Ever since Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise, Marvel Comics has been hard at work telling the further adventures of the characters you know and love from the films. Comic books spanning the Original Trilogy and Prequel eras, as well as tie-ins to the Sequel films, have been key to expanding the current Star Wars canon, much in the same way the old Expanded Universe of books, comics, and games did pre-Disney—with one major difference.
While the now non-canon EU dove headfirst into stories about what happened to Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo after the events of Return of the Jedi, the Disney-era comics and books have largely shied away from fully exploring what happened next to our original trio of heroes after the trilogy. In fact, until now, the main Star Wars comic has focused on filling in the gaps between A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, essentially focusing on Original Trilogy side quests rather than pushing Luke, Han, and Leia’s stories forward. That changes this year with the arrival of a new Star Wars #1, which will kick off a new series of stories for the trio set in the New Republic era, after the fall of the Empire but many decades before the rise of the First Order, a time period in which these characters are still in their prime.
Written by Alex Segura and penciled by Phil Noto, the story picks up after the Battle of Jakku and the final surrender of the Empire. Luke, Han, and Leia are working to rebuild and usher in a new era of peace under the banner of the fledgling New Republic, but that’s not so easy when the scum of the galaxy are vying for control. The solicit on StarWars.com teases that our heroes will have to contend with pirates, thieves, and a “bloodthirsty gang of mercenaries” in the new series. The announcement also promises other returning characters like Mon Mothma as well as “new allies.”
“Now that we’ve put the period at the end of the Galactic Civil War with the Battle of Jakku, we can speed ahead into a new, uncharted era, with some new galactic threats, foes, and mysteries for our beloved heroes to grapple with, blending the familiar with the new and shocking,” Segura said in a statement. “These stories will be packed with action and the character moments Star Wars fans have come to expect, featuring twists on the galaxy and landscape we know, with an eye toward making sure people can jump in easily and with any issue. We can’t wait.”