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Today, if you’re a Star Wars fan, there is no shortage of content for you to enjoy: New collectibles are released on a regular basis. There are hours of programming on Disney+. There are tons of iconic video games. Lucasfilm is even developing multiple movies for release over the next few years. However you look at it, there’s plenty out there to keep Star Wars fans occupied for some time.

However, it was a different world in 1991. There hadn’t been a new Star Wars film since Return of the Jedi in 1983, and the franchise was dormant. The long-running Marvel comic had been cancelled, the Ewoks and Droids cartoons were no longer producing episodes, and it appeared that fans had moved on to other things.

This is what the landscape looked like when Timothy Zahn wrote Heir to the Empire, which was published back in May 1991 The novel went a long way in reviving interest in the Star Wars franchise and, according to Zahn, may even have paved the way for George Lucas to do the movie prequel trilogy.

“We didn’t even know if Star Wars fans even existed anymore to be perfectly honest,” Timothy Zahn said during a panel at MegaCon 2026. “There had been nothing really coming out since Return of the Jedi in 1983. Quiet fans look exactly the same as no fans at all. It took Lucasfilm a year to decide to go ahead with [Heir to the Empire].

“[Editor] Lou Aronica at [publisher] Bantam Spectra suggested the project in 1988, and then 1989 is when Lucasfilm when ahead and agreed with that," he continued. "I’m wondering - I don’t know what the delay was, but part of it was this would be a good test case to see if George would have an audience if he made new movies. I’ve heard that one of the things about penguins gathering at an ice flow is that they’ll jostle until one of them falls into the water, and if it doesn’t get eaten immediately, it means it’s safe for the rest of them. I think the Thrawn Trilogy was a penguin and it got kicked over.”

Of course, the Thrawn Trilogy - Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising (1992) and The Last Command (1993) - didn't just prove to be successful enough to launch a new Star Wars publishing line; it also created a character so beloved by fans that he was brought into official Star Wars canon in projects like Star Wars Rebels and the live action Ahsoka series. Not bad for a penguin, really.

Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.