Get Ready for The Force Awakens!

It's almost here! After all the hype, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will arrive in theaters December 18! If you're anything like me, you've seen the classic movies so many times you could quote them. But did you know that there are a lot of books and comics and video games that carry on the story of our favorite heroes? The Star Wars Expanded Universe, or EU, has existed since A New Hope, and encompasses thousands of years and many stories about Jedi and scoundrels and Wookiees. Read on to see some of my favorite entries in the EU and get excited for the first new Star Wars movie in 10 years!

Heir to the Empire is one of the first EU books I really enjoyed. It takes place five years after Return of the Jedi. The New Republic is getting on its feet. Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and Luke Skywalker is recruiting for his new Jedi Academy. However, the Empire's not truly dead, and the enigmatic Grand Admiral Thrawn finally emerges to strike against all that our heroes have built. Heir to the Empire, part one in the Thrawn Trilogy, also introduces fan favorite Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand and eventual wife to Luke Skywalker!

Heir to the Empire is available in other formats.

Six movies isn't a lot of content. The Expanded Universe also serves as a way to fill in some stories that we wouldn't see otherwise. For example, how did the Emperor slide from a young aristocrat to the evil character we all love to hate? Darth Plagueis covers decades before the prequel movies and shows us that the best villains are made, not born.

Darth Plagueis is available in other formats.

So here's a fun fact: Disney now owns Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise. And Disney decided to simplify. Everything published after April 25, 2014, with a few exceptions, is official Star Wars canon. Everything before that is considered "Legends," and they didn't really happen. (There goes my childhood!) One of the first books of the new canon is named Star Wars: Aftermath, and it takes place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Yes, the Emperor is dead and Vader is gone, but there's still a lot of cleaning up to do. How do you turn a rebellion into rulers, and how do you keep the Empire from returning?

Star Wars: Aftermath is available in other formats.

This is just a small sampling of Star Wars media. For more recommendations, check out my list Explore the Star Wars Expanded Universe. And don't forget the Star Wars Game Day at the Sulzer Regional Library!