'Star Wars' Announces Brand-New Prequel Trilogy Is in the Works

Star Wars loves the trilogy format. In fact, it’s fair to say that George Lucas’ original three films, which came out almost 50 years ago, started an ongoing trend: The Godfather, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, The Dark Knight, and Scream are just a few examples.

But even beyond the original trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi), the prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith), and the sequel trilogy (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker), three-part storylines can be found almost anywhere in the wider faraway galaxy.

The animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 — 2020) has many “trilogies” of episodes throughout its seven seasons. And then there are the novels, such as “The Aftermath Trilogy” by Chuck Wendig, “The Thrawn Trilogy” by Timothy Zahn, and “The Darth Bane Trilogy” by Drew Karpyshyn.

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Now, the franchise is set to continue with the trilogy format in book form with “Reign of the Empire”, which spans the 20 years that bridge the gap between Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977), one of the richest eras found along the faraway galaxy’s extensive timeline.

In film and television alone, it has played host to many stories, including Star Wars: Rebels (2014 — 2018), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021 — 2023), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), and Andor (2022).

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Per io9/gizmodo.com, “Reign of the Empire”, which was revealed during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, will chronicle the early days of the Empire and the rise of the Resistance, spanning the two decades that follow, thus leading us all the way to the Galactic Civil War.

The three books will each be penned by a famed Star Wars author. The first, “The Mask of Fear”, is being written by Alexander Freed (the “Alphabet Squadron” series), and the subsequent two titles will come from Rebecca Roanhorse (“Resistance Reborn”) and Fran Wilde (the “From a Certain Point of View” anthology), respectively. However, their titles are yet to be revealed.

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Per the official synopsis, “The Mask of Fear” begins during “that terrifying first year of tyranny” after Chancellor Sheev Palpatine “brought the era of the Republic crashing down,” as seen at the end of the prequel trilogy. It follows Mon Mothma, Saw Gerrera, and Bail Organa — the “three architects of the Rebel Alliance” — as they “face the encroaching darkness” which sees the galaxy “twisted by the cruelty and fear of the Emperor’s rule.”

“The Mask of Fear” will be released on February 25, 2025. It’s now available for pre-order.

Books two and three will hit shelves in Spring 2026 and Spring 2027, respectively.

Will you be reading the “Reign of the Empire” trilogy? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!