Two of the most popular and iconic intellectual properties are uniting once more, and not just to celebrate the fact that Disney bought them.
Star Wars and Marvel have been collaborating on comics for decades, and it will continue in 2027 as part of the former’s 50th anniversary with a special run of books marking a massive crossover between franchises called Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles.
The series will be drawn by Uncanny X-Men’s David Marquez, but writing it is none other than Kevin Smith (of Silent Bob fame), which is admittedly the first time I’m hearing that he’s been a rather accomplished comic book writer for quite some time.
“Back in the early ‘80s, I had a subscription to Marvel’s Star Wars comics,” Smith said as part of the announcement. “And as fun as it was to follow the adventures of Luke, Leia and Han, I always wished that Spider-Man or Doctor Doom could cross over into their cinematic saga. So when the opportunity arose to actually tell that story, nobody had to Force my hand! I’m ecstatic to be writing Hope Assembles for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars! Many thanks to Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm for trusting me to fly the Falcon and the Quinjet!”
It’s hard not to get excited about this sort of collab by just looking at the released key art. Doctor Doom, Ultron, Thanos, and Venom side by side with Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker next to Spider-Man and Captain America, and the list goes on. Iconic heroes and villains everywhere.
“Marvel and Star Wars’ histories have been intertwined for 50 years and continue to set the standard for storytelling across the world… and across the media landscape,” said Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief Stephen Wacker. “Lifelong lovers of both Star Wars and Marvel have a lot to look forward to as we finally bring the characters together in ways fans have been dreaming about for decades!”
I definitely don’t buy or read comics like I used to, but I’m pretty pumped to check this out, if only for the fact that I’m excited to see how they bring all of these characters together, especially since the Star Wars movies exist in Marvel’s canon as is. We’ll see more when the series kicks off in January 2027.
