Over the years, the Star Wars franchise has been known to produce a plethora of movies and series, much to the delight of die-hard fans. However, as the space opera franchise expanded, the stories have evolved over time to include several more mediums.
In order to better chronicle the overarching story of the galaxy far, far away, Lucasfilm has maximized the use of tie-in novels and comic books. In many ways, this paved the way for a better understanding of the film's narrative while also providing fans a chance to uncover more stories about old and new characters. And now, thanks to a recently concluded panel from the at-home version of San Diego Comic-Con, Lucasfilm Publishing has revealed a wide array of books that will further expand the Star Wars lore.
CONFIRMATION
During a virtual panel from Comic-Con at Home, various authors have officially unveiled a plethora of upcoming titles and stories that will serve as notable additions to the long list of Star Wars content.
The first huge reveal from the SDCC panel is the announcement of The Lightsaber Collection. The book will look to dive deep into the lightsaber lore while also "boasting gorgeous highly-detailed illustrations" of the iconic Force user weapon:
The Lightsaber Collection will give us a wide-ranging look at the evolution of the elegant weapon. Boasting gorgeous, highly-detailed illustrations of some of the most iconic and influential lightsabers throughout Star Wars, as well as new portraits of each lightsaber wielder, the newly announced book promises to be a coveted collection like no other.
A new wave of strange tales focused on the menacing Darth Vader will soon arrive. The spooky series from IDW will provide fans a "30-page one-shot" written by Cavan Scott:
The spooky IDW comic series that previously brought us strange tales from Mustafar is back with Shadows of Vader’s Castle, a 30-page one-shot from IDW written by Cavan Scott, with covers by Francesco Francavilla and Derek Charm. Look for it to hit comic book store shelves in October!
One of the surprise reveals from the panel is the relaunch of Star Wars Adventures. The rebooted comic series will look to deliver fresh stories in different time eras of the Skywalker saga.
Different myths and fables under the Star Wars lore will also be explored as six new stories from George Mann are set to arrive soon. The stories will revolve around different settings such as Batuu, Endor, Dathomir, and Mon Cala:
An exclusive in-world version of Star Wars: Myths & Fables with six new stories by George Mann will be available later this year. The stories will appropriately be set back on Batuu, and across the galaxy on Endor, Dathomir, and Mon Cala. Plus, each one comes with new artwork from illustrator Grant Griffin, Mann said. But even the author himself hasn’t had a chance to snag a copy just yet. “I can’t wait to see it myself,” he said. “It’s going to look like an artifact from Batuu!”
The famous Star Wars attraction from Disneyland and Disney World will have its very own companion book in the form of The Art of Galaxy's Edge. Written by Amy Ratcliffe, the book will look to "explore the exquisite details that went into creating Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge":
Explore the making of Batuu. And speaking of some of our favorite Star Wars destinations, your concept art book collection is about to get a new addition with The Art of Galaxy’s Edge by Amy Ratcliffe. Explore the exquisite details that went into creating Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge inside Disneyland Resort and Disney World Resort when the book is available later this year.
The much-anticipated The High Republic: A Test of Courage from Justina Ireland will reportedly have a connection to Sana Starros! Ireland shared that fans will get to meet a 12-year old Avon Starros who is "the great, great, many times great ancestor of the best scoundrel to ever have scoundreled:"
Justina Ireland said her upcoming novel, The High Republic: A Test of Courage, has a connection to Sana Starros! “We know she’s the best scoundrel to ever have scoundreled. Who we’re going to meet is her great, great, many times great ancestor.” The book, hitting shelves in January, involves the adventures of one Avon Starros, a 12-year-old girl sent to the edge of the galaxy by her politician mother because she’s curious, experimental and, well, just pure trouble.
A Jedi, You Will Be is a novel fit for young audiences where Master Yoda will look to impart some Jedi knowledge that will deem useful to children:
To write A Jedi, You Will Be, author Preeti Chhibber had to get inside the wondrous mind of a child and search her feelings. The story is geared toward young readers, so the author wanted to make sure Yoda’s teachings were gentle enough — that means no failure in the cave! — and accessible to children. “You have to really think about what the Force means to little kids and how they engage with that kind of idea of the Force and that philosophical side of things,” Chhibber said during the discussion.
