The modern Sat Wars landscape is as varied as it’s ever been. There are original stories like The Mandalorian, continuations of existing stories like Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and prequels set in unexplored eras like The Acolyte. The best Star Wars series has combined these approaches, as Tony Gilroy’s Rogue One prequel, Andor, uses pre-existing characters to show us the first movements of a fledgling Rebel Alliance while still feeling fresh and innovative.
Now, one of Andor’s best characters is getting the spotlight in a series of novels that will highlight a rarely seen part of the Star Wars universe.
According to io9, a new trilogy of Star Wars novels called Reign of the Empire will dive deep into the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Unlike other projects set in this time frame, like Rebels or The Bad Batch, these novels will focus on the galaxy’s political landscape in the wake of Order 66.
The cover of the first novel, Alexander Freed’s The Mask of Fear, features Senator Mon Mothma, who’s played a key role in Andor. According to the plot description, the trilogy will follow Mothma, fellow politician Bail Organa, and revolutionary Saw Guerrera as they navigate the first year of the Empire and the shifting loyalties all around them.
“One day, they will be three architects of the Rebel Alliance,” the description reads. “But first, each must find purpose and direction in a changing galaxy, while harboring their own secrets, fears, and hopes for a future that may never come, unless they act.” The Mask of Fear is slated for a February 25, 2025 release, with the other two books in the series, written by Rebecca Roanhorse and Fran Wilde, scheduled for Spring 2026 and Spring 2027.
Andor has shown us Mon Mothma keeping up appearances as a Senator while secretly overseeing a growing rebellion, but these books will show how she arrived at this situation in the first place. And while Star Wars has always jumped from the Jedi massacre of Order 66 to the Empire having total control of the galaxy, now we’ll finally see how Emperor Palpatine and his cronies consolidated power in the crucial days after the Jedi’s defeat.
If Rogue One was the prequel to A New Hope, and Andor was the prequel to that prequel, then these novels will serve as the prequel’s prequel’s prequel. That sounds a bit silly on paper, but Andor can only show us so much, and it’s clear the political side of Star Wars has many more stories to tell.
