In Rogue One, Disney and Lucasfilm revealed the story behind perhaps the most important story point in the original Star Wars film, A New Hope: hHow the Rebel forces discovered the one weakness in the planet-destroying Death Star, and why such a vulnerability existed in the first place. It was a question fans had pondered for years, with most chalking it up to a simple convenience of plot. So when the question was answered in a genuinely emotional and epic manner in the franchise’s first “anthology film,” it was only natural that Star Wars fans would then wonder how the news that the heroes who helped them defeat the Empire were slaughtered in the course of their mission would impact the Rebel soldiers who acted on the information.
RELATED: Star Wars: The Last Jedi – First Order Vehicles Revealed
However, the fact that the films were shot and released decades apart, combined with the unfortunate passing of Carrie Fisher in 2016, means the odds of fans seeing how Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker and the rest of Star Wars’ iconic cast dealt with Jyn Erso and her team’s sacrifice in a future film are pretty slim.
That’s where Marvel Comics steps in.
Since their inception, the current Star Wars comics have presented in-canon stories that fill the gaps between the various films, with the flagship title in particular tackling the question of “What happened when…?” Now, incoming writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca will tell the story of what happened when Leia, Luke and others learned exactly what happened in order for the Rebel Alliance to receive the Death Star plans, blueprints which proved crucial to slowing, and eventually stopping the Empire’s reign of terror over a galaxy far, far away.
In a recent interview with CBR, Gillen explained how and why he and Larocca will be fleshing out this particular moment in Star Wars history.
“Because the run has more of a military tone than [previous writer] Jason [Aaron]’s run I thought the best way to start that was by coming off the back of Rogue One which was more of a war movie take on the Star Wars universe,” Gillen said, explaining why he’s actually planning the take the series further back in time from the era it’s been exploring. “We’re kind of starting with a smaller story explicitly integrating with and exposing the New Hope characters to everything that happened in Rogue One. We’re going to the post apocalyptic wasteland that was left after the Empire blew a hole in Jedha and removed one of the holiest sites there. That’s great for all of our characters.
“Through that we get people like Luke discovering everything that allowed him to get into a position to destroy the Death Star,” Gillen continued. “He finds out about Jyn Erso and all the people who sacrificed their lives to give him the chance to be a hero. As you can imagine, that’s going to hit Luke hard.”
“When I saw Rogue One I immediately thought, ‘I wonder what Luke makes of all this? I wonder what Leia makes of it?’ Now I’m in a position where I get to write that,” Gillen added with a laugh. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Kieron Gillen reunites with his Darth Vader partner, artist Salvador Larroca, for Marvel Comics’ Star Wars #38, in stores this November.