Ahead of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens release, LucasFilm launched a slew of these books in a series they called Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, offering stories set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
In the three years between the initial LucasFilm sale announcement and the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it was revealed that a “story group” would be created, to connect all aspects of this galaxy far, far away.
Four years later, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens setting a domestic box office record with $936.6 million and $2.06 billion worldwide, the franchise is bigger than ever, both on the big screen and in many other ways, largely in part thanks to Kathleen Kennedy’s vision.
LucasFilm will next release their first spinoff, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in theaters December 16, followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII (December 15, 2017), Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25, 2018), Star Wars: Episode VIII (2019) and a third spinoff widely rumored to center on Boba Fett, set for release in 2020.