The first Tweet to me following the announcement that Disney will purchase Lucasfilm was, “Does this mean that Star Wars comics will come back to Marvel?”
Marvel had the original license to print Star Wars comics from 1977 to 1986, and had a huge run of stories that you can find in collected trade today. Twenty years ago, LucasFilm licensed Star Wars to Dark Horse Comics, and the two have had a very good relationship when it comes the property. Dark Horse Comics has responded to the announcement in the only way it can.
“Dark Horse and LucasFilm have a strong partnership which spans over 20 years, and has produced multiple characters and story lines which are now part of the Star Wars lore,” Richardson said. “‘Star Wars’ will be with us for the near future. Obviously, this deal changes the landscape, so we’ll all have to see what it means for the future.”
As I replied back to the Twitter follower, if the move happens, and it very well could, don’t expect it to happen over night. Long ago, BOOM! Studios had the license to publish Disney books, and did a pretty darn good job of it. When Disney bought Marvel, it took several years (three comes to mind) for all of the titles to revert back to Marvel. Realistically, the same thing could happen here, and though it would be a bold move by Disney and Marvel, and will upset some, it is a sound business choice to do it. For now, keep reading your Star Wars comics from Dark Horse, and enjoy the ride – things are about to get real interesting.
3 Comments
WOW!!, Dark Horse has done and is doing some amazing stories with the Star Wars characters. Who knows maybe Disney will let Marvel Movie Studios create the last the trilogy films.
I dont give Dark Horse 3 years.
More like 18-24 months.
Sadly I’m going to have to agree with Andreas. Especially if Disney is wanting to push forward on film, getting the comics back is going to happen sooner rather than later.