The Walt Disney Company has announced that Lucasfilm Ltd. and Marvel Entertainment have joined together to publish Star Wars comics and graphic novels beginning in 2015.
Marvel Comics published the first Star Wars comic book – STAR WARS #1 – in March 1977, and published the series for nine years. Dark Horse Comics took over the publishing license in 1991.
In 2013, Dark Horse released The Star Wars #1, which was an adaptation of George Lucas’ original screenplay for the film. That comic currently is one of the top-selling Star Wars comics of all time.
In a statement, Carol Roeder, director of Lucasfilm franshise publishing, Disney Publishing Worldwide said, “Dark Horse Comics published exceptional Star Wars comics for over 20 years, and we will always be grateful for their enormous contributions to the mythos, and the terrific partnership that we had. In 2015, the cosmic adventures of Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca will make the lightspeed jump back to Marvel, to begin a new age of adventures within the Star Wars universe.”
The next installment in the Star Wars film franchise – Star Wars: Episode VII – is also scheduled for release in 2015.
