The Rise of Skywalker’ Sequel Novel ‘The Last Order’ Revealed

While audiences eagerly await to see Daisy Ridley return as Rey in her own upcoming Star Wars films, fans are getting their first look at what happened following the events of The Rise of Skywalker in a new book centered on the characters of Finn (John Boyega) and Jannah (Naomi Ackie). New York Times best-selling author Kwame Mbalia unveiled the first look at Star Wars: The Last Order in an exclusive image from Collider. Star Wars: The Last Order will hit stores on Oct. 21, 2025.

Set in the immediate aftermath of The Rise of Skywalker, the story sees the Resistance rescue a ship full of young passengers kidnapped by the First Order. Finn and Jannah must grapple with their complicated past as kidnapped children turned soldiers while they set out to find the First Order officer responsible for kidnapping the children they saved. “Being able to work with Finn, who I think — if I had to write a character, Finn is the type of character that I like to write — someone who can be silly and irreverent at times, and also serious and loyal, and dedicated to his friends, allies, and family” said Mbalia. “And just being able to work with Jannah is amazing. It’s a dream.”

Collider revealed the first look at the cover art (see below) by designer Jason Wojtowicz and artist Kim Thompson. The artwork is very different from many other Star Wars books, as Mbalia teased that the cover art’s flowers would play an important role in Last Order‘s story, saying:

“I don’t know if this is a spoiler, but there are these beautiful flowers on the cover that are framing these two characters, these stormtroopers, in their armor, their helmets off. You have these flowers framing them, and these flowers are integral to the story. When I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is gorgeous.’ In fact, I used to do something called Covers and Kicks, where a book cover would drop, and I would pick a pair of shoes, and I would just, ‘Hey, if you like this cover, these are some shoes…’ I went out, and I bought a pair of shoes that match the covers. So, I cannot wait until it drops so that I can do a little photo shoot with my new shoes.”

A New Era for ‘Star Wars’ Begins

The publication of The Last Order marks Disney’s first attempt to explore the Star Wars franchise’s post–Rise of Skywalker timeline. In the six years since The Rise of Skywalker‘s release, Lucasfilm has primarily explored the 32-year gap period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens in titles like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew. They have also touched upon the period after Revenge of the Sith before A New Hope (The Bad Batch, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi) or even before The Phantom Menace (The High Republic initiative and The Acolyte).

The Last Order marks the first new step into what happened in the immediate aftermath of the sequel trilogy and what the future holds for Star Wars after that. In addition to The Last Order, Daisy Ridley will star in a Rey-centric film about rebuilding the Jedi Order. However, neither John Boyega nor Oscar Isaac are expected to reprise their roles as Finn or Poe Dameron, respectively. Meanwhile, Shawn Levy’s Starfighter starring Ryan Gosling will occur after The Rise of Skywalker. Rumors are circulating that Simon Kinberg’s planned Star Wars trilogy will also be set after The Rise of Skywalker.

Starting this new exploration into the Star Wars timeline with a book like The Last Order makes sense, as the series typically tests the waters with books leading to high-profile films and television shows. In 2015/2016, Lucasfilm launched “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens“, a publishing initiative of novels and comics that gave audiences their first look at this new canon for Star Wars while also filling in the gaps between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The Last Order not only sounds like an exciting tease of what is to come for Star Wars, but also a chance to flesh out Finn and Jannah’s character that the films sadly ignored.

Source: Collider