'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' prequel novel and comics to be released soon

The marketing efforts for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” appear to be similar to that of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” A prequel novel and comic series have been announced, which is expected to give some background information about the events and characters in the movie.

David Gabriel, the senior vice president of sales and marketing at Marvel Publish Worldwide, announced the launch date of a 3 issue comic series at the Diamond Comics Retailer Breakfast event at C2E2, ComicBook.Com reports. The 3 issue comic series and a One-Shot will be released in October, which is two months before the release of the movie.

The launch of a prequel novel was also announced at the same event. An Instagram post by Del Rey states that the name of the novel will be “Catalyst.” The book will be released in the Fall, but the identity of the author has not been revealed yet.

A slew of books and comics were also announced before the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The books give detailed descriptions of some of the major characters that include Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). The novel “Aftermath” is a prequel to the J.J. Abrams movie.

The events in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” are set between “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” and “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” The plot of the movie revolves around a group of Rebels stealing the plans for the Empire’s new super weapon named Death Star.

The Death Star has the capability to destroy an entire planet with a single shot and the Empire plans to use it to intimidate the galaxy. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” will be introducing a new set of characters, whose background information needs to be explored in the prequel novels and comics.