The main Lucasfilm Publishing panel at this year’s Star Wars Celebration in Japan has wrapped up and we’ve got a good look at all the things they showed off.
Following the announcements from the Manga Mania panel, Lucasfilm Publishing brought even more goodness to their follow-up panel, Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away… Hosted by Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, a deluge of authors joined the stage to talk about some previously announced projects, along with revealing some new stuff along the way.
Star Wars: The High Republic
Let’s kick off with some of The High Republic things we were shown during the panel. While the major publishing initiative is winding down, there’s still plenty to talk about. On the book side of things, they revealed the back cover for final novel, Trials of the Jedi, along with new concept art of the “Luminous Nine.”
Trial of the Jedi by Charles Soule (June 17, 2025)
In this epic conclusion to Star Wars: The High Republic, the Jedi face a final confrontation against the Nihil and Marchion Ro.
The Force is everything. A single life connected to all life. All things connected to all other things. This is what the Jedi believe, and this is why they fight. For life . . . and the light.
For too long, the light has been threatened by Marchion Ro, a sinister despot who will stop at nothing in his quest for power. The conflict with Ro and his marauding Nihil forces has left scars across the galaxy and held the Republic hostage. Countless lives have been lost, beacons of hope have fallen, and the collective courage and resolve of the Republic have been tested like never before. Through it all the Jedi Order has endured, an unwavering candle against the encroaching darkness.
But the Jedi have yet to solve the mystery of the Nameless creatures who feed on the Force. Ro has loosed them upon the galaxy, striking fear into the heart of even the most stalwart Jedi. And yet with every life saved and world freed from Nihil control, the all-consuming blight, which devours everything wherever it appears, threatens to wipe it all away.
Everything now depends on nine brave Jedi, led by Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann, who embark on a treacherous journey to the Nameless homeworld. Their quest: to finally solve the mystery of the Nameless and their connection to the Force, and to stop the blight before its damage becomes irreversible.
But a final confrontation with Marchion Ro awaits. Ro, who is willing to sacrifice everything he’s achieved to secure a final victory against the Jedi and carve his name into the very stars for all time.
Nothing less than the fate of everything, perhaps even the Force itself, is at stake.
They also revealed some art from upcoming High Republic comics, The Battle of Eriadu along with the newly announced Fear of the Jedi – The Finale #1: Beacon.
The Battle of Eridau, by Alyssa Wong, is the culmination of Phase III’s The High Republic Adventures comic from Dark Horse and arrives at the end of the month (April 30th).
Fear of the Jedi – The Finale kicks off on July 30th and is written by Cavan Scott with art from Marika Cresta.
Comics
Since we’re already talking about comics, let’s take a look at some of the other comics they showed off. From a new Hyperspace Stories series, to a look at some covers for issue #8 of Jedi Knights, and even a new Knights of Ren leader revealed in Legacy of Vader…there’s something for comic readers of all kinds to enjoy.
Star Wars: Jedi Knights
The cover reveal (and it’s variants) for issue #8 (hitting in October) of Marvel’s Jedi Knights series reveals that none other than Kelleran Beck makes an appearance in the comic!
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader
For Marvel’s ongoing Legacy of Vader series (which is pretty great only two issues in), they revealed cover art for issues #7 and #8, while also giving a first look at Tava Ren. This is a brand new character who apparently takes over for leader of the Knights of Ren at some point. Lots of cool story potential there and I’m loving the design.
Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: Codebreaker
This new four-issue miniseries puts the spotlight on Poe & BB-8 as a way to celebrate the 10th anniversary (!!!) of The Force Awakens.
Poe Dameron, ace Resistance pilot, and his droid companion BB-8 are sent to investigate a piece of First Order tech used to decode Resistance messages. Standing between them and their objective is an infamous TIE fighter pilot. Can Poe out-fly his enemy, or will the mission go down in flames before it begins?
Books
Aside from the previously announced Darth Vader novel from Adam Christopher, Master of Evil, the only other fictional book info we got was a final cover art reveal for Tessa Gratton’s The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown (July 29, 2025):
While their Jedi Masters clean up a political mess left behind by one of their own, Jedi Padawan Jecki and her least favorite fellow Padawan Yord are drawn into a planet-wide coming-of-age ritual as featured guests. But when things unexpectedly turn deadly, Jecki and Yord will have to use all of their abilities and work together to keep each other—and their new friends—safe.
Reference Books
Speaking of The Acolyte, the panel gave fans a closer look at the upcoming Art of and Visual Guide books (by Kristin Baver and Pablo Hidalgo respectively), including some interior art!
The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte (October 7, 2025)
The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte showcases the production art, character, and vehicle designs, planets, storyboards, and other breathtaking work created during the production of the Disney+ series.
The Acolyte Visual Guide (June 17, 2025)
Decades before the birth of Darth Vader, explore the glorious High Republic era in the Star Wars galaxy. During this exciting time, the noble Jedi are protectors of peace and justice.
This visual guide reveals all of the key characters, locations, vehicles, and technology from the Disney+ series and is written by Star Wars insider Pablo Hidalgo.
Lastly, we have two all new announcements from Abrams books:
Industrial Light & Magic: 50 Years of Innovation by Ian Failes – November 4, 2025
Industrial Light & Magic: 50 Years of Innovation is the official decade-by-decade visual retrospective of the legendary visual effects house. Founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas in 1975, ILM has won 16 Academy Awards in Best Visual Effects and pushed the boundaries of what can be visually realized on the big screen. Breaking down ILM’s evolution in visual effects decade-by-decade, 50 Years of Innovation features stunning visuals and analysis of the creative and technical processes from concept to execution, and highlights 50 of their key projects that have helped shape the visual effects industry. Concluding with a look at both the future of ILM and the visual effects industry at large, the key creative forces at ILM speculate about what the next 50 years may have in store for the innovators that transformed movies forever.
The Art of Star Wars: Andor (The Complete Series) by Phil Szostak – March 2026
The Art of Star Wars: Andor (The Complete Series) takes fans behind the scenes of the critically acclaimed Disney+ Star Wars series set in the early days of the Rebellion and following Rogue One’s Cassian Andor as he grows from thief to rebel spy. Interviews conducted by The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian author and Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak with Academy Award-nominated showrunner/head writer Tony Gilroy, Lucasfilm art department “visualists”, and key crew and creatives will give an in depth look at every facet of the creative process that brought this unique Star Wars story to the screen. With hundreds of stunning ship and vehicle designs, character studies, weapons, gadgets, storyboards, and so much more this book is the ultimate visual companion to Andor.
Personally, I’m hyped to finally be getting more Art of books for the shows…now we need them for Obi-Wan and Ahsoka! Which of these upcoming Star Wars books/comics are you most excited about?
