The next entry in the (nearly) annual comic fright fest from Cavan Scott and an all-star cast of creatives was announced for 2025: Tales from the Nightlands, a three-issue series covering three different eras dealing with Ryloth’s boogeyman, the Nightlander! And while it’s yet to get an official reveal, we’ll update this once it does as we’ll likely finally get a cover, October 2025 will feature the release of a new young adult novel, set after The Rise of Skywalker (!) starring Finn and Jannah (!!): The Last Order by Kwame Mbalia (UPDATE Cover and new notes from Mbalia added!). Additional details for both below!
Since 2018, Cavan Scott’s been behind an all-ages blast of spooky fun horror, starting with the Vader’s Castle series for IDW which ended in 2021, followed by Dark Horse’s reigns of horror with 2022’s Tales from the Rancor Pit and 2023’s Tales from the Death Star (last year they rereleased all of Vader’s Castle together in a beautiful hardcover). Starting September 3, Tales from the Nightlands will take us to Ryloth for three issues of scares as characters deal with the Nightlander, designed by the legendary Iain McCaig (he brought us Darth Maul!), with art from returning favorites like Soo Lee, Robert Hack, and Vincenzo Riccardi, while horror master Francesco Francavilla is behind the series’ covers. Here’s the official description of Tales from the Nightlands:
On the planet Ryloth, Twi’leks speak in hushed tones about the Nightlands, the spectral realm where their spirits retire after death. According to legend, there are certain nights when the veil between that haunted place and the land of the living is so thin that one can communicate with the other side. Enter: The Nightlander, a Star Wars boogeyman who seeks to possess a powerful, living host and bring despair to the galaxy!
Each issue features one of three generations of galactic heroes facing off against the malevolent Nightlander. Issue #1 sees young Padawan Anakin Skywalker visiting Ryloth with Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, attempting to summon the ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn for a final goodbye. But when Anakin makes contact with the Nightlands, it isn’t his old friend who answers! Issue #2 features Luke & Leia facing this horror, and Issue #3 pits Rey & Finn against a dark power unlike any in the galaxy.
I love the idea of each issue dealing with a new pair of heroes across various generations, with my most anticipated being Rey and Finn (as hey, maybe it’s also post-The Rise of Skywalker and its part of her training him???!), followed by a young Anakin and Obi-Wan since I love they’d try to chat with Qui-Gon, and lastly Luke and Leia, though if it’s in their time training before she decides to stop, I’d be far more excited. Regardless, I’m glad we’re getting more frights and can’t wait to see what Scott and the art teams have in store with the Nightlander, which we can see in McCaig’s concept art variant (above) is already rather unnerving to look at!
But speaking of post-TRoS and Finn, how about the reveal Kwame Mbalia’s upcoming release is all about Finn and Jannah after Episode IX?! Are the floodgates about to start opening for the sequel era and beyond now they have the Starfighter film with Ryan Gosling, set 5 years after TRoS, about to head into production (and maybe a rough idea of Rey’s “New Jedi Order” threads)? I don’t really care what allows this era to start getting its due with publishing, let the releases just start coming! Here’s the description of The Last Order:
New York Times best-selling author Kwame Mbalia makes his Star Wars debut with this exciting YA novel!
Following the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the Resistance rescues a ship full of young passengers who had been kidnapped by the First Order. As Finn and Jannah set out to find the First Order officer responsible before he can endanger any more children, the two former stormtroopers must wrestle with their own complicated pasts as soldiers of the oppressive regime.
Take a deep dive into the pasts of popular characters Finn and Jannah in this richly-drawn, action-packed story that fans have been asking for.
I am those fans and I have been asking and hoping! Mbalia had his Star Wars debut technically with the short “Fortuna Favors the Bold” in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, a fun one about Bib Fortuna’s lack of enjoyment in his role and his plans to do something about it. Finn’s Force-sensitivity being withheld from the film, but not the novelization, plus Jannah’s own potential Force-sensitivity combined with her leading a group of First Order stormtroopers to rebel, makes for a rich canvas for Mbalia to explore. Both of their histories could prove interesting, as I’d love if we’d get some definitive answers about their pasts and families, while I’ll be interested to see what other sequel trilogy era characters will appear, if we learn a little about the state of the galaxy, and if Lando Calrissian is joining them in any form given his offer to Jannah at the end of TRoS.
UPDATED 5/18/25: In the interview with Mbalia over at Collider, he didn’t rule out familiar faces showing up (I’d highly bet Rey!), how the flowers on the cover are actually important to the story, that he almost tweeted out the story idea, and that we’ll meet more stormtroopers of the First Order. Really exciting stuff and what a gorgeous cover created by designer Jason Wojtowicz and artist Kim Thompson. END UPDATE.
I am sat and hungry for The Last Order, which is out October 21, 2025 aka a nice late birthday treat for me!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.