Marvel / Disney Star Wars Comics

            There’s a lot to be said about Disney’s acquisition of George Lucas’ Star Wars. The first thing I remember, which many friends and fellow fans lamented, was the Disney Death Star shot that obliterated the original Star Wars Expanded Universe content, prior to the release of The Force Awakens in 2015. The Expanded Universe took the beloved Star Wars franchise and added over 30 years of additional content to enjoy, in the form of novels, comics, video games and animation. But all of that was ended when Disney took over, and this left many fans feeling betrayed.

            I had recently heard from a friend that Marvel has since been put in charge of creating all-new Star Wars stories in comic book form for Disney’s own Star Wars Expanded Universe, and I was very apprehensive. But having been reassured by my friend that they were good fun, I gave them a shot. He wasn’t wrong, if I’m honest. Marvel has worked closely with the Star Wars story group to really make all of the films in the franchise feel further fleshed out and lived in. And what’s more, they tied all of the films together in very meaningful ways that truly expand on the worldbuilding of the galaxy. One example has characters from the original trilogy traveling to planets from both the prequel and sequel films, as if to reinforce the idea that all of the films, regardless of the decade there were made, all belong to the same shared space. Another such example is the inclusion of aliens from the prequels popping in stories surrounding events from the originals, or sequel film aliens showing up now in prequel-related stories. 

             The idea of that larger shared space is very successful in this regard, and the characters and stories that bridge the films together are handled with care and finesse. Arguably, I enjoy far more what Marvel is doing with the Star Wars property than Disney itself.