Have you ever wondered what happened after “Return of the Jedi” and before “The Force Awakens?” » In the “Star Wars” galaxy, this is a particularly interesting period, little explored on screen. Yes, “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ ventured into this territory a bitbut what was happening with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa during this transitional period in the galaxy? We’re about to get some answers.

Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm have announced a relaunch of the mainline “Star Wars” comic book later this year. The revived series will be written by Alex Segura (“The Black Ghost”), with art by Phil Noto (“Star Wars: Poe Dameron”). Above all, the series will resume after the events of “Return of the Jedi, which concluded the original “Star Wars” trilogy in 1983. What exactly does this mean for readers? The synopsis for the new series reads:

An epic new adventure begins for Luke, Leia and Han following Return of the Jedi! New York Times bestselling author Alex Segura launches the next bold era of Star Wars. Luke Skywalker must defend the New Republic against a band of bloodthirsty mercenaries! Han Solo investigates a deadly underworld mystery and saves a surprising ally! Leia Organa must deal with a new alliance opposed to the goals of the New Republic!

This is important because the “New Republic” era on the official “Star Wars” timeline takes place right after “Age of Rebellion”, which is covered in the original trilogy. This is the period following the fall of Palpatine and the collapse of the Empire. Yet, as we’ve seen, it’s not as if the Empire is slipping quietly into the night. The remnants of the organization continued to attempt to fight for power. As such, it’s a rich area to explore, particularly through the eyes of the saga’s main heroes. Talk with StarWars.comSegura had this to say about it:

“Now that we have brought the Galactic Civil War to an end with the Battle of Jakku, we can enter a new, uncharted era, with new threats, enemies and galactic mysteries for our beloved heroes to tackle with, mixing the familiar with the new and the shocking, these stories will be full of the action and character moments that Star Wars fans have come to expect, with twists and turns on the galaxy and landscape we know, with the aim of ensuring that the people can get started with it easily and whatever the problem, we can’t wait.

Segura mentions the Battle of Jakku, which was a key battle that truly marked the end of the Empire and the beginning of the New Republic. There are remnants of the battle on Jakku in “The Force Awakens”, but the battle itself was not explored on screen. The video game “Star Wars Battlefront” included The Battle for Jakkubut the battle had major implications for our main heroes as they then had to go into rebuilding mode rather than fighting mode.

A lot of “Star Wars” fans stick to the movies and/or TV shows, so while the New Republic era has been explored in media like Chuck Wendig’s “Star Wars: Aftermath” trilogy of novelsThis is a big blind spot for a number of people. This could make this comic series a good place to jump aboard the Expanded Universe train, especially for those with a fondness for Luke, Leia, and/or Han. Speaking further about the book, Noto added this:

“I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since A New Hope and have been fortunate over the last decade to fulfill my childhood dream of drawing Star Wars as a career… Alex is an incredible writer and has come up with some great plot ideas and new characters for this series and I’m excited to have the opportunity to bring them to life on the page. It’s also exciting to draw the classic characters of the post-Le era. Return of the Jedi because there is no film version or of them. I can create new looks for them while also having references to 80s actors to help sell the look of this timeline.

“Star Wars” #1 hits shelves on May 7, 2025. Check out the main cover and variant cover for the first issue for yourself below.