By Lília
We think nothing of making a film or a series based on a book -all the material is already there to be used as we’d like- but having books written about a series of films? And becoming a successful cartoon series as well? There might not be many, but they do exist.
One of the most successful stories is Star Wars. The phenomenal first film sprouted many parallel tales and catapulted the writing careers of several authors, both in books, screenplays, and comics, as well as an enormous fandom that even created a Wookieepedia.
Many books have been written about Han Solo, the Empire, the X-Wings and so on, all considered part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe until Disney bought the franchise from Lucas Films in 2012. After Star Wars became a Disney asset, they turned almost everything written before 2014 into non-canon -the exception being The Clone Wars-, baptized the old titles as Star Wars Legends, and went on to launch many other books and TV series that were indeed canon.
Some of the most well-known books by fans are those written about Han Solo. A.C. Crispin wrote the Han Solo Trilogy: The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn, but she also wrote different titles for other known series and her own series.
Timothy Zahn wrote Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, the first trilogy featuring Admiral Thrawn, which later became known as the Thrawn trilogy. It was a successful turning point in the Star Wars franchise, and became the seed to the following stories about Admiral Thrawn and his role in Ahsoka. Timothy Zahn was already an award-winner author when he started writing Star Wars books, but his career grew exponentially after publishing this trilogy.
There have been many titles launched within the Star Wars Extended Universe, which can be a bit overwhelming, and also quite impossible to mention them all here. But they are certainly worth checking. They shed an intergalactic light on this iconic series, and even when it’s a non-canon story, it’s always entertaining.
Besides the novels, comics, and manga published, there are also several books about the art of the films and series, in which many techniques used to make the films and cartoons are shared. A couple of the newest titles are Star Wars: The Acolyte Visual Guide, companion to the TV series, and The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-IV, featuring script pages, concept art, storyboards, on-set photography, and more.
All these books are a tremendous treasure trove to Star Wars fans everywhere, whether you prefer to read a novel, the scripts, or check out all the art and techniques used in the films, cartoons and TV series.
And with the new film Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu coming to the theaters in May 2026, I can only imagine there will be many more books about this incredible series.
