Tony DiTerlizzi, Adam Gidwitz, R.J. Palacio and Tom Anbleberger Talk New Star Wars Books

Posted on April 27, 2014

Now that J.J. Abrams and Disney are gearing up to make new live action Star Wars films, it's time for the book side of the franchise to gear up, as well. Disney has asked bestselling children's authors Tom Angleberger (The Strange Case of Origami Yoda), Tony DiTerlizzi (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark & Grimm), and R.J. Palacio (Wonder) to create new books that reimagine the films of the original Star Wars film trilogy. The art work will be Star Wars concept artist Iain McCaig.

The book series will launch in October, 2014, with Carol Roeder, director of Lucasfilm franchise publishing at Disney Publishing Worldwide, had this to say about the book project: "We’re working with a dream team of bestselling authors who are passionate about the brand and are telling the story in their own way. This is a great way to introduce the original films to kids who didn’t grow up with them."

The first book will launch in October, 2014. The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, will be a picture book covering all three of the original films. It will be written by DiTerlizzi and illustrated with art by the late Ralph McQuarrie. Next up is Palacio's retelling of Star Wars: A New Hope in April 2015, and Gidwitz's Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Gidwitz in July 2015. Angleberger will tackle Star Wars: Return of the Jedi which will be released in October 2015. The three final books will be illustrated by Iain McCaig. Here the authors talk about their love for Star Wars and why they signed on for the project: