The Star Wars canon novel list
This list began life as a blog article to chronicle the new “Expanded Universe” of Star Wars canon novel releases that are considered “official” after the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm.
The prolific existing EU was then relegated to “Legends” status, and only books that came out from that point onward were considered to be official Star Wars canon novel content.
“Going forward, Lucasfilm has begun mapping out the narrative future of Star Wars storytelling that will appear on film and television and in other media so that all projects will benefit from real-time collaboration and alignment. The future Star Wars novels from Disney Publishing Worldwide and Del Rey Books will now be part of the official Star Wars canon as reflected on upcoming TV and movie screens.”
That “future” is now, and it started on Sept. 2, 2014, with the publication of John Jackson Miller’s A New Dawn, considered to be the first “new” Star Wars canon novel. And it’s still going strong.
“With the establishment of the Lucasfilm Story Group and our even greater focus on unified storytelling, we expect our entire publishing program to be stronger and more meaningful than ever before,” said Jeanne Mosure, senior vice president and group publisher, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “We’re extremely excited to kick off this new strategy with Del Rey Books.”
The original article about this became unwieldy in a blog post format — hopefully, this page will better serve as a reference for those wishing to know what books “count” now and mesh seamlessly with the films, TV shows and games of the Star Wars canon universe today. Both pages will be updated as appropriate. You can explore the releases by release date in the table below — oldest releases first — or in the cover gallery below that, showing the books in order from most recent to oldest. This is the Way…
Ordered by release date, first to last
Star Wars canon book cover gallery
Most recent releases displayed first
Star Wars book publishing news
Kenobi, Darth Plagueis, Wedge’s Gamble, Dynasty of Evil get Essential Legends Star Wars book reprints 3 months agoThe next wave of trade paperbacks in the Star Wars Essential Legends Collection, as announced Nov. 3, 2021, hit bookshelves April 5, 2022, comprising four diverse and popular titles:
- Kenobi by John Jackson Miller
- Darth Plagueis by James Luceno
- X-Wing: Wedge’s Gamble by Michael A. Stackpole
- Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn.
Each of these titles will have a new cover featuring stylish original designs from a different artist.
Wedge’s Gamble — which depicts the daring Rebel Alliance takeover of Imperial Center itself, Coruscant — will also receive an all-new, unabridged audiobook edition in the process.
This is the third wave of these trade paperbacks; the first round, in June 2021, resurrected Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire, Matthew Stover’s Shatterpoint and Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane Series Book 1: Path of Destruction. The second, in September 2021, expanded to four titles like the third, including Stackpole’s Rogue Squadron (the first book in that popular starfighter series), the rest of Zahn’s original and groundbreaking trilogy Dark Force Rising and The Last Command, and Darth Bane Book 2: The Rule of Two.
It’s all part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm, with publishing partner Del Rey curating a collection of essential and beloved Star Wars novels from the past.
“Novels set in a galaxy far, far away have enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create,” Del Rey said in a statement when the first wave was announced. “He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales.”
To this day, the EU — though no longer strictly canon — remains an inspiration for Star Wars creators and is published under the label Legends. Ideas, characters, story elements, and more from new Star Wars entertainment trace their origins back to material from the Expanded Universe.
More Essential Legends Collection news:
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away …
Del Rey expanding Star Wars Essential Legends Collection universe 10 months ago
Stackpole’s Rogue Squadron standing by for unabridged audiobook
As celebration of the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm continues, Del Rey is expanding their curated collection of essential and beloved Star Wars novels from the past.
The vast “Expanded Universe” of Star Wars novels that were de-canonized when Disney bought Lucasfilm have stuck around, rebranded as “Legends” that have sometimes found their way back into the mainstream. This month, three examples were republished with new cover artwork as part of the Star Wars “Essential Legends Collection”: Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire, Drew Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane: Path of Destruction and Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover.
On Sept. 7, the collection expands with a new batch of trade paperback editions: Dark Force Rising and The Last Command, completing Zahn’s groundbreaking EU trilogy, plus Karpyshyn’s Sith sequel Darth Bane: The Rule of Two and Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole.
Each new Star Wars Essential Legends edition will again have a new book cover with original artwork. Tracie Ching is the cover artist of Dark Force Rising and the Last Command, Simon Goinard is the cover artist of The Rule of Two, and Doaly is the cover artist of Rogue Squadron. In addition to the new cover, Rogue Squadron will also receive an all-new unabridged audiobook edition, read by Star Wars narrator Marc Thompson.
“Novels set in a galaxy far, far away have enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond the screen,” Lucasfilm said in a statement. “When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became known as the Expanded Universe, or EU, of novels, comics, videogames, and more.
“To this day, the EU remains an inspiration for Star Wars creators and is published under the label Legends. Ideas, characters, story elements, and more from new Star Wars entertainment trace their origins back to material from the Expanded Universe. This Essential Legends Collection curates some of the most treasured stories from that expansive legacy.”
Del Rey says it will continue to add classic titles to the Star Wars Essential Legends Collection, with the next additions coming in spring 2022.
