Doctor Aphra's story continues beyond Return of the Jedi

Doctor Aphra's activities during the original Star Wars trilogy suggested she lived beyond the events of Return of the Jedi. But nothing was official until the release of the recent Star Wars comic The Battle of Jakku—Republic Under Siege #1.

The comic confirmed that Aphra was still around in the early days of the New Republic. And this time, she's helping Luke Skywalker by doing what she does best: offering her archeological expertise whether it's wanted or not.

Longtime Aphra fans have been hoping to see more of her after her latest series ended after 40 issues earlier this year. And while another series hasn't been announced (yet), it's clear Marvel is interested in keeping her around -- even as the current run of mainline comics jumps into the New Republic era.

Aphra made her Star Wars debut in 2015 in the original Darth Vader comic run and has since appeared across multiple stories in publishing. What many fans are waiting for now is to see her on the small screen -- an even bigger possibility now that a character from her comics, Krrsantan, has made the jump to live-action in The Book of Boba Fett.

Now that most Disney+ Star Wars shows seem to be stuck in the post-Return of the Jedi era, there's no reason she couldn't at least make an appearance in a pre-existing show. It really depends on the direction the larger creative team wants to take after shows like Andor and The Mandalorian come to an end.

Whether she makes it from page to screen or not, it's good to see Aphra alive and (mostly) well. Her story offers such a unique and refreshing perspective on the galaxy that we could never have too much of her, no matter how many more comic series she gets in the future.