I would absolutely love to get a look at the financials when it comes to what studio films make at the box office versus what they bring home in licensing. For many I’m sure there isn’t all that much that comes from licensing, but when you get into today’s big franchise features the story begins to shift and perhaps the largest of all-time is Star Wars. George Lucas created a merchandising empire with his sci-fi series and it is now in the hands of the only successor able to carry on as if nothing has changed, Disney.
Word out of Entertainment Weekly is that Disney is already prepping a new book series titled “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens“, which will bridge the gap between Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi and the forthcoming Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, leading up to the film’s December 18 release.
Del Rey, DK, Marvel Comics and Studio Fun International will be among the publishers delivering the likes of novels for adults and teens to storybooks and stickerbooks for younger readers, all of which will be filled with Easter eggs foreshadowing events the upcoming movie.
“The partnership with the story group and the editorial team always had to be true to the sanctity of the film while making sure that we find these moments to introduce hints, clues, and puzzle pieces,” Andrew Sugerman, executive vice president of Disney Publishing Worldwide said. “Without revealing what those pieces are, it will just allow readers to speculate about the new film: What could a location mean, or what could a character mean?”
It’s a smart decision as fan analysis of trailers is commonplace, just as is searching for clues in soundtrack listings and children’s toys. So why not books? Feed the beast… right?
Fans have already tried starting to put the story of The Force Awakens together from the multitude of “Star Wars” books and cartoons, but unlike those stories, these new books “will be considered official canon.”
As for what kind of stories you can expect, here’s a brief look at the titles Entertainment Weekly revealed:
- “Star Wars: Aftermath” (Del Rey) – “May serve as an epilogue to the original trilogy–and perhaps a prologue to the new one”
- “Star Wars: Journey to the Force Awakens” (Marvel Comics) – “Preview story told from C-3PO’s perspective”
- “Star Wars: Ships of the Galaxy” (Studio Fun International) – For vehicle enthusiasts
- A series of novels retelling the events of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi from the perspective of various supporting characters.
- A series of young adult novels centering on characters from the original trilogy from Disney-Lucasfilm Press
- “Moving Target” – Written by Cecil Castellucci (“Tim Star”), an adventure following Princess Leia
- “The Weapon of a Jedi” – Written by Jason Fry (“Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy”) offering a story about Luke Skywalker
- “Lost Stars” – Written by Claudia Gray (“Evernight”)
- “Smuggler’s Run” – Written by Greg Rucka telling a Han Solo tale
