Marvel Comics – A Walk With The Mouse

Via InsideTheMagic.net

Han Solo and Chewbacca are one of the most popular duos in cinema history. Starring in multiple movies across the Star Wars franchise, the characters will next appear in a brand new series from Marvel Comics, simply called “Han Solo & Chewbacca”.

Harrison Ford first brought Han Solo into the pop culture lexicon in George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977) alongside Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa), and his on-screen sidekick, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca). Han Solo and Chewbacca soon rose to fan-favorite status with their following appearances as part of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983), making up Lucas’ original trilogy.

star wars millennium falcon cockpit with (left to right) chewbacca, c-3po, princess leia, and han solo

The Indiana Jones actor was back as Han Solo with Mayhew sharing the role of the loveable Wookiee with Joonas Suotamo and Ian Whyte for Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015) — the first movie in Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s Star Wars sequel trilogy. As well as returning cast members Hamill and Fisher, Ford and Mayhew were also joined by newcomers Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Ben Solo AKA Kylo Ren), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), and John Boyega (Finn).

With cameo appearances in the remainder of the sequel trilogy, it would be Alden Ehrenreich who delivered Han Solo’s origin story for the galaxy far, far away. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) had an underwhelming performance at the box office despite the movie’s stellar cast — which included Emilia Clarke (Qi’ra), Paul Bettany (Dryden Vos), Donald Glover (Lando Calrissian), and Woody Harrelson (Tobias Beckett) — and its setup of future events involving Maul (Ray Park) and his crime syndicate, Crimson Dawn.

Despite rumors that a new Han Solo project featuring 79-year-old Harrison Ford is in the works for the Star Wars universe, nothing involving the famous duo has been confirmed. Until now.

StarWars.com has revealed that a new series featuring the Millennium Falcon pilots will release next year:

Han Solo & Chewbacca, a new series from Marvel, will launch in March 2022, StarWars.com can exclusively reveal. Written by Marc Guggenheim and pencilled by David Messina, the monthly comic follows Han and Chewie a few years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, as the duo teams up with Greedo — in better times, apparently — on a heist for Jabba the Hutt.

Speaking to the writer, Marc Guggenheim, it is confirmed how this new Star Wars project will tackle the cinematic space smuggler and how he has always bordered the line between cynic and hopeless romantic:

You might think that that inner conflict didn’t present itself until the end of Episode IV, when Han returns to help Luke destroy the Death Star, but it’s already on full display at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which, of course, predates Episode IV. So one of the things I’ve been playing with is the tension between the “hopeless romantic” Han reveals himself to be at the end of Solo and the hard-bitten cynic we meet in Episode IV. To be very reductive about it, I’ve searched for opportunities to force Han to choose between his lesser and greater angels.

Guggenheim continues to tease what’s to come from the series:

In the first issue, Jabba the Hutt gives them what should be an easy job: Steal something and bring it back to him. But the job turns out to be anything but easy as everything that can go wrong promptly does.

He also comments on how he plans to leave each issue with a cliffhanger and that the last page of issue one “will have people talking”. If there’s one thing that Star Wars is good at is getting people talking. We have seen time and time again, Lucasfilm’s leading franchise draw polarizing opinions such as with the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017) from director Rian Johnson.

This will be the first-ever Han Solo and Chewbacca series and promises to expand on the “animosity” between Solo and Greedo, as well as introduce new characters such as a Marshal — a “corporate equivalent of a bounty hunter”. Star Wars has continued to explore the wider galaxy surrounding its movies and TV shows with comic series’ like “War of the Bounty Hunters” and “Darth Vader”.

In terms of live-action, next to debut in the Star Wars saga is The Book of Boba Fett from showrunner Robert Rodriguez and starring Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett) and Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand).

Marvel creators John Romita Jr. and Joe Quesada wanted to pay tribute to the victims and the heroes of 9/11 in a special way.

So they did just that–with a brand-new comics story, starring Spider-Man, Captain America, and heroes across the nation.

Artist John Romita Jr. is responsible for the simple, yet powerful imagery in the story, titled The Four Fives. Writer Joe Quesada worked alongside Romita to tell a story of remembrance, honor, and sorrow, though with more bell tolls than words.

“When we first started speaking to John [Romita] about what he wanted to work on upon his return to Marvel, crafting a story honoring the 20th anniversary of 9/11 was very important to him,” says Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski.

Cebulski says the team surrounding the new comic story is comprised of people from the Big Apple.

“As New Yorkers who were all here that fateful day,” he explained, “we’re proud to present The Four Fives and do our part to help memorialize the men and women who sacrificed their lives two decades ago in a way only our comics can.”

And Cebulski is right; the comic strip captures the heartbreak of that day, coupled with the pride our nation felt in those who served as the courageous first responders who braved the two burning towers to help save the lives of people they didn’t even know.

Because of their heroism, many of those first responders became victims of the malicious attacks as well; 412 in all.

The lives of 343 firefighters were lost.

The lives of 37 Port Authority officers were lost.

The lives of 23 New York Police Department officers were lost.

The lives of 8 EMTs and paramedics were lost.

The lives of 3 New York State Court officers were lost.

The life of 1 New York Fire Patrolman was lost.

In all, 75 firehouses mourned the loss of one or more of its team on September 11.

“This was the right thing to do,” says Marvel comic artist John Romita Jr. “The firefighters, police, military, medical first responders, and the fallen are the true superheroes.”

“When C.B. asked if I’d be interested in writing a story commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I initially turned it down. I just didn’t think I had it in me to do a deep dive and relive that day again, nor an idea that could do it justice,” reflects Marvel comic artist Joe Quesada. “But, as soon as we hung up, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the souls lost.”

Quesada couldn’t stop thinking about that day, and then he had a thought that would bring the entire story of the comic to fruition.

“I thought about the yearly tolling of the Bell of Hope at Trinity Church,” he explains. “I called C.B. back to tell him that I had an idea.”

You can read the powerful story here on Marvel’s website.

Tag: Marvel Comics

‘Star Wars’ Officially Announces New Han Solo and Chewbacca Comics Series

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