STARKILLER SOUND is a community by and for the fans who specialize in bringing their fanhood to life via podcasts, parodies, and especially audio dramas. Carrying the torch of StarWarsFanworks.com, our goal is to bring you the very best in Star Wars Fan Audio from around the Internet, including older projects from the dawn of Star Wars Fan Audio at the turn of the century.

      Fan Audio Dramas are fully dramatized original stories (fan fiction) based in the Star Wars galaxy, and may or may not include characters from the films, TV shows, or books - often instead focusing on all new original characters. Complete with sound effects and music from John Williams "Star Wars" soundtracks (and sometimes also other motion picture and video game scores), audio dramas aim to bring a movie-like experience in audio form, playing heavily on the imagination of the audience to "create the picture" in your mind.

       Star Wars Audio Dramas find their roots in the radio adaptations of the Original Trilogy that were written by Brian Daley and aired by National Public Radio, beginning with "A New Hope" in 1981, followed by "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1983, and finally "Return of the Jedi" in 1996. The radio productions featured many of the original actors from the films reprising their roles behind the microphone — most notably Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, and Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian — in addition to the use of official sound effects from Lucasfilm's library, and John Williams' award-winning scores from the movies. While Lucasbooks would go on to release other audio drama adaptations of select novels and comics, it would be several years before the fan community would realize and appreciate the opportunities and possibilities of audio dramas.

        In 2003, author and podcaster Nathan P. Butler would lay the groundwork for fan audio dramas with the production of Star Wars: Second Strike, a fully cast, fully dramatized story, brought to life by a crew of nearly 20 people and featuring over 40 voice actors. A whole new door had been opened for the fan community, and it didn't take long for it to catch on, blossoming into a medium where fans could bring their stories to life beyond the page - though it should be noted there have been a couple dramatizations of established stories over the years. (It should also be noted that, while Star Wars: Second Strike was the beginning of fan-made audio dramas on the Internet, it is generally agreed that popular Star Wars podcasting personality Mark Newbold was the first to develop the concept of a fan-made audio drama, having produced a series in his teen years back in the 1980s; however, the entire library has unfortunately been lost). Fan Audio Dramas are sadly often overshadowed by Fan Films, but as we enter a bold new era for podcasting and increasing popularity of the audio drama/enhanced audiobook format, it is our hope to bring this often overlooked medium to the attention of a new generation of Star Wars fans.

      Podcasts (or Online Radio Shows) have been a staple of Star Wars Fandom since the Prequel Trilogy premiered back in 1999 — beginning with a radio show entitled JediTalk — before we knew anything about "podcast feeds" and "podcatchers." At the time, radio shows were downloaded just like anything else - manually, one click at a time. But when podcasting began to catch on in the early 2000s, Star Wars radio shows would grow like never before, bringing us to today where it is hard to remember a time without podcasts devoted entirely to Star Wars. The number of shows are nearly too many to count - which is a good thing as it means fans are taking their passions to the microphone (which we encourage)! From reviews and discussions of the movies, to the books, to the soundtracks, to the video games, there is essentially a podcast for everything.

      Parodies are usually very similar to audio dramas - a fully dramatized original story - but where dramas tend to be just that (dramas), parodies — as the name would imply — focus on bringing a comedy-filled experience to listeners, often by parodying or satirizing the films, or characters in the films. Parodies go back even before the premiere of the Prequels, with the earliest and most memorable ones being Star Wars: The Radio Play, The Adventures of the Galactic Star Force Power Squad, and Stormtrooper Bob (which was also technically a radio show).