An often overlooked relic of the late '90s, the Galaxy of Fear books were the Star Wars universe's answer to Goosebumps. Each story featured a new "scary" adventure, ending on a cliffhanger to tie into the next book. Throughout the series, main characters Tash and Zak Arranda, fresh off the destruction of Alderaan, traveled the galaxy with their mysterious Uncle Hoole and fell into a number of canon-adjacent adventures. They had run-ins with Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Wedge Antilles, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, the Empire and even Dr. Evazan (most notable to film watchers as the Mos Eisley instigator whose friend gets his arm chopped off by Obi-Wan.)
Though the Disney acquisition of Star Wars meant the Galaxy of Fear books were automatically non-canon, they were never taken all that seriously in the original canon, anyway. However, as time has passed and the Star Wars main timeline been newly added to, there are a number of Tash and Zak's adventures that could easily tie back into the mainstream.
In the fourth book of the series, The Nightmare Machine, Tash and Zak take a leisurely trip to Hologram Fun World. Of course, in true Galaxy of Fear fashion, this visit turns into a literal nightmare thanks to a simulation that lets you live out your deepest fears. It is on this journey, though, that the twins meet Lando Calrissian. This story takes place around seven months after the Battle of Yavin, so Lando hasn't joined up with the rebellion yet. This puts his personal timeline somewhere between Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. His character is still pretty rogueish, but his time with the twins hints at a burgeoning rebellious conscience, deftly bridging his years between Solo and The Empire Strikes Back.
Another recurring storyline is Tash's burgeoning Force sensitivity, coupled with her intense interest in Jedi lore. Through this lens, we get a window into the surviving mythos around the fallen Order. The fact the Jedi are seen as mere legends dovetails well into both the original trilogy and the sequels. The more Tash learns about the Jedi and the Empire's erasure of them (via the Galaxy of Fear's answer to the internet: the HoloNet), the more it becomes clear how an entire galaxy all but forgot they were real. When the twins encounter Yoda in The Hunger, Tash finally gains a true understanding of her Force abilities, expanding on the idea that non-legacy Force-sensitives may be the key to rebuilding the Jedi.
After many a run-in with Gog and Evazan, Tash and Zak uncover their ultimate evil plan: Project Starscream. This Empire-funded project focused on cloning in an effort to create an army of supersoldiers for the Imperials. Closely watched over by Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, the project involved reanimating dead bodies with the life and consciousness of another while enhancing their natural abilities. When read in context prior to Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, Project Starscream was just a regular attempt at an unbeatable army. However, in a post-Rise of Skywalker world, it has renewed importance, as it aligns perfectly with Palpatine's personal cloning project. Both Dr. Evazan and Palpatine have an intense interest in living past their natural death by cloning their consciousness into an upgraded body.
The Star Wars galaxy has multitudes of stories, but some are best left alone in the Legends canon. As we move full speed ahead into a new, sometimes contentious era, referencing old precedents for new stories like Galaxy of Fear's cloning project could be the best bet to bridge the gap between old school fans and newer ones.
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