Marvel Announces The Last Jedi Adaptation Starting in May

It is no surprise that movie adaptations do not sell as well as original stories in the pamphlet format.  This was not always the case as the original Star Wars movie adaptation was a huge hit for Marvel.  The first issue went back to print seven times in various formats in 1977 and 1978 alone.  I'm guessing Marvel has made more money off of Star Wars movie adaptations than all of the other Star Wars comics combined.  When you consider the number of times those original six issues have been published around the world, with new collections of these comics being published seemly yearly somewhere on the globe, it is easy to understand why Marvel still adapts these movies to comic form.  Those original issues were published 40 years ago and they are still being published today, making these Marvel's equivalent of DC's Watchmen and The Dark Knight collections.

Marvel will be publishing a 6-issue mini-series of The Last Jedi starting in May.  Like the Rogue One adaptation last year, this series will include scenes not shown in the movie.  This tradition goes back to the original Star Wars movie.  In the comics we see Luke Skywalker witness Princess Leia's Blockade Runner overtaken by a Star Destroyer over Tatooine, our first glimpse of Luke's friend Biggs Darklighter is in Anchorhead not the Massassi Temple on Yavin, and Jabba confronts Han Solo in Docking Bay 94 in Mos Eisley.  Deleted scenes were not just found in the Star Wars adaptation; The Empire Strikes Back told in Star Wars #39 - 44 also contains a few surprises.  The Wampa attack on the Rebel base on Hoth is found in the exquisitely drawn pages by Al Williamson, as is a much more intense training of Luke by Yoda and more dialogue from Boba Fett on the bridge of the Executor.  Those original comic versions of the movies contained these scenes because the comics were timed to be released to newsstands when movie goers hit the theaters, so Marvel did not know some of these scenes would end up on the cutting room floor.  This nostalgia by Star Wars fans for these cut scenes is why Marvel's intention to purposely include additional scenes in The Last Jedi adaptation is a good decision.  Star Wars fans not only love what is shown on the screen, but they love what did not make the cut just as much.

Please read the article Star Wars: The Last Jedi is getting a comic adaptation over at Entertainment Weekly for more information as well as an early glimpse of two covers that will adorn the first issue.