Star Wars and Marvel Comics have been synonymous for nearly five decades. In fact, the relationship goes back before Star Wars first hit theaters. The first issue of Marvel’s Star Wars adaptation hit spinner racks 6 weeks before George Lucas’ game-changing film premiered. And those Star Wars comics helped save Marvel from bankruptcy. Now, at long last, the Marvel Universe and the Star Wars galaxy will officially collide, as the publisher has announced Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles, the first official crossover between universes. And writing it is none other than avowed Star Wars/Marvel fanboy-for-life, filmmaker Kevin Smith. The Announcement came via Entertainment Weekly. You can check out the covers by Ultimate Spider-Man artist David Marquez, the series’ main artist, below in an Instagram post from Kevin Smith:
This five-part limited series will kick off in January of 2027, starting off Star Wars’ 50th anniversary in style. The iconic heroes from A New Hope will join Earth-616, which fans know as the “main” timeline of monthly Marvel comics, and meet iconic heroes like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, and many others. Meanwhile, Doctor Doom and several Marvel villains will join the forces of Darth Vader and the Empire. This is especially fitting, as Mark Hamill himself has said George Lucas drew inspiration for Darth Vader from Victor von Doom. Now, to paraphrase Vader in A New Hope, “They meet at last. The circle is now complete.” Below you can read Kevin Smith’s statement on this once-in-a-lifetime crossover event:
Back in the early ‘80s, I had a subscription to Marvel’s Star Wars comics. 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!
Hope Assembles Heroes sees the events of A New Hope unfold on Earth after a reality-shattering spell. Now, we don’t see Doctor Strange in the artwork, but this feels like his doing. However, we do indeed see the Scarlet Witch, and altering reality on a grand scale seems to be her thing, so keep an eye on that Wanda. The first issue will launch in January 2027, with each subsequent installment dropping every month. The fifth and final issue will arrive in May 2027, A New Hope’s official anniversary month.
This comic is historic for another reason. In 50 years of Star Wars, aside from very short, tongue-in-cheek comedy comics and short non-canon prose stories, there has never been a long-form Star Wars story that acknowledges Earth. Or even the Milky Way galaxy. They’ve kept things to that galaxy far, far away. So this is a first for that too. Kevin Smith has long been asked by fans when he’d write a Star Wars or Marvel movie, and always said no. It seems comic books are another thing entirely.
Outgoing Marvel EIC C. B. Cebulski said of the project, “It’s an idea we’ve wanted to explore since getting the Star Wars license back [from Dark Horse Comics] over a decade ago, but we knew we’d have to wait with the patience of a Jedi to make it happen. The 50th anniversary of A New Hope has finally given us the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring these two universes together.” Can Heroes Assemble live up to 50 years of nerd daydreams? We’ll find out in January, when Star Wars/Marvel: Heroes Assemble hits comic book shops.