'Star Wars' Celebration News: Alan Dean Foster to Write 'The Force Awakens' Novels
One of the biggest announcements that was made during the "Star Wars" Celebration in Anaheim, California was the upcoming novelization of "The Force Awakens" phase of the Star Wars saga. During a panel with Del Rey Books on April 18, it was also revealed that the novelization will be handled by no other Alan Dean Foster. Foster is known for his novelizations of film scripts including the original "Star Wars" and even "Star Trek."
The reveal was made by Foster himself, who was posing as a member of the audience during the panel. A report in IGN said that Foster stood up and asked the panel if he can write the novels. After much convincing and after the panel said yes, he went up the stage and revealed who he was to the delight of the audience.
The series of novels, according to another IGN report, is entitled "Journey to The Force Awakens." It will be composed of 20 novels. Del Rey, the publishing company who will handle publishing, announced that the entire series will be released on September 4, 2015. The books will come out three months before the release of the movie "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
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Given the number of books that need to be developed in just six months, Foster has a lot of writing to do. But given his record as a prolific writer when he did "Star Wars" and "Star Trek," this may not be a problem.
According to an earlier report also in IGN, the books will be set in the 32 years between the events in "The Return of the Jedi" and the upcoming sequel. This is all part of the plan of the franchise to develop new books and other publications in the run-up to the new movie. Aside from the Del Rey novels, there are also young adult novels and comic books being developed. The report also says that "these new stories will be considered official canon," thereby discarding the old Expanded Universe.
