A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Marvel used to publish Star Wars comics. Shortly after the debut of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope a comic series continued the adventures. That series was indeed published by Marvel and ran into the mid 80s. At some point in the early ’90s, Dark Horse Comics took over the license and ended up releasing some absolute bangers. Skip ahead about twenty years from then and Disney would hold both Star Wars and Marvel under the same corporate umbrella. It was only a matter of time before someone pushed the worlds of Marvel and Star Wars together. It’s finally happening next year with some help from Kevin Smith.
Kevin Smith’s YouTube Channel
Writer-director and comic enthusiast Kevin Smith has written comics before. Of particular note is his amazing run on Green Arrow that started with “Quiver.” He’s knocked out some stuff for Batman as well but now he’s being tapped to help out with bringing the Star Wars universe to the world of Marvel’s Earth-616. That’s the main Marvel continuity we’re talking about. That’s a pretty big deal and not just some alternate reality stuff we’re talking.
The crossover is part of a celebration for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars that kicks off in 2027. Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles, will be a five issue, monthly run that will reportedly feature “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes see the events of A New Hope unfold on Earth and before their very eyes after a reality-shattering spell.” Kevin Smith is extremely excited about the project. He mentions wishing to see something like this happen when he was younger. In his own words, “So when the opportunity arose to actually tell that story, nobody had to Force my hand! I’m ecstatic to be writing Hope Assembles for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars! Many thanks to Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm for trusting me to fly the Falcon and the Quinjet!”
Plot details are scarce at the moment, but there are things we can gleam from the cover art. Among the Marvel heroes featured are Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, Professor X, Wolverine, and the Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, the villains include Doctor Doom, Ultron, Thanos, and Venom… if he’s on the dark side this time around that is. It’s a roster of heavy hitters that when combined with Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin, could prove taxing for the Rebels and their Marvel allies.
The comic crossover begins in January and runs through May. Let’s hope that Kevin Smith cooks up something that lives up to the legacy that classic Star Wars still carries.
