One Of The Best Star Wars Stories Ever Is Getting An Unexpected New Adaptation

One of the truly great "Star Wars" stories from the Disney era of Lucasfilm is getting a brand unique new lease on life. Revealed as part of the Manga Mania panel during this year's Star Wars Celebration in Japan, a manga adaptation of the 2019 video game "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" is on the way

Widely considered to be one of the best stories in any medium during the Disney era of the franchise, "Jedi: Fallen Order" and its sequel "Jedi: Survivor" take place between the events of "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope." While many people reading this have probably played the games centered on former Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis, video games aren't for everyone. As such, this manga adaptation is a very unique way to present the story, potentially opening it up to a new audience. A synopsis for the book reads as follows:

"Cal Kestis, a former Jedi Padawan, narrowly escaped the purge of Order 66. Now on the run from the Empire's deadly Inquisitorius, Cal teams up with a former Jedi Knight and a cantankerous pilot in a quest to revive the Jedi Order. Can Cal unlock the secrets of the past before the Empire catches up with him?"

In addition to this book, the panel also revealed a new manga version of Timothy Zahn's "Star Wars: Thrawn" novel, as well as a new manga version of "A New Hope."

For the time being, few details regarding the "Fallen Order" book have been revealed, but we do have cover art that you can check out below. Some sketches were also shown during the panel, which we've included for you to take a look at. Beyond that, this will pretty much be a retelling of the story from the game, just presented in a very different format. Though not as flashy as the announcement of Ryan Gosling's "Star Wars: Starfighter" movie, this still serves as welcome news for several reasons.

First and foremost, the story being told in these "Star Wars Jedi" games thus far has been nothing shy of masterful, in my humble opinion. There have been a lot of stories told in the time period between the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy, but this is undoubtedly one of the better ones. Speaking of the prequels, one of the best versions of those events happened in a "Star Wars" manga series. Hence, doing "Fallen Order" in manga form isn't likely to just be a redundant retelling.

It's important to remember that the novelization of "Revenge of the Sith" is considered to be one of the best "Star Wars" stories ever, so adapting these stories for different mediums can enrich the story overall. This is already a great story, but now people who aren't up for playing a long video game can tap into it. Even those who enjoyed the original game can open themselves up to the world of manga. It's hard to see a downside here.

Cal Kestis, Cere Junde, Greez, and Second Sister in the upcoming manga adaptation of STAR WARS JEDI: FALLEN ORDER (character designs by sak) pic.twitter.com/vVq9E2G9RP

— Star Wars Holocron @ SWCJ (@sw_holocron) April 18, 2025

"Star Wars" is and should be for everyone. As such, it's been nice to see Lucasfilm experimenting with different mediums in recent years. Similar to the increasing number of manga in the franchise, "Star Wars: Visions" offered us a look at anime in a galaxy far, far away. Offering up a retelling of these events in this particular medium feels like the kind of thing this franchise should be doing. It would be easy to see this as purely capitalistic and as though Disney is trying to squeeze blood from a stone. Taking the less cynical viewpoint, it's about making sure these stories can reach the widest audience possible. That feels like work worth doing.

The "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" manga doesn't have a release date yet, so stay tuned.