Star Wars has been expanded to media other than the original films. This spin-off material is licensed and moderated by Lucasfilm, though during his involvement with the franchise Star Wars creator George Lucas reserved the right to both draw from and contradict it in his own works. Such derivative works have been produced concurrently with, between, and after the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, as well as the spin-off films and television series. Commonly explored Star Wars media include books, comic books, and video games, though other forms such as audio dramas have also been produced.

With the exception of the animated The Clone Wars TV series, non-film material produced prior to April 2014 was collectively known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU). Lucasfilm, now under Disney, later rebranded the Expanded Universe as Star Wars Legends and declared it non-canonical to the franchise. Most works produced after April 25, 2014 are part of the official canon as defined by Lucasfilm, although a handful of Legends media has still been released after said date.

The first Star Wars spinoff material was Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (1976), the novelization of the 1977 film. Lucas later commissioned Alan Dean Foster, who ghostwrote the novelization, to write a sequel, which resulted in Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978). Lucas originally intended to use this as the basis for a potential low-budget sequel to Star Wars, but when it became one of the most successful films of all time, Lucas decided to write his own story for the film sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1980). While this was in production, Lucas approved the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), with which he had limited involvement.

Running from April 1977 to May 1986, the Star Wars comic book series from Marvel Comics met with such strong sales that former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter credited it with saving Marvel financially in 1977 and 1978. The series became one of the industry's top selling titles in 1979 and 1980. An adaptation of the third theatrical film, Return of the Jedi, was released as a separate four-issue limited series (1983–1984).

Two novel trilogies with original storylines were written, The Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley (1979–1980), and 1983's The Adventures of Lando Calrissian by L. Neil Smith. Daley also wrote radio dramatizations of the original trilogy, which aired in 1981, 1983, and 1996.

The first Star Wars electronic game was released in 1979 by Kenner, followed by a handful of Atari and Parker Brothers video games in the early 1980s, mainly adaptations of film scenes.

Two spin-off television films focusing on the life of the Ewoks, introduced in Return of the Jedi, aired in 1984 and 1985. The furry creatures were also the subject of an American/Canadian animated television series produced by Nelvana, which ran for two seasons between 1985 and 1986. A sister series, Droids, features the further adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO. In 1985, Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint published a bi-monthly Ewoks tie-in comic, which ran for two years, and in 1986, published an eight-issue Droids series. The two series featured a crossover storyline.

The Star Tours ride was opened at Disney Parks in 1987 to commemorate the saga's 10th anniversary.