important enough for Rey and Luke to take with them on the Millenium Falcon, is beyond cool, and we have no words for this except: Thank you, Lucasfilm. You made our Christmas, even though we're finishing the most difficult year in memory for us all.”
Image Source: WLOS
A spring tragedy was turned into a Christmas gift. Although nobody could bring him back, Lucasfilm made sure he was a hero in both galaxies. In our galaxy, it was his own courage and selflessness that made him a hero. In the Star Wars universe, it was his real knowledge of the lore that served his heroism. Both aspects of him are true. His girlfriend’s father described him as someone with a strong moral compass, saying, “He had a very strong sense of good and evil, and how to live life as someone who looked out for others. Seeing him listed as both a Jedi and a historian in Star Wars lore is a perfect way to connect him to this story and the characters he loved.”
Howell’s mother thought her son would have loved his character. She also expressed gratitude to Lucasfilm for leaving no ambiguity about the character. She said, “I like the way they actually left his last name. I think he would really be appreciative of that. Because, you know, they could have just said Ri-Lee – Jedi Ri-Lee – and we’d be guessing the whole time about whether or not that was really [him], but they put his last name in there just to really honor him ... and that really made me cry when I heard about it.” Riley Howell and Jedi Ri-Lee Howell are one hero spread across two universes, both in need of people like him. Farewell Riley and may the Force be with you.
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Source(s): IGN, The Guardian
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