Kieron Gillen has announced, via his newsletter, his plans to leave the Star Wars series with issue #67, the ending to his next arc, “The Scourging of Shu-Torun.” Gillen took over the Star Wars series from original writer Jason Aaron in 2017, starting his run with issue #38, making this a 30-issue run. He seems to be done with the storytelling era between A New Hope/Empire Strikes Back, and I don’t blame him considering most of the comics have taken place during the timeframe and he’s only written series which fall within it. It’ll be sad to see him go, as he’s brought a fun new energy to the SW series, he’s been around since the very start with his first Vader series, and he created the wonder that is Doctor Aphra (my favorite character), but maybe he’ll be back, someway, somehow. Some other thoughts about the Star Wars series’ future below!
Here’s the relevant bit from his newsletter:
STAR WARS
I have three issues left to write in THE SCOURGING OF SHU-TORUN. That’s issue 67, the end of my story, and I’ll be off. No present plans to write anything else in Star Wars – I suspect I’ve said all I’ve wanted to about these characters in comics. At least in this period, anyway.
The current arc, “The Escape,” of which issue #59 is the most recent release, has been Gillen’s best yet, while the groundwork for his final arc, “The Scourging of Shu-Torun,” is already being laid. In a way, his final arc will conclude a storyline that began in 2015, when the Darth Vader series he was helming introduced us to Shu-Torun and saw Queen Trios come into power under Vader’s clenched glove. Trios returned in his first arc for Star Wars, “Ashes of Jedha,” where Trios looked to be joining the Rebellion, until she betrayed them in “Hope Dies,” but the jury is still out if she did it because she wanted to or because doing it meant keeping her people alive, something I’m sure we’ll find out before Gillen exits. I’m glad he’ll at least get to complete the story he wants and give an ending to Trios after he started her story, while at least Aphra continues on at an amazingly fun, enjoyable pace even after he exited that as well.
So what’s next for the Star Wars series? We might have a better idea in February when the solicitations for May’s comics come out, as issue #67 should likely drop then, and we’ll either get an announcement about his replacement and/or the series’ future around then too. Either way, we’ll know for sure in March, as June’s solicits will drop and there’s no avoiding what’s next then. UPDATE: April solicitations were released and only one issue of the series drops., #64, so it seems more likely #67 will come out in June. Since Gillen took over, I’ve been hoping his time on the series would signal its end when he left, especially considering he originally was talking about pushing the series’ story towards The Empire Strikes Back, but I seriously doubt that’ll be the case if he’s leaving at issue #67. We’ll probably get a new writer, hopefully a female one at that, and it’ll continue for a few more arcs, though I hope it doesn’t go any longer than #100. I’d actually like for them to end it here and begin the Star Wars series in a new era and focusing on a different cast, be it new ones or Sequel Trilogy characters, but I have no say in the matter so we’ll just have to wait and see.
As for where we’ll see Gillen next? I won’t be surprised if he returns to write another comic in the universe at some point, but honestly I’d rather his next work for the saga be a prose novel about Doctor Aphra, as he proved it could be quite a lot of fun in her segment of the From a Certain Point of View book, ” The Trigger.” Where would you like to see Gillen return? Comment below or tell us over on Twitter!
UPDATED: Kieron Gillen Retrospective
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Star Wars
Kieron Gillen — Ashes of Jedha (#38-43) / Arc Review by Chris | Mutiny at Mon Cala (#44-49) / Arc Review by Chris | Hope Dies (#50-55) / Arc Review by Chris | The Escape (#56-61)
Jason Aaron — Skywalker Strikes (#1-6) | Old Ben’s Journals | Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon (#8-12) | Rebel Jail (#16-19) | The Last Flight of the Harbinger (#21-25) | Yoda’s Secret War (#26-30) | Out Among the Stars (#33-37)
CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
Doctor Aphra
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) | Annual: #2
Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith
The Chosen One (#1-6) | The Dying Light (#7-10) | The Rule of Five (#11-12) | Burning Seas (#13-18) | Fortress Vader (#19-25) | Annual: #2
Age of Republic (miniseries)
Han Solo – Imperial Cadet (miniseries)