Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker are ahead!
Just two months ago, the Skywalker Saga concluded with the release of Star Wars: Episode IX, a.k.a. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. When all was said and done, Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron not only made it out of the movie alive, but they were victorious against Emperor Palpatine and The First Order. But just because the Sith Lord was vanquished doesn’t mean our protagonists are done adventuring in a galaxy far, far away.
While the majority of Star Wars comic books have been published over at Marvel since 2015 (like Lucasfilm, the comic book empire also falls under the Disney umbrella), IDW Publishing has churned out its fair share of Star Wars titles recently, chief among them Star Wars Adventures. That series is being relaunched in May with Nick Brokenshire illustrating and co-writing alongside Michael Moreci, and each issue will be packed two stories.
According to the solicitation provided by Comiclist, the first story will follow Rey, Finn and Poe as they continue fighting the First Order, while the second story will star IG-88, the bounty hunter droid briefly seen in The Empire Strikes Back and not to be confused with IG-11 from The Mandalorian. While IG-88 has his fair share of fans (particularly from when the Expanded Universe was still running), the fact that this comic book series marks our first time venturing past the events of The Rise of Skywalker is a big deal.
Similar to how there were still remnants of the Empire to deal with following Return of the Jedi, even with Palpatine’s massive fleet being destroyed at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, The First Order hasn’t been entirely wiped away. So The Resistance’s job isn’t done yet, and Rey, Finn and Poe will be on the front lines fighting to vanquish what’s left of their enemies.
Given the confusion surrounding what the future holds in store for the Star Wars film franchise, it was unclear if any other kinds of Star Wars media would be allowed to explore this universe post-The Rise of Skywalker. I suspect that since Star Wars Adventures is chronicling the immediate aftermath of the final Skywalker Saga movie, Lucasfilm was game to let IDW take control of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron’s next exploits, as opposed to telling a story that takes place 5-10 years down the line, or even longer.
If such a comic book series set later in the timeline were to be given the green light, I’m guessing that Marvel would handle its publication. Regardless, at least now Star Wars fans have a way to follow along with the next stage of Rey, Finn and Poe’s lives. When we last saw them in The Rise of Skywalker, they were celebrating their victory over The First Order, and Rey closed out the movie by burying Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa’s lights on Tatooine and taking on ‘Skywalker’ as her last name.
As for if we’ll ever see Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac reprise their respective characters again, it is way too soon to make that determination. The Skywalker Saga just ended, and with future movies looking to explore new corners of this continually-growing universe, let’s wait at least a decade before even speculating about if Rey, Finn and Poe will grace the silver screen again.
Officially speaking, the only Star Wars movies that are currently in development are the trilogy being helmed by The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson and one movie that Marvel’s Kevin Feige will produce. That said, rumor has it that the next movies will be set approximately 400 years before the Skywalker Saga, i.e. during the High Republic era.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on the Star Wars franchise, but for now, look through our 2020 release schedule to plan your trips to the theater accordingly.
