Over 20 new books to be published leading to the release of Star Wars VII

With 282 days to go until the release of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, the marketing blitz is about to begin for the long anticipated sequel trilogy to George Lucas‘ iconic films. With one trailer revealed and another likely attached to AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS has several other forms of media ready to be unleashed on the rabid fanbase that collects everything from magazines and comics to toys and novels.

In the months leading the the film’s release, several publishers will band together for a series called JOURNEY TO THE FORCE AWAKENS. Spanning over twenty books, the series will include novels and other types of books that illustrate the events taking place between RETURN OF THE JEDI and STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Working with the screenwriters for the feature films, these books will be the first in the updated Expanded Universe. The hundreds of books and comics previously published are no longer considered canonical to the STAR WARS mythology, so this will be the first direct history of what happened to the Skywalkers and Solos in between the two trilogies.

Entertainment Weekly shared some details on a few of the books which include retellings of the original films through the eyes of supporting characters. Other books will tell new adventures of C3PO, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and more. Disney Publishing VP Andrew Sugerman had this to say about the ambitious publishing event.

The Force Awakens is an extraordinarily, heavily guarded storyline. To track it, a lot of top-secret meetings were happening up in San Francisco as we worked through this program. The partnership with the story group and the editorial team always had to be true to the sanctity of the film while making sure that we find these moments to introduce hints, clues, and puzzle pieces. Without revealing what those pieces are, it will just allow readers to speculate about the new film: What could a location mean, or what could a character mean?”

STAR WARS has always catered to fans looking for more story outside of the main films and with Disney expanding the franchise in every direction, I think it is safe to say that we will have no shortage of new material taking place in a galaxy far far away. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens in theaters on December 18, 2015.