Now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, they are continuing to make moves that shore them up for the release of the upcoming film trilogy. Because licensing is now up with Dark Horse, an announcement has been made that Star Wars comics are now moving to Marvel Comics (which Disney also owns). 2014 will be Star Wars’ last year with Dark Horse Comics.
It’s the end of an era, to be certain. Among many fan favorites, Dark Horse was responsible for the Dark Empire arc, which saw the introduction of Anakin Solo and Luke’s brief turn to the Dark Side, where he was saved by his sister, Leia.
With no more Star Wars books scheduled for release with Del Rey, it seems likely that an announcement will come from them by the end of 2014 as well. The companies that have put so much love and care into pursuing and creating the Expanded Universe will no longer be involved in the process of creating new entertainment for Star Wars fans.
Will Disney disregard the continuity of these books and comics entirely? It seems likely, given that the new trilogy is rumored to take place during the exact time period that many of these adventures took up. Which means that along with moving their license, Disney is effectively killing off an a few encyclopedias worth of characters, worlds, and events.
The real question becomes: Is there anything they will bother to hold onto? The early Sith tales or Revan’s journey in The Knights of the Old Republic? Will they keep anything tied into the prequels or ignore those as well? After this move, we will begin to see how everything unfolds under Disney’s rule.
