STAR WARS: AFTERMATH Will Explore The Events That Immediately Follow RETURN OF THE JEDI

Great news Star Wars fans, we will finally find out what happens immediately after the events of Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.

Lucasfilm and Del Rey Books have announced the upcoming novel Star Wars: Aftermath, the first in a trilogy that will begin to bridge Jedi to the events of December’s The Force Awakens on the big screen. The book by Chuck Wendig will be among the twenty various publications set for release, including activity books for kids, comics, and novels, that will help fill in the thirty-year gap between Episodes VI and VII.

Here is the official lowdown on Star Wars: Aftermath:

“The second Death Star has been destroyed. Rumors are flying that the Emperor and his enforcer, Darth Vader, are dead. A new government is forming to replace the Empire. But the galaxy is a big place, and the fallout of this cataclysm will affect different worlds in different ways. Does everyone accept the fall of Imperial rule? Has everyone even heard the life-altering news? What rushes in to fill the vacuum the Empire has left? And who will try to stop them?”

But wait a minute. Don’t we already know what happens following the Battle of Endor via all the previous novels and comic books that were released since 1991’s Heir To The Empire?

Well, not anymore.

In order to keep the Star Wars continuity slate as concise as possible moving forward in the new Disney era, nearly all of what has been included in the massive Star Wars Expanded Universe has been pretty much wiped clean. That encompasses every novel, comic book, spin-off, toy and video game that lies outside of the six Star Wars theatrical films and the two recent animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels. All of this now non-canon material has been re-branded under the Star Wars: Legends banner. Treasure all those adventures all you want, but they no longer count in the official continuity.

Aftermath kicks off the upcoming series of new canon adventures, and will fall into the Journey To Star Wars: The Force Awakens series. There are obviously a lot of stories to explore in a three decade time frame to ease fans into the elder versions of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca we’ll see in Episode VII in addition to the new characters who will play major roles in the upcoming films.