Straight out of C2E2, a Star Wars: Rogue One mini comic series is coming from Marvel in October.
During a panel at C2E2, the comic convention taking place in Chicago this weekend, it was announced that Marvel will be releasing a 3-issue mini comic series for Star Wars: Rogue One (via Comicbook). The first issue will hit store shelves in October, two months before the first live action, canon, standalone Star Wars film’s premiere.
Interesting... #RogueOne comic in October. Maybe we'll have a trailer by then :P pic.twitter.com/qcLWKFdX3L
— Jordan Maison (@JordanMaison) March 18, 2016
That’s all that was revealed, leaving lots of room for speculation. The first thing that comes to mind is a backstory, perhaps one leading right up to the events of the film. Star Wars films have a tradition of planting the audience right in the middle of the action with the opening scene, and Rogue One will likely be no different. The comic series could serve as a prologue to flesh that rapid fire opening off, sort of how the last episode of the 2D animated Clone Wars series was a prologue to Revenge of the Sith.
What I’m hoping for from the series is a story about the main character, a rebel soldier played by Felicity Jones in the film. We could learn more about her personal history, and how she comes to join the Rebel Alliance. Alternatively, or even at the same time, we could see how she becomes a part of the group that is supposed to steal the Death Star plans in the movie.
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Rogue One takes place at an interesting time in the Star Wars canon. It takes place only a short time before the events of A New Hope, and probably a couple of years following Star Wars Rebels. In Star Wars Rebels, which starts five years before the Battle of Yavin in Episode IV, the rebel alliance doesn’t exist yet. By season two, a rebel fleet has been organized, but it hasn’t received the proper name of the Rebel Alliance yet; and as far as we know, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma aren’t yet involved.
A lot has to happen between Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One, and the comic series could be the way in which Disney and Lucasfilm fill fans in about what’s happened to the rebels in that interim. In its third season, coming this fall, Star Wars Rebels may explain how the Rebel Alliance finally comes to fruition; but unless it does it very early on, the comic series might provide some new information on how the Rebel Alliance formed, and how it got to where it is by the time of the events of Rogue One. In addition to providing some character background, then, the Rogue One comic series may contain valuable exposition to get fans in the right frame of mind, chronologically, for the state of the Rebellion and the galaxy in the spinoff movie.
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Have any thoughts on this new comic series? Does it make you more excited for the movie? Sound off in the comments below, and look for Rogue One #1 in October.