Entertainment
The Best Star Wars Stories You've Never Heard Of
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
With Kathleen Kennedy stepping down from Lucasfilm, many fans are hoping we might start getting better movies and TV shows set in a galaxy far, far away. Unfortunately, that could take a long, long time, and there’s no guarantee the franchise will ever hit the creative heights it experienced under George Lucas. In the meantime, here’s some good news for Star Wars fans: there are decades of killer audio dramas for you to catch up on.
Star Wars Audio Dramas Rule
Interestingly, the phenomenon of Star Wars audio dramas goes back to the early days of the Original Trilogy. Back in 1981, NPR released an audio drama recreating A New Hope, and we later got adaptations of The Empire Strikes and The Return of the Jedi. Each of them has a full cast of voice actors that includes familiar franchise faces like Mark Hamill and Billie Dee Williams as well as fun newcomers like Brock Peters and John Lithgow.
These early Star Wars audio dramas kicked off a storytelling tradition that continued into the ‘90s with adaptations of some of the best Dark Horse comics of that era. This includes adaptations of Dark Empire, Crimson Empire, and many more. As someone who grew up reading these awesome comics, it’s great hearing them brought to life in a way that I can enjoy during walks, gym visits, or late night video game sessions.
For Star Wars fans who don’t mind enjoying non-canonical stories, there are plenty of other audio dramas to choose from based on Legends characters and tales. This includes stories related to Dark Forces, the iconic Star Wars first-person shooter that recently got a remaster. There are also adaptations of the Tales of the Jedi comics that gave fans our first real glimpse of what the Jedi were like at the height of their power.
When it comes to non-canon Star Wars audio dramas, many would say the gold standards are the ones created Kyle Newman. He recorded and/or released these tales for different Star Wars Celebration conventions, and each drama focuses on Han Solo and Chewbacca’s adventures after A New Hope. As an added bonus, these dramas featured the vocal talents of voice actors from the beloved Clone Wars cartoon series.
There are, of course, canonical Star Wars audio dramas, including ones focusing on Count Dooku and Doctor Aphra (a fan-favorite character that debuted in the comics). There are also several audio dramas set during the High Republic era. If you hated how The Acolyte portrayed that time period, you may enjoy the more coherent audio dramas, which have 100 percent less mystery boxes and confusing flashbacks.
If you want to check these Star Wars audio dramas out, your best bet is to explore them through Audible, which has many available at the click of a button. If you’re feeling old-school, though, you can always track down the vintage cassettes or CDs for the older productions. No matter how you experience these dramas, you can be sure of one thing: they are far, far better than what Disney has been trying to shove down our throats for the last few years.
Entertainment
Get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 from T-Mobile without trading in your old phone
FREE SAMSUNG GALAXY S26: Sign up for a T-Mobile Experience Beyond plan for 24 months and get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 (256GB) which ordinarily costs $899.99. Existing T-Mobile Go5G Plus members also qualify for the deal.
It’s tough to find a free deal these days. We usually have a massive amount of fine text to read, but T-Mobile is making this deal pretty simple. Sign up for two years of coverage (which you probably needed anyway) and get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 (256GB). Here’s how to qualify.
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If you’re one for selfies, the Samsung Galaxy S26 could be a great option. Samsung designed the front-facing camera to have a wider view, making it easier to capture selfies with the group.
Mashable Deals
If you’re going with T-Mobile coverage, it’s well worth hopping on this free Samsung Galaxy S26 deal. The cell phone bill was inevitable so you might as well snag a free upgraded phone in the process.
Entertainment
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
BUY A DELTA GIFT CARD FOR $300+ AND GET A FREE STARBUCKS GIFT CARD: Through May 11, buy a Delta gift card for $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card.
Credit: Delta / Starbucks
The price of flying these days is shocking. If you plan on traveling soon on a route served by Delta, it’s well worth checking out this deal to get something for free. It’ll help ease the pain of the ticket price.
Through May 11, purchase a Delta gift card worth $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s as simple as that. You can also qualify for the deal by buying multiple gift cards that total at least $300. The deal with apply automatically and you’ll receive a separate email containing the free Starbucks card.
Booking flights these days is not much fun. Prices are ahh…. abnormal, but Delta has eased the pain a bit thanks to this deal. The carrier is positioning this free Starbucks gift card deal as a good option for Mother’s Day, but realistically, it’s useful for anyone who plans to book with Delta soon.
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Mashable Deals
If you plan on flying soon or want to gift a special someone a Delta gift card worth $300 or more, snag this deal to get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s a win-win situation for those who plan to fly with Delta.
Entertainment
Snag a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones for $50 off
SAVE $50: As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s a discount of 11%.
$399
at Amazon
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Save $50
If you want to experience your favorite music to the fullest, you need headphones that are up to the task. Bose can typically be counted on to provide that kind of quality, especially with its QuietComfort lineup. You can try its newest model for less right now for less thanks to this Amazon deal, which heavily discounts the cans so you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on them.
As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s $50 off and a discount of 11%.
Though an incremental upgrade from the previous QuietComfort model, these have some new features you’ll want to try out. But mostly, these comfortable headphones are all about feeling great on your ears and sounding fantastic. They offer noise cancellation and spatialized audio so it sounds as though you’re right where the music is. The new Cinema Mode can help to spatialize and balance background and sound and sound effects when watching movies to help put you right into the film as well.
Beyond that they can be used to take calls with their built-in microphones. They’ll last a long time while you’re on the phone too, with 30 hours of play time when listening to songs, podcasts, or taking meetings.
Mashable Deals
Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard took the headphones for a spin in her review and and called them a “well-rounded pair of headphones”, praising their blend of “comfort, noise cancellation, and sound”.
If you’re ready to pick up a new pair of headphones at a discount that’ll tick all the boxes for you, grab these before the discount disappears.
Get a free Samsung Galaxy S26 from T-Mobile without trading in your old phone
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
