New York Comic Con yielded all sorts of exciting news last week, especially in the world of Star Wars publishing. We learned about a new top secret something or other tentatively called “Project Luminous” that will team up an A-list set of new canon authors, like Claudia Gray and Charles Soule. We got new information about the upcoming Kylo Ren comic, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren (also penned by Soule). There were new children’s books and other fun stuff announced on the Lucasfilm Publishing panel, but one thing that really caught our attention was the announcement of a new manga all about our favorite Jedi master, Luke Skywalker.
VIZ Media will release Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker in early 2020. The manga will be an adaptation of Ken Liu’s anthology novel, Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi The Legends of Luke Skywalker, which was released in the lead-up to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Liu’s canon junior novel featured a number of myths and tall tales about the legendary Luke Skywalker, told by the children of Canto Bight—which mirrors the ending of The Last Jedi. The manga will be adapted by a number of “renowned manga luminaries” including Akira Himekawa, Haruichi, Akira Fukaya, Takashi Kisaki and Subaru.
Announcement: Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker, releases early 2020! New manga featuring art from Akira Himekawa (@AkiraHimekawa), Haruichi (@haruichithm), Akira Fukaya, Takashi Kisaki, and Subaru (@01091006). pic.twitter.com/hCAeCSolxs
— VIZ @ Seis Manos ? (@VIZMedia) October 5, 2019
Himekawa is the creator of the bestselling Legends of Zelda manga series, and Haruichi is the creator of Leia Organa: Ordeal of the Princess, a Star Wars Line Webcomic based on Claudia Gray’s novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan.
Here’s what says Brad Woods, Chief Marketing Officer of VIZ Media, had to say about Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker in an official press release announcing the manga:
“With the global appeal of the Star Wars franchise, this publishing release offers an exciting new way to enjoy the brand from the perspective of master manga storytellers. Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker features the dynamic vision and bold art styles of some of the manga genre’s most celebrated creators and artists. We invite readers to discover this release early next year.”
Disney Lucasfilm Press
We don’t know too much about the manga outside of this information, but we’re excited to see such a wonderful canon novel get a re-imagining like this. If it’s anything like Haruichi’s adaptation of Leia’s story, then it will be a fun new way to explore a familiar story in a new format. Releasing it as a manga also opens the door to new audiences, who might be more inclined to read an illustrated story by Japanese creatives than a standard tie-in novel.
We’ll certainly have our eyes peeled for more information about this one. No current details on the exact release date—the VIZ Media press release only says “early 2020″—but we’ll be ready and waiting for Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker makes its way to shelves.
Featured Image: VIZ Media
