Marvel Comics will bring its two flagship Star Wars comics to an end in September 2024, as Star Wars and Star Wars: Darth Vader both conclude with their respective 50th issues. These finales will pave the way for the next phase of Marvel's Star Wars roadmap, one the publisher teases "will take readers to a different era of the galaxy, far, far away."
Star Wars #50 is written by Charles Soule and drawn by Madibek Musabekov, with a cover by Leinil Yu. Interestingly, while the series has largely been set during the year between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, issue #50 will be framed as a flashback story, as Jedi Master Luke Skywalker relates a tale of the Rebellion to his pupil, Ben Solo. Marvel teases that this story will reference multiple eras of the Star Wars franchise.
Star Wars #50 will be released on September 11.
Darth Vader #50 is written by Greg Pak and drawn by Raffaele Ienco, with a cover by Leinil Yu. This series is also set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, with issue #50 wrapping up the feud between Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Having amassed incredible power in the form of the Schism Imperial, Vader is finally ready to destroy the man he hates most in all the galaxy. Obviously, he won't succeed here, but this finale should add new context to the interaction between Vader and Palpatine in Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 will be released on September 18. Both issues will also feature variant covers by Giuseppe Camuncoli that form a connecting montage image.
The question now is what comes next after these two finale issues. No doubt there are new Star Wars comics in the works to replace these monthly series, but when in the Star Wars timeline will they be set? To date, the bulk of Marvel's Star Wars output has focused on three periods - post-A New Hope, post-Empire Strikes Back and the High Republic era. Now that the Sequel Trilogy has been completed, will Marvel be free to move ahead into the months and years after Return of the Jedi? Will they pivot to the Prequel Trilogy era? Or will they focus on exploring other untapped portions of the Star Wars timeline, like the Old Republic or the time after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker?
Marvel promises that more details will follow "in the weeks ahead." With San Diego Comic-Con right around the corner, it seems a safe bet we'll learn more at the show.
Cast your vote in our poll to let us know what you want to see next from the Star Wars, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
In other comic book news, we've got an exclusive preview of the TMNT 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration special, and we break down the epic ending to the X-Men's Krakoan era.
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