After the release of The Rise of Skywalker, Disney has devoted more of its attention and resources to television projects like Star Wars: Visions and the newly released Book of Boba Fett. Many more Star Wars TV shows like Kenobi, Ahsoka, and The Acolyte have been announced. However, little is known about future Star Wars film projects.
The sequel trilogy focused on new characters like Rey and Kylo Ren, who shared some traits with characters in Star Wars Legends lore. Future Star Wars filmmakers have a deep well of content to pull from and play with. There are hundreds of Legends novels that tell stories spanning thousands of years before A New Hope and decades after.
10 The Legendary Thrawn Trilogy
Written by Timothy Zahn, the Thrawn Trilogy consists of three books: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command, all released in the early to mid-1990s. The books take place about five years after the fall of the Emperor and the Empire. Leia, pregnant with twins, works to rebuild a New Republic while Luke plans to establish a new Jedi Order.
The conflict of the trilogy revolves around a Grand Admiral named Thrawn who takes command of the weakened Empire. His tactical genius is unparalleled. He enlists the help of an old Jedi Master-turned-Dark Jedi who wants Leia's twins for himself. The Legends novels are considered some of the best Star Wars stories ever written.
9 The Tragedy Of Darth Plagueis
Palpatine's monologue to Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith is featured in what is considered one of the best scenes in the series by many fans. Ian McDiarmid's chilling, ominous recanting of an old Sith legend is so gripping and alluring to watch. He tells the story of Darth Plagueis, the Wise, a Sith Master who seemingly had control over life and death.
While Palpatine is a little vague on the details, it's heavily implied that he was the apprentice who killed Plagueis in his sleep. James Luceno expands upon the origins of both Plagueis and Palpatine in the 2012 novel, Darth Plagueis. Finally, fans could read about their meeting, their alliance, and Palpatine's betrayal in greater detail.
8 Untold Origins In Dawn Of The Jedi
According to the Legends book order, Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void is the earliest book in the timeline, taking place over 25,000 standard years before the events of A New Hope. The galaxy is a very different place in this early era. There's no hyperspace travel, no large Jedi Order, and no lightsabers. The Jedi on the book's cover wields a sword.
Dawn of the Jedi really stands apart from any other Star Wars novel. It's not bogged down by existing lore because its era is so far removed from anything seen before. However, the narrative itself is quite familiar to Star Wars fans. A Jedi-in-training must come to terms with a brother who turned his back on the Force and pursued villainous goals.
7 The Lost Tribe Of The Sith
Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith collects nine short stories written by John Jackson Miller. The first story takes place approximately 5000 years before the events of A New Hope. The galaxy is, as usual, on the verge of war. During a space battle between Jedi and Sith, a large Sith cruiser is damaged when fleeing into hyperspace. The ship flies off course and crashes on a secluded planet that houses almost no technology.
The following stories explore this lost band of Sith who find themselves on a new, sometimes dangerous world. The Sith quickly dominate the world's inhabitants, proclaiming themselves as gods. The Sith's rule would last generation after generation for thousands of years. But wherever the Sith go, the Jedi are not far behind.
6 Mara Jade's Origins In The Empire
Mara Jade, otherwise known as the Emperor's Hand, was first introduced in the Thrawn Trilogy, written by Timothy Zahn. She's one of the most interesting characters to come out of Legends lore as her allegiances change several times while her connection to Luke Skywalker grows stronger.
Speaking of allegiances, Zahn also wrote two books titled Star Wars: Allegiances and Star Wars: Choices of One. Both take place between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, and they flesh out Mara's backstory. In the Thrawn trilogy, readers only ever received vague acknowledgments of Mara's time in the Empire, but in Allegiances and Choices of One, that time is fully explored.
5 Darth Bane's Rule Of Two
The famous Sith "Rule of Two" was first mentioned in a conversation between Yoda and Mace Windu at the end of The Phantom Menace. Yoda states that there is only ever a maximum of one master and one apprentice. In Legends lore, this rule was established by Darth Bane after centuries of infighting within the Sith Empire.
"One to embody power, the other to crave it," Bane said. Darth Bane's backstory and rise to power are explored in three books titled Path of Destruction, Rule of Two, and Dynasty of Evil. His rule reshaped the structure of the Sith and influenced many future apprentices to betray their masters, including Palpatine.
4 The Coruscant Nights Trilogy
The era that followed Order 66 was a dark time for the Jedi Order and the entire galaxy. The Jedi were almost hunted to extinction. This era has been presented in many forms across comics, television, and video games. A Legends book series written by Michael Reaves also explored this time period.
The Coruscant Nights trilogy, consisting of Jedi Twilight, Street of Shadows, and Patterns of Force, follows a Jedi Knight named Jax Pavan – one of the only Jedi to survive Order 66. Jax lives in the most dangerous parts of Coruscant, hiding his Force abilities. But when his Master is killed, Jax steps out from the shadows, drawing the eyes of Darth Vader and the new Empire.
3 The Greatest Jedi/Sith, Revan
Revan is known as one of the most powerful Jedi and Sith to ever exist. His story is explored in the critically acclaimed video game Knights of the Old Republic. That game provides players with a lot of choices, so the game's conclusion is wildly different depending on the player's character's alignment.
In 2011, a novel titled Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan was released, written by Drew Karpyshyn, who also worked on the original KOTOR game. The Revan novel acts as a sequel to both KOTOR games and provides each of them with a canon ending. With a KOTOR remake on the way, now is as good a time as any for Disney to provide fans with even more Revan content.
2 Jedi And Sith Form Fatal Alliances
A series of tie-in novels to The Old Republic game were released in 2011, including Fatal Alliance, which was written by Sean Williams. An auction draws the attention of many dangerous individuals from across the galaxy. The auction is filled with representatives of the Republic and the Empire, a Jedi Padawan, a Sith Apprentice, a bounty hunter, and a Mandalorian.
Each of the main characters are based on archetypes available to players in the game. While the novel is meant to be a prequel/extension of the game's plot, the story holds up on its own. The alliances formed by these individuals, all of whom share opposing ideologies, provide interesting dynamics rarely seen in other Star Wars stories.
1 The Future Of The New Jedi Order
From 1999 to 2003, a total of 19 Star Wars books were published under the banner: The New Jedi Order. Over half a dozen writers contributed to this era of novels. It's the longest-running Star Wars books series, requiring a story bible shared by all the writers and editors to maintain consistency.
The New Jedi Order follows the lives of the children of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, and Han Solo and Leia Organa 21 years after the fall of the Empire. The galaxy is invaded by a new threat: aliens from the Unknown Regions called Yuuzhan Vong. The books feature classic Star Wars tropes like epic space battles, lightsaber duels, as well as a deep character arc for Jacen Solo.