Over a decade after Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was removed from franchise canon, the story is coming back to the limelight. Penguin Random House has announced plans to reprint the novel written by Steve Perry under the Essential Legends Collection, which was established a handful of years ago. The paperback copy will be available starting on June 3rd. There is also, for the first time, an unabridged audiobook version that will release on the same day. Both the physical copy and the audiobook are up for preorder at various retailers.
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As part of the announcement, Penguin Random House unveiled a new cover for the book, which highlights the Essential Legends Collection. Check it out in the space below:
Shadows of the Empire was originally published back in April 1996. It was a key part of a massive cross-medium project that also included comic books, a video game, and various toys. All content in the initiative was set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, filling in the gaps as the Rebels looked to bounce back from devastating defeats. Perry’s novel introduced the character of Xizor, leader of the Black Sun criminal organization who wanted to replace Darth Vader at the Emperor’s side.
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The Essential Legends Collection is a publishing initiative designed to celebrate Lucasfilm’s 50th anniversary. Since 2021, it has reprinted several classic Star Wars Legends stories, including the Darth Bane trilogy and the original Thrawn trilogy. As most Star Wars fans know, after Disney purchased Lucasfilm, the studio rebranded Expanded Universe materials like Shadows of the Empire as Legends, essentially wiping the slate clean for new canon films, TV shows, books, and more.
Disney’s decision to make the Expanded Universe defunct was very controversial, as many of the characters and narratives featured in the books were beloved by fans. While this isn’t the same as re-canonizing Legends novels, it’s still nice to see Disney continue to recognize these stories. In the time between the original and prequel trilogies, the Expanded Universe was responsible for keeping the Star Wars franchise alive, illustrating it remained a popular property. Disney/Lucasfilm easily could have buried these books since they aren’t canon, but they deserve time in the spotlight. Long-time fans who have fond memories of the Expanded Universe will love to have the opportunity to revisit a familiar classic, while newcomers have a chance to experience a different era of Star Wars storytelling.
It’ll be interesting to see if Lucasfilm decides to revisit any other works from Shadows of the Empire. There have been remasters of some classic Star Wars video games recently, such as Star Wars: Bounty Hunter and Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles. If the reprint of the Shadows of the Empire novel is successful, perhaps the game will be the next title to receive that treatment.
