10 Things You Need To Know About The Star Wars Spin-Off Movies

Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in late 2012 it's been a whirlwind ride for Star Wars fans, as the granddaddy of blockbusters gears up to return to the big screen in the most jaw-dropping way possible. But while everyone's mind may be on The Force Awakens now, Episode VII is really just the start of something massive. On top of the all-new Sequel Trilogy, there's going to be a plethora of fully-fledged spin-off movies that flesh out less central events from the galaxy far, far away. Of course, there is the question of whether these stand-alone movies will actually be any good. Spin-offs are traditionally the point where a dying series cashes in on whatever audience goodwill it has left as a limp farewell, but you have to remember that this isn't some three-movie cheapie - this is freaking Star Wars. The franchise has been spinning yarns based of its central story since even before the first movie hit (sometimes even in feature film form - remember 2008's misguided The Clone Wars). And while a lot of it can be filed as authorised fan-fiction, some of the material is down-right inspired - Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy still stands as a high watermark of movie tie-in fiction (a higher honour than it at first sounds). At the moment two spin-offs are planned to arrive before the end of the decade and, with a crack creative team and sense of vision, these stand-alone movies could proudly sit alongside the best media Star Wars has given the world. With the production of the first, due late next year, kicking into gear, now's the perfect time to take a look at everything known about the Star Wars spin-offs movies.