Lucasfilm Publishing Announces Return Of Thrawn, More At NYCC 2019

Let’s get right to it, shall we? Lucasfilm Publishing dropped not one but several bombs on the Star Wars community at its New York Comic-Con 2019 panel this afternoon. Biggest among them was the announcement that fan-favorite character Grand Admiral Thrawn will be back in a trilogy to debut in 2020.

That Timothy Zahn and Thrawn would return in The Ascendancy Trilogy next May was certainly a shocker. As big of an announcement as that was, there was another that perhaps intrigued fans more. Disney and Lucasfilm Publishing, together with IDW, Marvel, and Del Rey, will bring us Project Luminous.

The powers-that-be are keeping the multi-faceted collaboration under strict embargo. Notwithstanding, its title suggests that Project Luminous could be the first, post-Rise of Skywalker work to give us an idea of what the future of Star Wars holds beyond the Skywalker saga. It tells us, ominously, that”[t]he Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things… Until….”

Lucasfilm Publishing wows at NYCC 2019

Fans erupted again upon hearing that there would also be a new anthology centered on the Clone Wars. Author Zoraida Córdova (A Crash of Fate) will pen a story for the tome featuring Asajj Ventress. This Clone Wars work will no doubt act as a companion piece, if it’s not directly tied to The Clone Wars Season 7. That premiers on Disney+ in February.

For fans of Alexander Freed’s Alphabet Squadron, Lucasfilm Publishing has something for you, too. The sequel novel, Shadow Fall, arrives in 2020, as well. Its title suggests the demise of the Empire’s elite Shadow Squadron…. We’ll find out for sure next June.

If you, like me, have enjoyed the multi-platform Star Wars storytelling in recent years, this news from Lucasfilm Publishing is certainly welcome. What we learned today at NYCC 2019 seems to be just the beginning.