New Star Wars books are on the way — specifically, never-before-heard audiobook versions of classic Star Wars Legends books. The Essential Legends Collection isn’t just about paperbacks with new covers (though the covers are quite nice).
While not every Essential Legends Collection wave of releases has included audiobooks — and not every book comes with an unabridged audio companion — five brand-new audiobooks are on the way, Del Rey announced this morning.
The publisher included a photo of the upcoming covers, narrators, and release dates in the announcement. Marc Thompson leads the charge as the narrator for three of them.
We’re thrilled to announce that new Essential Legends audio editions are back in development! Head to the following link to hear exciting audio news from the Random House Worlds Star Wars team. 🎧 May the Force be with you. https://t.co/qJ5tjjBFj5@PRHAudio pic.twitter.com/F7j8KCgiGC
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) October 10, 2023
Starting this December, new Essential Legends Collection audiobooks will be released periodically through March 2024. These titles include:
- Outbound Flight (December 19, 2023) – narrated by Marc Thompson
- Survivor’s Quest (December 19, 2023) – narrated by Marc Thompson
- The Courtship of Princess Leia (January 23, 2024) – narrated by January LaVoy
- I, Jedi (January 23, 2024) – narrated by Jonathan Davis
- Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (March 12, 2024) – narrated by Marc Thompson
All of these books have either already been released physically and digitally in previous waves or are part of the upcoming new wave set to release later this month. The audiobook versions will take a little longer to come out, but they’re on the way.
Del Rey editor Tom clarified the plan was always to continue releasing these audiobooks, explaining the gap in releases as simply “business.” He addressed the many rumors circulating about the pause in releases, assuring audiences that AI-generated audiobooks were never a consideration (good job, Del Rey!).
Check back here every week for more deep dives, reviews, and more on your favorite Star Wars books, comics, TV shows, and everything in a galaxy far, far away.
Follow Dork Side of the Force for all your Star Wars news, reviews, and more!