In honor of the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm, Del Rey announced today that it would be releasing all-new editions of iconic entries into the Star Wars Legends series of stories, which includes Heir to the Empire, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, and Shatterpoint. Possibly to the disappointment of some, these releases won’t change the status of these stories in the overall Star Wars canon, but given how beloved these installments are among Star Wars fans, it marks a great opportunity to add them to your collection, with the releases also set to include all-new cover art. The first release in this “Legends Collection” will be Heir to the Empire, which hits shelves on June 15th.
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Per press release, “In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm, Del Rey is 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. 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.
“The collection will launch on June 15, 2021, with new trade paperback editions of Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, and Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover. Each edition will have a new book cover with original artwork. Tracie Ching is the cover artist of Heir to the Empire, Simon Goinard is the cover artist of Path of Destruction, and Jeff Manning is the cover artist of Shatterpoint. In addition to the new cover, Shatterpoint will also receive an all-new unabridged audiobook edition, narrated by Sullivan Jones.
“Del Rey will be continuing to add classic titles to the Essential Legends Collection, with the next additions publishing in Fall 2021.”
Even though the events of these novels are not canon, the animated Star Wars Rebels and live-action The Mandalorian have both embraced elements of those adventures, with even more opportunities existing in the future to enlist important characters. Surely these new releases will be a worthy addition to any collection, regardless of how familiar with them you might be.
Stay tuned for details on future additions to the Star Wars: Essential Legends Collection.
Will you be grabbing copies of these releases? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
