SDCC 2026: Luke & Leia Novel 'Twin Crossroads' Leads Star Wars Publishing News
SDCC 2026 brought news of a Luke and Leia Jedi-training novel, Twin Crossroads, plus a new X-Wing Academy comic. Recent reviews covered The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders and Jar Jar #1.
At SDCC 2026, the Star Wars publishing arm held three panels, headlined by the announcement of a new novel featuring Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa training together as Jedi. The panels also introduced an all-ages comic series from Mad Cave Studios, while reviews landed for several recent comics and the young adult novel Eyes Like Stars.
The biggest announcement was Star Wars: Twin Crossroads, an April 2027 novel by Beth Revis. Set after Return of the Jedi, the story follows Luke and Leia training together on the remote planet Ajan Kloss. The two volunteer for an urgent covert New Republic mission to infiltrate Imperial-controlled Coruscant, beginning at the Imperial palace, once the Jedi Temple. The novel will show Leia building her lightsaber and Luke dealing with the compass he acquired in Battlefront II. Twin Crossroads takes place after Revis' The Princess and the Scoundrel.
Mad Cave Studios and its Papercutz imprint announced X-Wing Academy, an all-ages comic set in the New Republic era. Madeleine Roux's novel Legacy, which offers a first bigger glimpse of Luke and Leia's Jedi training, is scheduled for July 28. Ashley Poston also spoke about her novel Eyes Like Stars.
Eyes Like Stars, written by Ashley Poston, has been described as Star Wars' first romance novel. It follows Ardent Quay, a first-person narrator who has lived her entire life on a space cruise-liner, and Sian, a Lucem with 'eyes like stars.' The young adult book includes an appearance by Maz Kanata.
In comics, The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders reached its halfway point with issue #3, written by George Mann with art by Caío Filipe and colors by Michael Atiyeh. The series follows a Pathfinder team—Jedi Master Temesh, Padawan Anula, Republic pilot Pol, and medic Harby—investigating the murder of a Jedi Master, a missing comms team, and sabotage of EX communication droids. Issue #3 confirms the murder weapon is sonic-related. Issue #2, also written by Mann, saw the team pulled out of hyperspace into a spatial anomaly and hunted by a strange creature. Jedi Knight Vix Fonnix and Rooper Nitani appear in the arc. The comic is set 130 years before Phase I of the High Republic.
Jar Jar #1, co-written by Marc Guggenheim and Ahmed Best, was announced at NYCC '25 and features Kelleran Beq. The one-shot addresses the consequences of Jar Jar giving Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers in Attack of the Clones and gives Jar Jar a role in the early formation of the Rebel Alliance. The story takes place on the new planet Urubai, where laborers are forced to mine the planet's resources under the emergency powers.