Star Wars is an American epic space-opera media franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. This is a list of the many reference books that have been published to accompany the films, television series, and the Expanded Universe of books, comics and video games.
The visual dictionary series is a series of reference books based on photographs (usually taken from films or TV productions or shot at the unused props) about characters and elements from Star Wars media. They are published by DK Publishing.
Note: The updates of the books are listed right below them.
The essential guides are more adult-oriented and descriptive than the Visual Dictionaries. They are published by Del Rey.
The first generation of books (except for to Alien Species and, possibly, to Episode I) had covers with cartoon-like illustrations of the subjects and was known to use non-specific terms. They are listed below. It included data about the prequel trilogy only since The Essential Chronology.
Note: The second book was known for a number of picture errors, such as confusing the Imperial and Victory classes of Star Destroyer.
The second generation of books had covers with the standard Star Wars logo, stills from the films (or artwork based on them) and with the word "New" evidenced in the title. They are listed below. It included data about Episode III only since The New Essential Chronology.
The third generation of books had new covers featuring specific artwork and title characters. They are listed below. It included data about almost every Legends piece of media.
Some of the essential guides have also an in-universe counterpart, as they are written from an in-universe perspective. They are listed below, among with their fictional release dates and authors.
The Making of Star Wars is a series of reference books about the so-called "making of" of the films and the video games of the franchise. They are published by various publishers, including notable names.
Note: The refurbishments of the three original trilogy books are listed right below them.
The Art of Star Wars is a series of reference books based on paintings and artwork (mainly concept art). They are published by DK Publishing.
The Incredible Cross-Sections books are a series of reference books focusing on cross-sections of buildings and vehicles. They are published by DK Publishing.
The Inside the Worlds of books are a series of reference books focusing on accurate cross-sections of buildings featured in the films. They are published by DK Publishing.
The Official Star Wars Technical Journal was a 3-volume reference publication about organizations and places in the Star Wars universe. It was published by Starlog Communications International, Inc.
Jedi, Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order, are the main protagonists of many works in the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi Order is depicted as a monastic, academic, military, and meritocratic peacekeeping organization whose origin dates back thousands of years before the events of the first film released in the franchise. The fictional organization has inspired a real-world new religious movement and parody religion: Jediism.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a younger version of the character serves as one of the two main protagonists, alongside Anakin Skywalker, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy he is introduced as Ben Kenobi, an alias he uses while in hiding from the Empire. He is a mentor to Luke Skywalker, to whom he introduces the ways of the Jedi. After sacrificing himself in a duel against Darth Vader, Obi-Wan guides Luke through the Force in his fight against the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, set two decades earlier, he is initially a Padawan (apprentice) to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later mentor and friend of Luke's father Anakin, who falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes Vader. The character briefly appears in the sequel trilogy as a disembodied voice, speaking to protagonist Rey, and serving as the namesake of Ben Solo. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media, including the streaming television miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which McGregor reprised the role.
Count Dooku of Serenno, also known by his Sith name Darth Tyranus, or simply as Dooku, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, created by George Lucas. He is an antagonist in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, appearing in both Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), played by Christopher Lee, as well as associated media, such as books, comics, video games, and television series. Actor Corey Burton has voiced Dooku in most of his animated and video game appearances, most notably Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003–2005), Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022). Lee reprised the role in the 2008 animated film that launched The Clone Wars series.
The Galactic Empire is a fictional autocracy featured in the Star Wars franchise. It was first introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars and appears in its two sequels: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). It is the main antagonistic faction of the original trilogy. An oppressive, autocratic regime with a complicated bureaucracy, the Galactic Empire seeks to ensure singular rule and social control over every planet and civilization within the galaxy.
Fleet Admiral Gial Ackbar is a fictional character from the Star Wars franchise. A member of the amphibious Mon Calamari species, Ackbar was the foremost military commander of the Rebel Alliance, and led the attack against the second Death Star in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), the final entry in the original Star Wars trilogy. Although his time in the film was brief, Ackbar became a prominent character in other Star Wars media, including novels, comic books, video games, and television shows, and later made appearances in the sequel trilogy films Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and the television series The Clone Wars.
Coruscant is an ecumenopolis planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It was first depicted in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, and made its first on-screen appearance in a scene added to Return of the Jedi for its 1997 re-release. It has gone on to become an important location in the setting and appears frequently in Star Wars media.
Yavin is a fictional planet in the Star Wars galaxy. It first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars and is depicted as a large red gas giant with an extensive satellite system of moons. The hidden military base of the Rebel Alliance is located on its fourth moon, Yavin 4.
Alderaan is a fictional planet featured in the Star Wars franchise. It is blue-green in appearance, depicted as a terrestrial planet with humanoid inhabitants, and characterized by a peaceful culture. It is the home planet of Princess Leia Organa, one of the lead characters in the film series, as well as former Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune. In the original 1977 film, Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star's superlaser.
Star Wars Tales is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, beginning on September 29, 1999, and completing its run on July 13, 2005. Each issue is 64 pages and features a few unrelated stories from various eras of the Star Wars timeline. Stories from issues #1–20 were retroactively labelled "Infinities", placing them outside the Star Wars canon, while those of issues #21–24 were considered to be within continuity, unless labelled otherwise. References to the stories were made within the Expanded Universe, the entirety of which was deemed non-canon by Lucasfilm in 2014.
Sheev Palpatine, also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Initially credited as the Emperor in the original trilogy films, he serves as the main antagonist of the nine-film Skywalker saga, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In creating Palpatine, Lucas was inspired by real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.
Clone troopers are fictional characters from the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. First introduced in the live-action film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), they have since appeared in various other Star Wars media, including Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), and Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021–present), as well as comics, novels, and video games set in both the Star Wars Legends expanded universe and the current canon.
Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel trilogy. Jackson later reprised the role with voice only in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 2019 sequel film The Rise of Skywalker, whilst Terrence C. Carson voiced the character in other projects, such as The Clone Wars animated television series. The character also appears in various canon and non-canon Star Wars media like books, comics, and video games.
Rodney Thompson is a game designer whose writing credits include numerous books for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game and the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He was the lead developer for the 4th edition version of the Dark Sun campaign setting.
Sterling Hershey is a full-time architect and freelance game designer, who has worked on three different incarnations of the Star Wars role-playing game for West End Games, Wizards of the Coast and Fantasy Flight Games, and also on the Star Wars Miniatures game. He has pursued freelance writing and cartography work since the early 1990s.
Mandalorians are a fictional group of people associated with the planet Mandalore in the Star Wars universe and franchise created by Joe Johnston and George Lucas. Their most distinct cultural features are their battle helmets, chest armor, vambraces, and often jetpacks. The Mandalorian character Boba Fett is, after Darth Vader and the stormtroopers, the most well recognized characters of the franchise and one of its most frequent characters.