No matter what your stance on the Star Wars sequels is, you have to admit that Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo) was a clear highlight of not just those movies, but the Skywalker Saga as a whole. Now, Lucasfilm and Marvel are planning to capitalize on that with Star Wars: Legacy of Vader.
After The Rise of Skywalker didn’t give him the greatest send-off (though he remained one of the movie’s strongest pieces), many fans have been asking for years for an exploration of his (short) tenure as the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Starting on February 5, 2025, a new ongoing comic book series penned by Star Wars veteran Charles Soule – one of the best writers currently working on the franchise – and drawn by Luke Ross will show us how Vader’s heir dealt with his complicated legacy as the nefarious First Order expanded across the galaxy.
The official announcement (via StarWars.com) also unveiled Derrick Chew’s cover for issue #1 and previewed some panels, just so fans know what to expect from the art and tone. You can find Chew’s fiery first cover below:
“When fans talk to me about my Star Wars work, two of my Marvel comic runs come up more than almost anything else: my 2017 run on Darth Vader with Giuseppe Camuncoli and my 2019 series The Rise of Kylo Ren with Will Sliney… I think both of those worked so well in part because they were set in parts of the Star Wars timeline full of unanswered questions about characters the audience really loves. This new series is not just a combination of those two books, but also a chance to explore an extremely rich section of the timeline that’s almost entirely open,” admitted Soule, who’s clearly aware of all the praise his fantastic Darth Vader run has received over the years (you should really check it out if you haven’t already).
This reveal arrives right after a small tease at New York Comic-Con 2024, where Lucasfilm Publishing unveiled all sorts of new Star Wars stories coming to the pages soon. The most exciting announcements included a Dark Horse-published Poe Dameron mini-series, new High Republic Adventures installments, a YA novel that follows Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar before the events of The Acolyte, and a new Marvel series focusing on the Jedi Order before the events of The Phantom Menace.
The Legacy of Vader, Jedi Knights, and Battle of Jakku series mark altogether the start of a new era for Star Wars publishing, one that seemingly won’t focus on a single age of the Star Wars galaxy. Instead, it’ll explore the richness of the long-lived fictional universe through different characters and storylines as Lucasfilm’s live-action output (like The Mandalorian & Grogu) prepares to do the same.