A new comic book centered on Darth Vader will include "callbacks to the prequels and ties to the latest film, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker:"
In the new Darth Vader comics, writer Greg Pak is including callbacks to the prequels and ties to the latest film, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Pak said he’s taking a fresh look at the galaxy after Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back from a certain point of view — Vader’s — as he’s just been rejected by his son. “We tend to think of that from Luke’s point of view. But when you dig into that, you realize Vader himself is as traumatized as Luke is in that moment. And that moment is echoed purposefully multiple times throughout the series.” Pak has already worked Sabé into the mix for the first arc, but he says readers can expect the next arc to include key elements to tie into the most recent films in the Skywalker saga, “which dig into some great unexplored territory and also dig deeply into the heart of Vader.”
The anthology novel straight from the highly acclaimed Empire Strikes Back will "revisit some old friends" while also digging deep into various stories told in different perspectives:
In the new From a Certain Point of View anthology, Tom Angleberger revisits some old friends. “I can’t believe they let me do this twice,” he said when asked about the character he’s focusing on for his story. “I am once again getting to write the Whills.”
On the flip side, a new Clone Wars anthology novel will take fans "inside the mind of Maul" while in the midst of the villain's path to revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi:
And the new Clone Wars anthology will take us inside the mind of Maul. Among other stories retelling key episodes in the animated series, Rebecca Roanhorse jumped from thinking like Poe Dameron and Leia in Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, to thinking of nothing but revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi as she wrote about Maul as we first meet him in the series, completely insane and walking around on spider legs cobbled together from garbage.
Fans of Poe Dameron rejoice! A new novel centered on the sequel trilogy hero will explore the character's "past as a spice runner." The book will also include appearances from a young Zorii Wynn and Babu Frik:
Alex Segura’s new Poe Dameron novel will connect the Resistance pilot to his past as a spice runner and introduce us to a young Zorii Wynn and Babu Frik! That’s right. The pint-sized droidsmith and the mysterious helmeted scoundrel will both make an appearance in the book, Segura promised. As for the plot, “It’s a coming of age story,” he said. But “it’s really a crime novel in space…It’s also a heist novel. It’s also a shootout and it was just really a lot of fun!”
New stories about Doctor Aphra will be chronicled via a comic series which promises to include "plenty of payoff for dedicated fans:"
Like many fans, Alyssa Wong loves Doctor Aphra. But you don’t have to be current on the previous comic series to dive into the new run. Wong worked hard to keep the new Aphra adventures accessible for people who had never read Aphra before while still infusing the stories with plenty of payoff for the dedicated fans. “She’s got a new crew,” including a disgraced professor, a vicious grad student, and a classic, dashingly handsome rogue. But don’t worry, she’s still the same messy, out-for-herself Aphra. “I have a deep weakness for characters who are really selfish, who are forced by the moral compass that they keep trying to crush to do something good for other people.”
Author Timothy Zahn will provide fans a backstory of how the Chiss Ascendancy was established while also expanding stories about Admiral Thawn in the process:
In the next Thrawn trilogy, Timothy Zahn is getting to build the Chiss Ascendancy from the ground up. The character has taken up residence in Zahn’s brain for about three decades, so every book he writes is essentially “just meeting up with him again. I’ve got his mental patterns, his tactical ideas pretty much established in my mind. I just have to put him in new situations.” And this September, that means building the Chiss culture. “Exploring how the families work, how the military works, their relationships with others in the area.”
WHAT THIS MEANS
With so much to unpack, it's clear that Lucasfilm Publishing has a plan in place, and much of it includes the expansion of the Star Wars lore through captivating stories. More so, the looming presence of generational icons like Darth Vader and Poe Dameron in the new wave of books should signify that there is still a growing interest for the characters, even though their story already ended on the big screen. In addition, the intriguing inclusion of The Lightsaber Collection book should give fans a chance to further their knowledge on the kyber crystal powered weapon of Force users.
On the surface, Star Wars has benefited from telling stories through the lens of various characters and different time settings. In a way, this helped the franchise to become a profitable business. In retrospect, it has also demonstrated that the possibilities are endless with telling countless stories that will enhance the experience of fans. With an expanded library of characters and time periods that have yet to be visited, it's safe to say that the space opera franchise will continue to tell amusing and unique stories moving forward.
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