Star Wars is bringing a longtime Legends character into canon with the release of a new Luke Skywalker project in 2026. For many years, fans enjoyed Expanded Universe (EU) content in the galaxy far, far away. After Disney purchased Lucasfilm, the EU became what is now known as Star Wars Legends. Since then, multiple characters have crossed over from Legends to canon.
Star Wars confirmed that fans will be treated to a new graphic novel in 2026 titled Tales from the Outer Rim: The Legend of Beggar's Canyon. The book will feature canon characters like Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter but will also introduce a popular Legends character named Janek Sunber, who also goes by Tank.
Tales of the Outer Rim: The Legend of Beggar's Canyon will follow Luke in his younger days before the events of A New Hope, bringing to life the line from that film in which Luke talks about Beggar's Canyon, blasting Womp Rats, and his T-16 speeder. According to the official synopsis, which was shared on Star Wars' official website, it will be "an unforgettable summer adventure" for Luke, Biggs, and Tank:
"Like most kids his age, Luke Skywalker longs for adventure, but growing up on the distant desert planet of Tatooine, he feels more than a little stuck. And with Luke’s best friend, Biggs Darklighter, already daydreaming about leaving to enroll in the Imperial Academy, Luke feels like he’s sinking into a Sarlacc Pit! So he decides it’s time to embark on an unforgettable summer adventure of his own and brave the legendary Beggar’s Canyon!"
The synopsis also teased that the group could run into "terrifying spirits" that haunt Beggar's Canyon or "ferocious beasts:"
"Some Tatooine locals say Beggar’s Canyon is haunted by terrifying spirits. Others say it’s home to ferocious beasts. Luke, Biggs, and their friends are determined to conquer this mysterious abyss. But will they discover the truth behind the tall tales, or be lost in the harsh desert sands forever?!"
Tank can be seen standing on the far right side of the group on the graphic novel's cover. The cover also showcases a couple of Womp Rats, three T-16 Skyhoppers, and the wasteland of Beggar's Canyon.
Tank's inclusion in the book was confirmed by comic book artist Brent Schoonover via X. Alongside the graphic novel's cover, Schoonover revealed a character graphic featuring Luke, Biggs, and Tank, with their names under their respective characters.
For reference, Tank (Janek Sunber) was a childhood friend of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Legends. His name was actually mentioned in A New Hope in the scene where Luke talked to Uncle Owen about joining the Imperial Academy, but that was the only time he was ever mentioned in canon.
In Legends, Tank was still Luke's childhood friend, and he still went off to the Imperial Academy. He originally applied to become a pilot, but his scores weren't good enough for him to become one, so he settled for being in the Imperial Army.
In short, Tank became angry when he learned that Luke and Biggs joined the Rebel Alliance. After speaking with Darth Vader about Luke, Tank was tasked with capturing the Jedi. To trick Luke, Tank sent a message to him telling him that he wanted to leave the Empire. After he was rescued by Luke and brought to one of the Rebels' ships, Tank turned on Luke.
The pair battled, and Tank actually had the upper hand, but he was unable to kill Luke. At the same time, Vader's fleet began attacking the Rebels, and the ship Tank and Luke were on was damaged.
This attack caused a pit to emerge in the ship and knocked Leia Organa unconscious. Ironically, Leia was falling into the pit, but Tank grabbed her arm and saved her from death. In a heroic final moment, he hoisted Leia up to Luke, who was out of the pit. However, he then lost his grip and fell to his death.
It is unclear if Tank's story in canon will follow his character arc from Legends, but fans likely won't see the Imperial version of the character in the Legends of Beggar's Canyon graphic novel. It is possible that Tank will talk about joining the Imperial Academy, but his service to the Empire will likely be saved for a future canon project, if Star Wars decides to bring him back.
Other Star Wars Legends Characters Who Were Canonized
Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn is undoubtedly the most popular Legends character who has also been incorporated into Star Wars canon. Thrawn was first introduced in the Heir to the Empire Legends novel by Timothy Zahn in the 1990s.
In Star Wars Rebels, Thrawn was finally introduced as a canon Star Wars character. After that, the Chiss mastermind was the center of multiple canon novels, Tales of the Empire, and the live-action Ahsoka show on Disney+.
Thrawn is one of Star Wars' most popular characters and villains of all time, and he will be returning to the galaxy far, far away in Ahsoka Season 2.
Darth Bane
A lot of Star Wars fans have grown to love many Sith characters from Star Wars Legends over the years, and Darth Bane is near the top of the list. A trilogy of Legends novels about Darth Bane was released in the 2000s that fleshed the character out, and fans have only grown to adore him more ever since.
Darth Bane was officially brought into Star Wars canon in The Clone Wars Season 6 during the arc where Yoda went on a journey to learn how to become a Force Ghost. During that journey, he saw several visions, one of which featured Darth Bane, voiced by none other than Mark Hamill.
Notably, Bane was also supposed to appear in the Mortis arc of The Clone Wars, but he didn't make it into the final cut (though his involvement was still documented in a deleted scene). Bane has also been mentioned in canon novels through the years. There were once rumors that Disney was planning to develop multiple projects based on Darth Bane, but those rumors have disappeared.
Darth Revan
Darth Bane is one of the most popular Sith from Star Wars Legends. Arguably, he is the second-most popular, only behind Darth Revan. Revan has been featured in multiple Legends projects, but most notably, his journey was documented in the Knights of the Old Republic video game released in the 2000s.
Like Bane, Revan was also supposed to appear in the Mortis arc alongside the Son, but his scene was cut. He was officially brought into canon thanks to 2019's The Rise of Skywalker. A canon reference book that was released for that movie revealed that one of the Sith Eternal's legions was named the Revan Legion.
Many fans hope Revan will return in future canon projects and that a movie or TV series will eventually be released and fully explore his character arc. It is worth noting, though, that Revan appeared in on-screen projects like LEGO Star Wars: Pieces of the Past, but those projects were not canon.
Dash Rendar
Dash Rendar is a smuggler who first appeared in the Legends book Shadows of the Empire. He was originally created to be a Han Solo-like character, which many fans found amusing.
Dash has not been explicitly featured in any canon projects, but he was included in a 2018 reference book titled Solo: A Star Wars Story: Tales from Vandor. The book's author, Jason Fry, publicly revealed that Dash was included in the book because of his similarities to Han Solo and that putting him in the book was simply for fun.
Jaxxon
Jaxxon T. Tumperakki is one of the oldest Legends characters in Star Wars history. The character appeared in multiple Star Wars comic books published in 1977, the same year as the original film.
Jaxxon is best known as a smuggler who also worked alongside the Rebel Alliance and characters such as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. He was brought into canon some time ago and has appeared in multiple comic books and other projects. Jaxxon has not been officially included in any on-screen Star Wars canon titles (he has appeared in LEGO Star Wars shows, which aren't canon), but that could change in the near future.
