Disney has now launched their own “Shadows of the Empire” type story to cover the single year of history set between the 4th and 5th Star Wars episodes. This time it is limited to the comics, but it is hitting many of the same beats:
Han Solo in carbonite, Bounty Hunters chasing him down, Criminal Syndicates at war.
It is Qi’ra of Crimson Dawn, however, that assumes the role that Xizor played in the original “Shadows of the Empire”. Qi’ra was portrayed by Emilia Clarke in the 2018 film Solo, and it is fairly obvious we won’t see Emilia Clarke reprise that character on screen. “Solo” was a financial let down for Disney for a variety of reasons, and though some fans hoped for a sequel to that film, that ship has probably sailed. That isn’t to say that Disney won’t pick up any of the “Solo” plot threads on screen, after all a Lando TV show has been announced (though the status of the development for that show is currently unknown).
All of this is to say that Lucasfilm has decided to continue Qi’ra’s storyline in the comics.
Crimson Reign #1 sets the direction for the next five months of Star Wars comics. Like “War of the Bounty Hunters”, Marvel's four ongoing Star Wars series set between “Empire” and “Jedi” are tied up in a big crossover event which will conclude with a third arc entitled “The Hidden Empire” in the latter half of 2022.
The purpose of these crossovers are clear: readers will be pressured to purchase more comics and Marvel and Disney get to rack in the dough. The more creative purpose though is that the single year which exists between “Empire” and “Jedi” is a relatively short span of time in regards to the franchise's narrative. Afterall, one of the tentpole characters is quite literally frozen in time.
It is a tumultuous time for the Galaxy at large, the final year of Imperial rule. Palpatine is desperate to hold onto his power, and others are desperate to end him. Sure, The Rebellion is altruistic enough to want to restore the Old Republic, but other organizations have less noble goals. Some just would like a piece of the pie.
And as the galaxy turns and changes, one can’t help but notice that Star Wars comics will soon have to change as well. For seven years now Marvel has chronicled the goings-on in the galaxy betwixt the confines of the Original Star Wars trilogy. But this age of Marvel is probably heading to a close. At some point- maybe not next year or the year after, but at some point Marvel will have to move on and cover the time period between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens”. This is a much bigger playground- a larger chunk of galactic history (30 years for those counting) and Marvel’s main Star Wars line can probably live comfortably in that era for a very long time.
Yet, as Marvel continues its Shadows-of-the-Empire-esque experiment, I cannot come along for the ride. While I probably will read these escapades at some point, I will not continue to cover them week to week in blog form. Reviewing 34 issues of “War of the Bounty Hunters” was quite enough for me. As 2021 wraps up, this blog will change once again. Change is inevitable.
What will 2022 bring for this blog? I honestly have no idea. I had no idea that I would review 50 individual Star Wars comics in 2021 until it happened. None of us know what the future will bring, just as Disney is unsure of what it is doing with the Star Wars franchise.
Star Wars has never had a grand plan (even though many still evangelize that Lucas planned everything in advance). Star Wars is like everything else in life: you throw porridge on a wall and hope some bits stick.
As a wise sage once said "Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future."
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