Marvel’s main Star Wars title is ending – for now

Marvel’s flagship Star Wars title is ending in November with issue #75. io9 reached out to Marvel after seeing the solicitation, and they confirmed it – but said we’ll learn more next month. Below, two of the covers:

A relaunch is inevitable, but will they go the expected route of continuing within the original trilogy – the current series is approaching Empire Strikes Back – or jump to a totally different part of the timeline?

Meanwhile, StarWars.com has the previews for the Poe Dameron and General Hux issues of Age of Resistance, which are out later this month.

Chuck Wendig fired by Marvel

Only a week after announcing a new project at NYCC, Marvel has fired writer Chuck Wendig, the author first revealed on Twitter. Shadow of Vader #1-3 will go ahead as planned, but he’s off the last two issues, as well as another Star Wars comic that hasn’t been announced yet.

The firing was over his Twitter feed, Wendig says (and verified by sources within Marvel, per Vulture.) “I was too vulgar, too political,” he tells them.

Neither trait is particularly new for Wendig’s Twitter feed – he’s always been vulgar, and political, and unapologetic, particularly when butting heads with the more obstinate parts of fandom. What has changed in the past week or so is that he’s attracted the attention of some of Twitter’s more high-profile right-wing personalities, resulting in a fresh wave of trolling. That puts this more in the range of a situation like James Gunn’s – and the implications are that this is yet another example of Marvel (though the comic side and the movie side are very much removed from each other) caving to right-wing pressure. Granted, Wendig has been getting the short end of the troll stick since Aftermath – something he brings up for context – but the higher-profile attacks have brought a much more relentless wave.

The firing is 100% Marvel – neither Lucasfilm nor Del Rey were involved, something Wendig affirmed in a follow-up tweet thread. Love or hate Wendig or his work, this is still a disturbing trend.

Marvel’s Poe ongoing ends in September

Marvel’s Poe Dameron ongoing is due to end with issue #31 in September, per that month’s solicitations.

“In this final chapter of the POE DAMERON series, we see what may be BLACK SQUADRON’S last mission, as they desperately attempt to find allies for GENERAL LEIA ORGANA’S decimated RESISTANCE,” the blurb says. So perhaps we’ll see what the “missing” pilots from The Force Awakens were up to during the events of The Last Jedi?

“This is about the story ending in a nice, tidy place based on everything else happening” in Star Wars, writer Charles Soule tweeted.

Continue reading “Marvel’s Poe ongoing ends in September”

Marvel is taking on Beckett this summer

Woody Harrelson’s Tobia Beckett is getting a Marvel one-shot. Solicited for August, Beckett will be written by Gary Duggan (Chewbacca) with art by Will Sliney, Edgar Salazar and Marc Laming. The solicitation promises to reveal more about Enfys Nest and why they are “so dead set on taking him down once and for all.”

Solo is tracking for a $130-150M opening weekend – below the previous tracking, but still not a number to scoff at.

→ In addition to the cover story, Variety also has an interview with Donald Glover.

→ Emilia Clarke was on Jimmy Fallon, where she shows that her Shyriiwook is NOT up to spec (there’s also a new clip!), talks about ditching a screening for the royal wedding (on TV), and played charades.

First look at the Captain Phasma comic mini

One of the few plotty Journey to The Last Jedi tie-ins that we know about, Marvel’s Captain Phasma comic, released a few preview pages today. They’re textless, but isn’t that always how it goes? The mini is written by Kelly Thompson and illustrated by Marco Checchetto (Who also did most of Shattered Empire, the mini which had a similar spot during Journey to The Force Awakens.)

The comic will begin in September, which also sees the release of Deliah S. Dawson’s novel Phasma, which will cover (at least) some of the character’s backstory.

In other comic news, IDW Publishing has revealed the creative teams for their all-ages Star Wars Adventures series. Here’s hoping these breed some top-quality humor, because I still miss Dark Horse’s Star Wars Tales.

Marvel takes on Mace Windu in Jedi of the Republic mini

Marvel’s next mini stars Mace Windu, and it’s got a very chunky, Dark Horse-style title: Jedi of the Republic — Mace Windu. (Most of Marvel’s titles have been very simple, and heavily dominated by character names, so this is something of a throwback.) Written by Matt Owens and illustrated by Denys Cowan, it’s set in the early Clone Wars period. The cover is by Jesus Saiz.

Look for the five-issue miniseries to begin in August.

The Last Jedi rumor (and news) roundup: Phasma, walkers and planets, oh my!

Time to catch up with all The Last Jedi rumors that have been flying about recently. Our first batch is from Making Star Wars, which hints at Captain Phasma’s new weapon (check out a fan art interpretation) and a new form of walker. Plus, Jason Ward is tweeting about the look of things in general: “The Last Jedi looks like the Star Wars prequels took “Game of Thrones” on a date and they had a baby.” This does fit with several things we saw out and about throughout the filming, both in Dubrovnik and the U.K.

Meanwhile, Star Wars News Net is reporting about several classic planets making a return in VIII and beyond, as well as how they may tie into the plot. As usual, I recommend reading this with a healthy dose of skepticism, but there are some intriguing things there.

→ Marvel is plotting something for November. WHATEVER COULD IT BE? (Does Threepio get another new arm? Another set of parents for Poe? Stay tuned.)

→ There’s also something going around about a guy from some British pop group having a cameo. Spoiler: It’s Gary Barlow, who also apparently hosts a talent show on the BBC. He’s older than me so it’s not a N’SYNC situation, at least.

→ In officially-sanctioned vagueness, there’s Laura Dern talking about how she can’t even tell her kids who she’s playing.