Marvel Star Wars Comics to explore an important era with Luke, Han and Leia

Have you ever wondered what happened after Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens? It's a particularly interesting period in the Star Wars galaxy that hasn't been explored as much on screen. Yes, Disney+'s The Mandalorian has ventured into that territory a bitbut what happened to the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa during this galactic transition period? We're about to get some answers.

Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm have announced the relaunch of the main “Star Wars” comic later this year. The rebooted series will be written by Alex Segura (“The Black Ghost”), with art by Phil Noto (“Star Wars: Poe Dameron”). Essentially, the series will continue after the events Return of the Jedi, which concluded the original Star Wars trilogy in 1983. What exactly does this mean for readers? The synopsis for the new episode reads:

After Return of the Jedi, a new epic adventure begins for Luke, Leia and Han! New York Times bestselling author Alex Segura launches the bold next era of Star Wars. Luke Skywalker must defend the New Republic from a gang of bloodthirsty mercenaries! Han Solo investigates a deadly underground secret and rescues a surprising ally! Leia Organa must fight a new alliance that opposes the goals of the New Republic!

This is important because The “New Republic” era in the official “Star Wars” timeline takes place right after “Age of Rebellion” which is included in the original trilogy. This is the period after the fall of Palpatine and after the fall of the Empire. However, as we have seen, it is not as if the empire simply went quietly into the night. The remnants of the organization continued to try to fight for power. It's a rich place to explore, especially through the eyes of the saga's main characters. Talking to StarWars.comSegura said about it:

“Now that we've established the end of the Galactic Civil War with the Battle of Jakku, we can fast-forward into a new, uncharted era with some new galactic threats, enemies and mysteries for our beloved heroes to contend with, mixing the familiar with the new and shocking. .These stories will be filled with action and character moments that Star Wars fans have come to expect, including twists in the galaxy and landscape to make sure people can easily get attached and we can't wait.

Segura mentions the Battle of Jakku, which was the pivotal battle that truly marked the end of the Empire and the beginning of the New Republic. The remnants of the Battle of Jakku are seen in The Force Awakens, but the battle itself was not explored on screen. The video game “Star Wars Battlefront” featured a Jakku battlebut the battle had a big impact on our main characters as they had to go into recovery mode instead of fighting mode afterwards.

Many Star Wars fans stick to the movies and/or TV shows, so while the New Republic era has been explored in media such as Chuck Wendig's Star Wars: The Aftermath trilogy of novels.this is a big blind spot for many people. This could make this comic series a good place to jump on the Expanded Universe train, especially for those who like Luke, Leia, and/or Han. Speaking further about the book, Noto had to add:

“I've been a huge Star Wars fan since A New Hope and for the past ten years I've been lucky enough to fulfill my childhood dream of drawing Star Wars… Alex is an amazing writer and has come up with some great work. storylines and new characters for this series , and I'm excited to bring them to life on the page.It's also been exciting to draw the classic characters after Return of the Jedi, since there's no movie or TV version I can make for them new look while using references to 80s actors to help sell the look of that timeline.

“Star Wars” no. 1 will hit shelves on May 7, 2025. Check out the first issue main cover and variant cover below.