September 16, 2025 will bring us a new edition of DK's Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles. What’s the difference between a B-wing and an X-wing starfighter? How many legs does an AT-OT walker have? And just how fast can the Millennium Falcon fly? This updated edition covers more than 230 vehicles from Star Wars movies and TV series, now including The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian, Young Jedi Adventures, and more! From enormous Sith Star Destroyers to Kylo Ren's TIE whisper to Din Djarin's shiny N-1 starfighter, learn all about your favorite modes of transportation from a galaxy far, far away, featuring more than 70 new vehicles. Easy to navigate, with contents broken down by categories like land, sea, air, and space, and packed with informative stats regarding manufacturers, models, dimensions, and so much more, the Star Wars: Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles has it all. Fans of all ages, get ready to buckle up and zoom away with this in-depth guide to the best and most popular rides! Cover (spoiler'd for size) Spoiler The original volume released in 2018, so I suppose an update is probably due. That first edition was geared more toward younger readers and used a format similar to DK's Character Encyclopedias, so I would expect roughly the same here.
Interesting. I am particularly intrigued by the mention of Young Jedi Adventures, which has plenty of cool ships that go unnamed. Then again, I wonder if it will have any new info not already added in the recent encyclopedia.
Let me guess...this with a few dozen things added as opposed to all new material. At least maybe we will get some makes and models on the ships that we don't have that info on yet.
190ish in the old book..so 35-40. Yes it is several but I hate that instead of doing a 2nd edition with all new material they are just putting out a new book padded with some new material.
Correct, although the number of new entries is "more than 70" meaning they're probably dropping some of the more obscure stuff to make room. While those of us who already have the original would obviously prefer a "volume 2," DK's longstanding approach to these things has been to "freshen" existing books in the line by releasing a new edition combining both old and new material, making the book accessible to new readers rather than marketing exclusively to those who previous purchased the original book. It is what it is - at least they generally wait a reasonable period of time between editions.
I know...I just find it annoying...there is a lot of content outside of the more mainstream sources. They could probably fill out a Vol 2 instead of a 2nd Edition with. It is how they kept putting out a "complete cross sections" book..that is just rehashing all the old material with a handful of new entries. Dig deep into all the movies, shows, video games and comics.
Let me guess… the new content will be vague filler, and nothing that hasn’t been seen onscreen (Qaz-class, NR heavy cruiser etc) will be revealed. Probably no specs for the Defenders as well.
Seems to be a rather standard thing these days. We haven't had a decent EU lore sourcebook since 2014.
I don't know what you consider "vague filler," but if this follows the format of the original volume each entry will contain a few photos of the vehicle, a brief overview, some nuggets of trivia, and an infobox with details like length, manufacturer, speed, etc. It will not be a comprehensive examination of each vehicle, nor will it cover vehicles we didn't see onscreen (but may touch on obscurities, like the first volume did with the then-little-known Braha'tok gunships). As mentioned before, this book (like the similar Character Encyclopedia series) is targeted at younger fans. You may or may not learn something new, but don't expect deep lore drops or anything. That's not what these are for. And yes, it probably will have an entry for the Defender class, given their spotlight in Ahsoka, though again I wouldn't expect a great deal of detail.
The Qaz is something I have long wanted them to flesh out. Content will come from Movies, cartoons, and live action TV shows...most likely nothing from comics, video games and books. Having said that the Stinger Mantis or Trailblazer may appear if they are trying to push those games.
Yeah - the old WEG books and Essential Guides had did a great job of fleshing out and picturing all manner of obscure book vehicles (and characters and planets and whatnot for that matter)...but then, there weren't as many movie entries to take up obvious slots so they had to go with the obscure stuff. Even before the Disney buyout, it felt like there was less and less such material just from the prequels and tcw, and with the st, saga films, and numerous shows, it would be hard to fit all that material into a book, much less bring in book stuff. Alas. (Though even in the old days it is hard to imagine a one-off casual mention like the qaz to get an entry)
Yeah...in the early days WEG went all out with giving back stories to anything they could. As for the Qaz (and to an extent the Gladiator and Victory) that is all on Lucasfilm to put in the time, effort and money (yes...I know it will cost some money) to flesh out the Imperial Fleet more than a handful of ships.
What’s frustrating is that even stuff prominently featured in movies and shows are barely fleshed out, even in dedicated material. The databank and encyclopedia entries for the new NR ships tell us nothing of substance regarding their capabilities, roles, service history etc. Why bother with sourcebooks when you’ll litter them with vague buzzwords like “advanced” and “reliable,” along with a summary of said vehicle’s role in the film/show that everyone already knows? Isn’t the point to provide some new insight?
It is a clear issue. They seem to have a "quantity over quality" way of thinking when it comes to Star Wars these days in all media not just the sourcebooks like this. If anything, each ship or vehicle needs a two-page spread but also released in a five volume idea. Prequels, Originals, Sequels, Live-action, Animated. (Same for character stuff and technology as well). Shoving everything into a single volume doesn't do them any favours. Nor does ignoring the five stages of editing and only letting it have one or two glance-overs leads to issues like what was picked up in the last publication.
I would keep the current Complete Vehicles as is...but put out new volumes based on era. Republic Era, Imperial Era, Rebellion Era and New Republic Era. Using ships from across media. For example the Nu Class Shuttle from Clone Wars and the Naboo Skiff from RoTS would be Republic Era. Just so that we as fans are not paying good money for a book we already have and can be re-released as is if needed.
