Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (project) discarded from the current "Star Wars" canon and reassigned as part of the "Legends" non-canonical stories, preventing the video game series representing it from continuing further past "Unleashed II". "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" tells the story of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, code-named "Starkiller" but born Galen Marek, as he hunts down the remaining Jedi after Emperor Palpatine orders them killed. Set between "" and "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope", the story explores the aftermath of the Great Jedi Purge as well as the rise of Darth Vader. The events of "The Force Unleashed" are "pivotal" in
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire the job after writing the novelizations of "The Mask" for Bantam, and "Aliens" based upon graphic novels by Dark Horse Comics, which had been licensed by Lucasfilm to create "Star Wars" comics. In addition to the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Perry read the first spin-off novel in the franchise, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", to get an idea of how to write for Vader. A prequel novel was planned, to be written by author Charles Grant, but was cancelled due to a Lucasfilm Licensing move from Bantam to Del Rey Books. The comic book emphasizes the destiny of Boba Fett