Del Rey resurrecting classic STAR WARS novels with new art and audio editions

Del Rey is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm by launching Star Wars: The Essential Legends Collection, a reprint of classic novels from the old Star Wars Expanded Universe line with new artwork and new audio editions.

The first three books in the range are Heir to the Empire (1991) by Timothy Zahn, Shatterpoint (2003) by Matthew Stover and Path of Destruction (2006) by Drew Karpyshyn.

Heir to the Empire was hugely important as the first Star Wars novel to launch the Expanded Universe fiction line (although a number of 1970s and 1980s-published novels were later retconned and in some cases rewritten into the line). The novel, set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, introduced the iconic characters of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand, and introduced factions and ideas such as the New Republic and the city-planet of Coruscant. It was the first novel in The Thrawn Trilogy. The new cover art is by Tracie Ching.

Shatterpoint, sometimes cited as the best-ever stand-alone Star Wars novel, focuses on the character of Mace Windu and sees him tracking down his missing former padawan shortly after the outbreak of the Clone Wars. The novel was highly praised for giving more texture and depth to Windu than his fleeting appearances in the prequel trilogy films. The new cover art is by Jeff Manning, with a brand-new, unabridged audio adaptation by Sullivan Jones.

Path of Destruction, the first book in the Darth Bane series, tells the story of Darth Bane, the Sith Lord who restructured and reorganised the Sith following millennia of defeats into their later "Rule of Two" incarnation. The cover art is by Simon Goinard.

The three books will be published on June 15th. It is unclear if more books will be added to the range.

Grand Admiral Thrawn rejoins the STAR WARS universe

In a surprising move, Lucasfilm has confirmed that Grand Admiral Thrawn will appear in the new Star Wars canon.

Thrawn appeared in the first novel of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Heir to the Empire (1991) by Timothy Zahn. Thrawn was the primary antagonist of the original Thrawn Trilogy and was praised by fans for being a skillful, cunning strategist who was amoral rather than outright evil and a very different type of villain to Vader or the Emperor. His immense popularity was enhanced by the fact he only appeared in three novels and then died, with Zahn refusing to bring him back (although later books did expand a little on his background and that of his race, the Chiss). The video game TIE Fighter and a few other elements of the Expanded Universe did eventually reveal a little more about Thrawn's backstory.

Thrawn, along with the rest of the Expanded Universe, was wiped from canon in the Great Purge and it was assumed we'd never hear about him again. However, Lucasfilm have now confirmed that you can't keep a good villaint down. Grand Admiral Thrawn will return in a new novel from Zahn, called just Thrawn, which will be published next year. He will also apparently be the primary villain of the third season of Star Wars: Rebels, voiced by Lars Mikkelsen (brother of Star Wars: Rogue One actor Mads Mikkelsen).

So far only Thrawn's return has been confirmed. The stories he was in remain non-canon and it's unconfirmed if any of his related characters like Mara Jade, Jorus C'boath or, most notably, his trusty sidekick Captain Pellaeon will also appear. However, the image released from Rebels does suggest that the Force-resisting ysalamir may also put in an appearance.

Thrawn is the most popular and iconic Star Wars villain barring only Vader and the Emperor, a remarkable feat for a character who only appeared in supporting material. He is also sometimes credited for the success of the Expanded Universe as a whole. Althought it is a little sad we won't be seeing a live-action Thrawn as a major villain in Episode VIII or IX (as some fans hoped), it will be good to see him back in action. And of course, it does leave the door open for him to appear in other spin-off movies set in earlier time periods.