Ever wonder what happened after “Return of the Jedi” and before “The Force Awakens?” In the “Star Wars” galaxy, it’s a particularly interesting period, one that hasn’t been explored on screen all that much. Yes, “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ has ventured into this territory a bit, but what was going on with the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa during this transitional period in the galaxy? We’re about to get some answers.

Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm have announced a relaunch of the main “Star Wars” comic for later this year. The relaunched series will be written by Alex Segura (“The Black Ghost”), with artwork by Phil Noto (“Star Wars: Poe Dameron”). Crucially, the series will pick up after the events of “Return of the Jedi, which concluded the original “Star Wars” trilogy in 1983. What does that mean for readers, exactly? The synopsis for the new series reads as follows:

An epic new adventure begins for Luke, Leia, and Han in the wake of Return of the Jedi! New York Times best-selling author Alex Segura launches the bold next era of Star Wars. Luke Skywalker must defend the New Republic from a bloodthirsty gang of mercenaries! Han Solo investigates a deadly underworld mystery — and saves a surprising ally! Leia Organa must grapple with a new alliance opposed to the goals of the New Republic!

This is important because the “New Republic” era on the official “Star Wars” timeline takes place right after the “Age of Rebellion,” which is covered in the original trilogy. This is the period after Palpatine’s downfall and after the Empire crumbled. Yet, as we’ve seen, it’s not as though the Empire just went quietly into the night. The remnants of the organization continued to try and fight for power. As such, it’s a rich area to explore, particularly through the eyes of the saga’s core heroes. Speaking with StarWars.com, Segura had this to say about it:

“Now that we’ve put the period at the end of the Galactic Civil War with the Battle of Jakku, we can speed ahead into a new, uncharted era, with some new galactic threats, foes, and mysteries for our beloved heroes to grapple with, blending the familiar with the new and shocking. These stories will be packed with action and the character moments Star Wars fans have come to expect, featuring twists on the galaxy and landscape we know, with an eye toward making sure people can jump in easily and with any issue. We can’t wait.”

Segura mentions The Battle of Jakku, which was a key battle that truly marked the end of the Empire and the beginning of the New Republic. There are remnants of the battle on Jakku in “The Force Awakens,” but the battle itself wasn’t explored on screen. The video game “Star Wars Battlefront” did include The Battle of Jakku, but the battle had major implications for our core heroes as they then had to enter rebuilding mode, rather than fight mode.

A great many “Star Wars” fans stick to the movies and/or the TV shows, so even though the New Republic era has been explored in media like Chuck Wendig’s “Star Wars: Aftermath” novel trilogy, it’s a big blindspot for quite a few people. That could make this comic book series a good place to jump on board the expanded universe train, particularly for those who have a fondness for Luke, Leia, and/or Han. Speaking further about the book, Noto had this to add:

“I’ve been a giant Star Wars fan since A New Hope and have been lucky enough in the past decade to realize my childhood dream of drawing Star Wars as a job…Alex is an amazing writer and has come up with some great storylines and new characters for this series and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to bring them to life on the page! It’s also been exciting to draw the classic characters in the post-Return of the Jedi era because there’s no existing film or TV versions of them. I get to create new looks for them while also having reference of the actors from the ’80s to help sell the look of this timeline.”

“Star Wars” #1 hits shelves on May 7, 2025. Check out the main cover and the variant cover for the first issue for yourself below.