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It’s the end of an era, literally: Marvel has announced that the 50th issues of both its current Star Wars and Darth Vader comic book series will bring both series to a close, with the comic book side of the franchise departing the period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as a result. But as to what comes next… well, that’s something else entirely.

The 50th issue of Star Wars, by Charles Soule and Maribek Musabekov will, technically, already have departed that particular point in the Star Wars timeline; according to Marvel, it’ll be set at a point where Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is training the young Ben Solo — a period that Soule has already written, in his 2019 miniseries Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren — with Skywalker sharing tales of the Rebel Alliance to his young Padawan. The issue will be released September 11.

A week later, Greg Pal and Raffaele Ienco provide Star Wars: Darth Vader #50, in which the Dark Lord of the Sith turns against his master and takes on the might of the Emperor himself. It’s not going to go well — after all, this story is set before Return of the Jedi, remember — but what will it mean for characters like Sabé, Sly Moore, and the Schism Imperial, all of whom haven’t been seen in the franchise after this period?

What’s arguably even more exciting for Star Wars fans is Marvel’s official teaser for what comes after the end of these series. “Later this year, Marvel Comics will take readers to a different era of the galaxy far, far away,” the publisher’s PR reads. But… which era? The last such time jump readers saw for the primary Star Wars title took it from between the original movie and The Empire Strokes Back to between Empire and Return of the Jedi — so should fans be expecting the title to move to just after Return of the Jedi… and if so, does that mean we’ll get original stories featuring characters introduced in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ shows? Or is Marvel planning something more extreme? After all, 2025 does mark the 10th anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens… what if we’re going to get comics set between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi?

Marvel promises more information on what’s to come “in the coming weeks,” which allows for the very real possibility of an announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in a month’s time… let’s spend the time before then wondering just when in the galaxy we’re going next… and who’ll be responsible as writers and artists.

It is, after all, a big galaxy out there.

Not done with Star Wars yet? Dive into the films and TV shows with our Star Wars watch order, or debate on which was the best with our ranked list of the best (and worst) Star Wars movies. And since it's now upon us, follow along with Popverse's coverage of The Acolyte.