Dark Horse Has The Star Wars License Back…Sort Of
For the longest time, in the comic book industry, “Dark Horse” and “Star Wars” were synonymous with each other. They created a rich and extensive library of alternate-canon storylines from a galaxy far far away. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked — I mean, Disney got involved.
Since Disney now owned both Star Wars and Marvel it made business sense to have one produce the other. So Star Wars was no longer offered for license and Marvel became the exclusive publisher of SW-related content, relaunching everything under the official new canon set by Disney. That went on for a while, but lately the Mouse’s attitude seems to be shifting.
Other publishers like IDW and Boom have been allowed to adapt Disney properties…in fact, IDW has produced Star Wars titles in the last two years, mainly under the all-ages “Star Wars Adventures” brand. Which brings us to the situation with Dark Horse…it’s similar.
DH has been granted the license to make Star Wars stuff again, but it won’t be the same stuff. It will be the all-ages Adventures content, which is making some wonder if IDW lost the license for these particular stories and DH picked it up.
“Dark Horse Comics has a rich history publishing Star Wars comics and graphic novels,” says Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson. “Star Wars is near and dear to all of our hearts and I’ve been a fan since I saw the original film 19 times during its original release. I am thrilled that Dark Horse will once again bring new stories to life from this incredible galaxy and I’m not exaggerating when I say we can’t wait to bring these new adventures to fans of every age.”
The more “adult” (though not in the HBO sense) Star Wars titles will remain with Marvel for now.