the thing bout is that as you read you are able to click names that come along in the story..and characters i never heard of in the films have so much to read about as well...stars wars as a whole is pretty huge..
ur seeing the light my friend, TP for you
star wars is much more than the films everyone is familiar with. everything outside of the films is considered the "expanded universe", which has infinite characters, stories, planets, creatures, vehicles, weapons, etc. these are available through comics and novels. these are covered through thousands of years before and after the films as well.