Marvel’s ‘Star Wars’ Comic Makers Talk About New Series – The Hollywood Reporter

As announced on Saturday, Marvel Entertainment will be visiting a galaxy far, far away in early 2015, with the launch of three new comic book and solo series for Darth Vader and Princess Leia joining a main title called, simply, Star wars.
Created by some of Marvel’s most popular creators – Star wars just Jason aaron and Jean Cassaday, while Star Wars: Darth Vader is the work of Kieron gillen and Salvador Larroca, and Star Wars: Princess Leia is of Mark Waid and Terry dodson – all three series take place between the original 1977 film and the follow-up to the 1980s, The Empire Strikes Back.
The main title begins “just weeks after the Death Star was destroyed,” Aaron said. Hollywood journalist. “We see the Rebels trying to capitalize on their advantage, trying to capitalize on their big win and really kick the Empire out while they’re down. The first issue opens with our main cast of characters featuring a daring raid on an Imperial weapons factory. As you can imagine, things are not going exactly as planned.
For Waid’s Princess leia, the aftermath of the Battle of the Death Star gives the heroine “time to reflect on all that she has lost”, explained the writer. “Rather than choosing to remain the princess of nothing, she decides to find a way to preserve the memory and culture of her race, and that is our story.” (Waid said his goal with the series was to demonstrate that Carrie FisherThe character of is “easily the most layered, complex and versatile character of the set.” Star wars mythos. This same destruction of the Death Star has an entirely different impact on Darth Vader, turning him into what Gillen has described as “the sole survivor of the greatest military disaster of all time” inside the Galactic Empire.
“I see my race continue until the start of Empire, “he explained.” He bridges the gap and explores all the real emotional flesh in there. To state the obvious, we never see Dark realizing that the X-wing pilot who was strong in the force is in. said his son. This is a huge thing. Let Dark really begin. Empire apparently in a stronger position in the Empire than in [the first movie] is also revealing.
While the series is related to some extent, each of the three titles will have a different tone and ambition. “If you read all the books, you will be able to see how they interact, where they intersect and so on. But at the same time, I think you can read any of them on your own and get the full story, ”Aaron said. Cassaday compares the main title to the original film: “I don’t see this as an addition to the main stories of Star wars and Empire, my approach is more like it’s gospel – like it’s an “in-between” movie, ”he said. “We connect the dots which are the first two films. It’s going to be hot, and we have a lot of respect for that. “
For Gillen, the dark Vador The series will expand people’s idea of who the Sith Lord is. “Vader is obviously the main antagonist of Jason and John’s [series], “he explained.” To them, Vader is that indomitable and inescapable force of nature. A solo version of the overlay in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In my book? That’s what he does on Tuesday.
The writer, which follows his critically acclaimed book Young Avengers and The wicked + the divine (the latter of which is still ongoing, released by Image Comics) with this series, said it was taking outside influences from some surprising sources: The Godfather and Card castle. “The latter is particularly useful,” said Gillen. “There we have a powerful member of an organization who is under a sleight of hand and turns to tactics he might have previously avoided to achieve his goals, even against the organization he serves. in an abstract way. The conflict between trying to achieve his own goals and trying to achieve the goals of his official missions is at the heart of the book – as well as his efforts to create his own secret power structure inside and outside of it. -Here, ”he said of the title. “Rebels are far from Darth Vader’s only problems.”
Aaron said that one of the joys of writing the new series was that “I could take it all back to the original movies.” He continued, “As I write this, I really feel like my Star wars, you know. As the Star wars I grew up with it. The Star wars it made me a fan when I was little. I love that when entering this series all you really need to have seen is Star Wars: A New Hope. That’s it. If you’ve seen this movie, you can jump right into this series and be good to go. “
His artist agrees. “The interval between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was especially important to my imagination. Much of what I have done in my career and my work dates back to this time. The fact that Empire ended with a cliff hanger that blew me away! I had to wait three years to find out what happened to Han Solo, and when you’re a little kid it’s forever, ”Cassaday said, adding that the core Star wars The series stars Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, a group he has described as “the crew you want to see”.
“When I agreed to do the book, that was a major concern,” he said.
Everyone who works on all three series is longtime fans of the franchise. Gillen described the original trilogy as one of his “ur texts”[s] to my experience of fantasy fiction – and fiction in general ”, while Dodson, artist on the Princess leia The series admitted their first Kenner toy was “embarrassingly C-3P0 because it was the only one left. [in the store, but] I made it up with my next two purchases of Chewbacca and Stormtrooper! “Cassady puts her link with the series more bluntly:”Star wars is in my DNA, ”he said.
STORY Disney transfers ‘Star Wars’ comic book license to Marvel
Waid, however, has the best story on his early fandom in the series. “When he first came out, I was in high school,” he explained. “It was Saturday night, and since it was the ritual, my friends and I were trying to decide which movie to see. They had almost all made up their minds before they even came to get me, but I was fiercely opposed to their wrong choice and argued long and hard and convincingly, with full conviction, that they were crazy, that I knew what really looked great and what we really should see that night. Out of sheer tenacity and strength of will, I conquered them. And so it was that I, self-proclaimed King of the Geeks, led my people to a screening of You light up my life while the rest of the world saw Star wars. I haven’t been forgiven since.
Marvel’s new Star wars launch of the line in January 2015 with Star wars, followed in February by Star Wars: Darth Vader and number five Star Wars: Princess Leia, who debuts in March. All three titles will be available through comic book stores and digitally.