Star Wars is the biggest transmedia franchise of all time, with 10 important multimedia projects paving the way for the current era of storytelling.
Star Wars has had numerous multimedia projects over the years, with 10 being the most important in the franchise's history. Even before the release of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Star Wars was already expanding through tie-in media, starting with Alan Dean Foster's 1978 novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye.
After the original trilogy's conclusion, Star Wars expanded to full-scale multimedia projects, telling larger stories across every kind of platform. As exciting as Disney's expansion of Star Wars through interconnected TV shows has been, it's important to recognize the biggest efforts that kept the franchise alive outside the movies. Multimedia projects have helped Star Wars evolve into a trailblazing transmedia franchise, pushing the overall narrative to transcend any one form of media. Starting with the release of Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire in 1991, Lucasfilm decided that this would be a key component of future books, with the events of one story having consequences in the next. Multimedia fronts helped to make this a reality across every kind of entertainment, creating some of the best Star Wars stories in the process. Here are Star Wars' 10 biggest multimedia projects, and why they're so important to the franchise.SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY 10 Shadows Of The Empire Shadows of the Empire wasn't just Star Wars' first big multimedia project; it was the franchise's first big transmedia initiative. As detailed in The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire by Mark Cotta Vaz, every medium contributed something different to the multimedia event. The Nintendo video game saw Star Wars' Dash Rendar attempt to rescue Han Solo, the novel focused more on Prince Xizor and Darth Vader, and the comic showed Xizor's agents on a mission to find Luke Skywalker. Multiple aspects of the story were chronicled across different platforms, setting the stage for the transmedia franchise that Star Wars would be known for. 9 The New Jedi Order The New Jedi Order series was a massively coordinated undertaking, with several Star Wars authors working together to create the galaxy's next full-scale war after Return of the Jedi. Across five main hardcover novels, 14 paperback novels, three eBook novellas, and three short stories, The New Jedi Order chronicled the Jedi and the New Republic's fight against the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, which had never been done before in Star Wars publishing. Mark Hamill even returned to voice Luke Skywalker for a TV commercial on the Sci Fi Channel, an unheard-of move for any Star Wars book. 8 The Clone Wars Multimedia Project The next big Star Wars transmedia initiative came shortly after Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones with the Clone Wars multimedia project. Before Star Wars: The Clone Wars premiered in 2008, the Clone Wars multimedia project was the definitive Clone Wars timeline. The goal was to chronicle the biggest moments of the Clone Wars in real-time, with battles being listed in the months after the Battle of Geonosis. The Clone Wars multimedia project did an excellent job in leading up to the release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, setting a precedent for the later The Clone Wars series to live up to. 7 Republic Commando Another initiative spinning out of a video game, Republic Commando was originally part of the Clone Wars multimedia effort, though it continued on its own for a few years after. The first book by Karen Traviss, Republic Commando: Hard Contact, actually came out several months before the video game's release. The further adventures of Delta and Omega Squads were told in additional Republic Commando books and short stories before rebranding with the release of the fifth novel, Imperial Commando: 501st. An Imperial Commando video game and second book were originally planned for release, but were canceled before completion. 6 The Force Unleashed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was the first Star Wars video game created for seventh-generation consoles, and as such, it demanded a new multimedia project. Just like Shadows of the Empire's transmedia approach, The Force Unleashed used different media to explore various parts of the overall story. The novelization expanded on certain characters, the graphic novel included scenes set after the game, and the PS2/Wii/PSP version of the game had exclusive levels. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II was released two years later, similarly receiving a novelization and graphic novel. 5 The Old Republic A follow-up to the Knights of the Old Republic video games, Star Wars: The Old Republic was a hit from the moment it launched online. In addition to multiple story expansions over the years, some of which continued plot threads set up in Knights of the Old Republic, The Old Republic also had tie-in novels, comic series, and short stories. Even without playing the game, the material is recognizable thanks to the incredible cinematic trailers leading up to each release. After the Expanded Universe was rebranded as Legends, The Old Republic became the only Star Wars content releasing new stories in that continuity. 4 Star Wars Rebels Helping to shepherd in a new era for the franchise, Star Wars Rebels had a great deal of tie-in media, especially in its first few years. Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller was the first novel of the new canon, showing how Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla met. Marvel Comics' Star Wars: Kanan - The Last Padawan by Greg Weisman and Pepe Larraz depitced Kanan surviving Order 66, while the Servants of the Empire young reader series continued a story arc from season 1. Star Wars Rebels also brought back characters from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and set up much of The Mandalorian's plot, arguably paving the way for the current era of interconnected Star Wars TV shows. 3 Journey To Star Wars Beginning with "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015, each film in the sequel trilogy had a multimedia project leading up to its release. This included adult and young adult novels, short stories, comics, and reference books, all centering around characters and elements from the upcoming movies. Although each initiative was marketed as containing clues to the Star Wars sequel trilogy's plot, the stories took place all across the timeline to avoid any major spoilers. Books that were originally part of this line ended up getting sequels, including the Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig, while others like the Shattered Empire comic formed the foundation of later Star Wars media. 2 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may not have had the same level of tie-in media as the Star Wars sequels, but it deserves recognition nonetheless because of how carefully coordinated its stories were. Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno did a superb job in providing context ahead of the film's release, as well as staying consistent with the movie novelization by Alexander Freed. Additional books and comics expanded on the characters' backstories over the following months, and Star Wars Rebels could include Rogue One connections in its final two seasons, bridging the movies and TV shows even more. 1 The High Republic First announced as "Project Luminous," Star Wars: The High Republic is the largest multimedia project in the history of the franchise. Released across multiple waves and phases spanning centuries on the timeline, The High Republic has featured numerous novels, short stories, comics, audio dramas, manga, and reference books. Several upcoming Star Wars TV shows and video games will be set in the High Republic era, including The Acolyte and Star Wars Eclipse. The High Republic is one of the most comprehensive transmedia initiatives in recent memory, showing what stories can achieve when told across different mediums and making it Star Wars' most important multimedia project to date.
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