NYCC: Starfighter Gets Eight Tie-In Books and a Novelization, and A New Hope Gets a 50th-Anniversary Shelf
Lucasfilm Publishing's October 9 NYCC panel unveiled eight Star Wars: Starfighter tie-ins, including Delilah S. Dawson's expanded novelization on June 22, 2027, plus a long list of A New Hope 50th-anniversary books and a D&D line.
"Never tell me the odds." Lucasfilm Publishing is not telling anyone the odds on Starfighter, but it is clearly betting on it.
At its New York Comic Con panel on October 9, Lucasfilm Publishing unveiled a 2027 slate that did two big things. It gave Star Wars: Starfighter, due in theaters May 28, 2027, a full line of tie-in books before anyone has seen a frame. And it handed the 50th anniversary of A New Hope a very large shelf.
Starfighter, eight books deep
The Holofiles counted eight Starfighter tie-ins. The marquee title is the novelization, Star Wars: Starfighter – Expanded Edition by Delilah S. Dawson (Random House Worlds, June 22, 2027), billed as "an expanded retelling" with "scenes you didn't see on screen." That date is confirmed by more than one outlet. It lands less than a month after the film.
The rest skews young:
- Rise and Reward, an 8x8 picture book (April 20, 2027)
- Rumble with the Rock Pirate, a Little Golden Book (April 20, 2027)
- Outer Rim Outcasts and Rock Pirate Adventures, leveled readers (April 20, 2027)
- A DK Level 3 Reader (May 7, 2027)
- Art of Coloring: Star Wars: Starfighter (March 23, 2027)
- A Junior Novel, date to be announced
StarWars.com's roundup also mentions a dedicated Visual Dictionary for the film. The listings describe the stories as following Kade Auberon, Ryan Gosling's character, and the "Rock Pirate" in the titles is the closest thing to plot we have been given.
A New Hope's birthday shelf
The 50th-anniversary list is long: a Complete Screenplay and a Visual Archive from Insight Editions, a DK illustrated history called Star Wars: A Celebration, an Abrams book (Celebrating 50 Years of A New Hope), a deluxe omnibus of the Eisner-winning A New Hope manga (March 16, 2027), and stickers, coloring books and Golden Books. On the novel side, Claudia Gray's Princess of the Rebellion (May 4, 2027) follows Leia hunting for a secret weapons cache after the Death Star's destruction, and Fran Wilde's From the Ashes closes the Reign of the Empire trilogy. Outlets disagree on that last release date, so I will not give one.
Also on the slate: The Mandalorian Adventures with Grogu, a pop-up storybook by Matthew Reinhart (November 24, 2026), and the Ahsoka comic I covered earlier this week. Ahmed Best also talked about his Jar Jar and Kelleran Beq comic, which the Laughing Place recap says deals with the consequences of Jar Jar granting emergency powers to Palpatine.
The Dungeons & Dragons wrinkle
Wizards of the Coast also confirmed the D&D | Star Wars line, starting with a Core Rules book and Tyro Squadron: Adventures, set in the Original Trilogy era. Live play is planned for Star Wars Celebration in April.
What it tells us
A full book line before the film is Lucasfilm betting that Starfighter is a franchise, not a one-off. The kids' books say who they think is going to show up first. Whether the story is any good is a different question that May 28 will answer.
May the Force be with us.
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