The official Star Wars website has announced the main Marvel Comics series will be relaunched with writer Alex Segura (Star Wars: Battle of Jakku) and artist Phil Noto (the Poe Dameron series) at the helm this May. Picking up a year after Return of the Jedi, and the Empire’s final defeat at the Battle of Jakku, the comic will follow the original trilogy’s heroes as they battle pirates and thieves seeking power during the early days of the New Republic (four years before the events of The Mandalorian, Skeleton Crew et al.)

AN EPIC NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS FOR LUKE, LEIA AND HAN IN THE WAKE OF RETURN OF THE JEDI!
– New York Times best-selling author ALEX SEGURA launches the bold next era of STAR WARS.
– LUKE SKYWALKER must defend the NEW REPUBLIC from a bloodthirsty gang of mercenaries!
– HAN SOLO investigates a deadly underworld mystery — and saves a surprising ally!
– LEIA ORGANA must grapple with a new alliance opposed to the goals of the New Republic!
Segura states, “It’s a huge honor — and massive responsibility — to steer the Star Wars flagship, and I couldn’t ask for a better collaborator than Phil Noto, who is just a masterful artist, and a Star Wars visionary.” He continues saying, “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. 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.”
Noto comments, “I’ve been a giant Star Wars fan since A New Hope and have been lucky enough in the past decade to realize my childhood dream of drawing Star Wars as a job. Alex is an amazing writer and has come up with some great storylines and new characters for this series and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to bring them to life on the page! It’s also been exciting to draw the classic characters in the post-Return of the Jedi era because there’s no existing film or TV versions of them [not counting Luke’s appearances on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett]. I get to create new looks for them while also having reference of the actors from the ’80s to help sell the look of this timeline.”
The new Star Wars #1 will be released digitally and in comic book stores on May 7, shortly after Star Wars Day (May 4), and before the 48th anniversary of the original film’s release on May 25. It will have a main cover by Noto, and at least one variant by Leinil Francis Yu, featuring Han and Beilert Valance:

Marvel will launch more ongoing series in the meantime, like Charles Soule & Luke Ross‘s Kylo Ren-starring Legacy of Vader (beginning February 5), and Marc Guggenheim & Madibek Musabekov‘s Phantom Menace prequel Jedi Knights (March 5). Those creators will join Segura & Noto for May 3’s Free Comic Book Day issue, which will feature new stories designed as jumping on points for each comic. The company will also celebrate a decade since Jason Aaron and the late John Cassaday first relaunched its Star Wars books, with the one-shot A New Legacy, featuring stories by Aaron, Soule, Kieron Gillen, and more; it will be released next week, on January 29.
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