Alexander Freed To Write 'Rogue One' Novelization, More Details on 'Thrawn' Novel Revealed

Earlier this month, at Star Wars Celebration Europe, we learned about the new and upcoming Star Wars books including one that will connect with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the surprising announcement of Star Wars: Thrawn.

Thanks to Club Jade for pointing out some interesting book news that was dropped on Sunday's Celebration live stream. At the 4:36:25 mark, host Andi Gutierrez interviewed Penguin Random House UK's marketing manager, Matthew Ruddle, who shared some interesting details about several book.

First: Ruddle said that Alexander Freed, who recently wrote the novel Battlefront: Twilight Company, will pen the novelization for Rogue One. Ruddle says that Freed is a great choice for the book because of the "Rebels-eye-view" type of the story he focused on fo Twilight Company. Ruddle also said that the Rogue One prequel novel, Catalyst, is a must-read for everyone excited to see the Rogue One movie coming this December.

Ruddle also shared a few details about the Thrawn novel, which is being written by Timothy Zahn. He explains that the book will be a prequel to his appearance in Star Wars Rebels Season 3, in which he will be the main antagonist. He added:

"You're going to get to see how Thrawn basically got to his position of power, how he became so respected in the Empire, and just what makes him such a brilliant villain and tactician... He's one of the most intelligent admirals in the Imperial fleet and a real threat to the Rebels."

Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno is set to release on November 15. The novelization for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be released in eBook format along with the movie on December 16, and the hardcover will be released on January 3, 2017. Star Wars: Thrawn is set to release in April 2017.