As for Random House Worlds, the panel looked back at The High Republic a little, hyped up the Revenge of the Sith 20th Anniversary Edition, revealed the titles for the final two Reign of the Empire novels, and announced a Star Wars Outlaws tie-in from Mike Chen! Head below for the details!
PSA: Big thanks to Jason on Bluesky for live-posting from the panels!
Given there is still one comic to come, the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel had a bit more to say about The High Republic’s Phase III coming to a close, but we did learn audiobook narrator extraordinaire Marc Thompson, even if I felt was a little overboard in Tempest Breaker, puked in the recording booth when doing Sskeer! He always gives it his all!
Thompson narrated a section of Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel at the panel. The novel is out August 5 and we already have a very mild spoiler review out! The panel also mentioned, though was pretty quiet on, the upcoming Master of Evil from Adam Christopher, which hits shelves in November, saying it’ll embrace the turbulence between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, as the latter isn’t quite buried fully yet. It takes place during a gap in the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic, so this tracks very well with how that showed Vader.
There’s a long annotation from Matthew Stover on how he solved the sun dragon issue!
— Jason | This Dad Reads (@thisdadreads.bsky.social) July 25, 2025 at 3:33 PM
There seemed to be a good portion devoted to talking about the extra special and beautiful looking anniversary edition of the Revenge of the Sith novelization. It’s still available to preorder and out October 14.
After such a stellar, politically charged start with Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear from Alexander Freed, we have to wait a little longer for the next two releases in the trilogy. Rebecca Roanhorse’s second entry is now out Fall 2026, but we know it’s titled Edge of the Abyss and will be set one year before the start of Andor, which means we should be seeing Luthen Rael and maybe Kleya! Book three is from Fran Wilde and now is out Summer 2027, with a fiery title: From the Ashes. We know less about this one, which makes sense, but even a title’s enough to keep me on the edge of my seat for more.
The big announcement from the panel was the reveal of Mike Chen’s next novel, Outlaws: Low Red Moon, out February 3, 2026, with a cover by Matt Taylor! It’s a prequel and focuses on everyone’s favorite sexy droid, ND-5, and his time with Jaylen Vrax. Given the rumors Ubisoft might’ve cancelled an in-development sequel to the game, even despite the potential for a sales boost from the game’s release on Switch 2 soon, it gives me hope more of the Outlaws’ world and characters will find new lives in publishing going forward. And/or someone realizes their mistake and makes Outlaws 2! Over on Bluesky, Chen shared a thread with a TON of details on the book like: it takes place in two parts, the first being months after Order 66 and the second being 10 BBY aka months before Solo: A Star Wars Story; we’ll see the fall of the Barsha Corp in the first part, which is a slight spoiler for the game and one of the book’s characters; the ISB will be involved; ND-5 is a point-of-view character so they had to development certain things since he’s pretty much the first droid POV; we’ll see how the two end up becoming so contentious; and Chen threw out a ton of names of characters active during this timeframe and basically got all of his dreams come true, so expect a lot of familiar names; and ND-5’s hot droid reputation will continue with a scene reminiscent of Daniel Craig in Casino Royale?! I’m really, really hyped for this!! Just take my money already!! Here’s the blurb:
ND-5 and Jaylen Vrax embark on their descent into the galaxy’s underworld in search of answers and opportunity, in this essential prequel to Star Wars Outlaws.
Jaylen Barsha, heir to his family’s immense power and wealth, had his life charted out for him neatly and meticulously by his parents, even though he suspected his neglected half-brother Sliro would be a better fit for the bright corporate future his parents envisioned. Then the Empire stripped it all away on trumped-up charges of conspiracy against his family. Before he can reach Sliro for help redeeming the Barsha name, a battle droid arrives at the family compound with a mission: to kill every single last member of the Barsha clan. Jaylen manages to fend off the attack as the sole survivor, but realizes the droid, who he reprograms, is his only chance to stay alive. But he can no longer be Jaylen Barsha—he’ll have to live now as Jaylen Vrax.
Former Separatist battle droid ND-5 knows he should be scrap metal, all things considered. He was a proficient contributor to the Separatist cause, but what is a soldier without a war? A trigger without aim? Loyalty is in his programming, and Jaylen, who treats him as more than just a weapon, has earned it. Perhaps, the droid thinks, with a partner he can be more. ND-5 just has to earn Jaylen’s trust.
With the threat against the Barsha clan still shrouded in mystery, the pair has no choice but to leverage the chaos and disappear. They find sanctuary in the anonymity of the underworld, building their reputation among scoundrels, bounty hunters, and crime syndicates. But when their latest score gives the first real clue in years to who sent ND-5 after Jaylen’s family, their biggest opportunity presents a new kind of risk. Do they give up this chance at the wealth and power Jaylen was denied to pursue answers? Or will ambition and the weight of the past shatter their unlikely partnership?
Check back to the Manor in the next month, we’ll have a review of Outlaws‘ two DLC story packs, in honor of this announcement.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on and the website on Bluesky.
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