Marvel obtains exclusive rights to Star Wars comics
In an expected yet somewhat still surprising move, Lucasfilm announced last week that beginning in 2015 allStar Wars comic books and graphic novels will be published by Marvel. For the past 20-plus years, Dark Horse Comics held the exclusive rights and published several well-received titles including adaptations of Timothy Zahn’s“Heir to the Empire” trilogy, “Star Wars: Infinities” and the recent “The Star Wars” which is an eight-issue mini series based on George Lucas’ original draft of would eventually become “Star Wars”.
This move is a bit of a double homecoming for Star Wars and Lucasfilm. Before Dark Horse assumed the license in 1991, Marvel held the rights for a nine-year stretch that began in 1977 with their film adaptation of the original Star Wars film. With Marvel and Lucasfilm both now owned by the Walt Disney Company, this makes a homecoming that makes sense as well. While no new titles have been announced yet by Marvel, you can bet one of their first projects will be bringing a comic adaptation of Star Wars: Episode VII to an eagerly awaiting fan base.
