Though Marvel and Star Wars both fall under the same corporate umbrella now, and both are perennially popular, parent company Disney has never tried to cross-pollinate the universes…because that wouldn’t make much sense. Leave such a harebrained idea to the anything-goes world of comic books. Marvel, who publishes a lot of Star Wars books these days (though not all of them) is making it happen with a five-issue miniseries in which the worlds of Star Wars and Marvel superheroes merge.
Star Wars not only takes place in a distant galaxy, but the distant past (the opening sentence to every film establishes this). The Marvel Universe tends to take place in the present, with characters using current-model phones and appliances. You likely have a lot of questions about how this “works” and so do I. But the only one who knows the answers is veteran Hollywood writer and unapologetic fanboy Kevin Smith, who cooked up the script that this landmark mini will be using. Artist David Marquez will be creating the art, as well as the main covers for the five issues that, when put together, create a mural.
“Back in the early ‘80s, I had a subscription to Marvel’s Star Wars comics,” says Smith. “And as fun as it was to follow the continuing 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!”
“With Hope Assembles, Kevin Smith has written a true love letter to Star Wars, to Marvel, and to comics in general,” says Michael Siglain, creative director at Lucasfilm Publishing. “And combined with David Marquez’s incredible art, we’ll see the heroes and villains of Star Wars team up and battle with the heroes and villains of Earth-616. Hope Assembles is exciting, unpredictable, and heartfelt. In short, it’s comics at its best, and we can’t wait for readers to experience both franchises as never before.”
The first issue of what’s being called Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles will be released this January, with the rest of the issues coming out monthly until Star Wars’ official 50th birthday in May.
