A galaxy far, far away is finally heading to the “World Outside Your Window.” Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm Publishing have announced Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles, the first crossover between the two franchises.
The five-issue limited series will launch in January 2027 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Star Wars. Pop culture icon Kevin Smith will write the series, with Uncanny X-Men (2024) artist David Marquez providing the artwork.
Marvel and Star Wars Heroes Join Forces
Hope Assembles will bring heroes and villains from both universes into one story for the first time. The Avengers, Spider-Man, and other Marvel heroes will join Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca.
The villains will also cross universes. Doctor Doom will align himself with Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire, creating a threat that connects Marvel’s Earth-616 with the galaxy of Star Wars.
David Marquez will also provide a five-part connecting cover for the series. Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles #1 will arrive in comic book shops in January 2027.
A New Hope Comes to Earth-616
The original Star Wars film changed popular culture when it arrived in 1977. Its influence spread through movies, music, television, and even the pages of Marvel Comics.
That influence creates an unusual challenge for the crossover. Marvel has long presented its universe as the “World Outside Your Window,” which means the Star Wars franchise already exists as fiction within Earth-616.
Rather than avoiding that contradiction, Hope Assembles makes it part of the story. A reality-shattering spell causes Marvel’s heroes to see the events of A New Hope unfold on Earth before their eyes.
Marvel and Star Wars Celebrate 50 Years Together
The crossover marks a new chapter in Marvel’s decades-long connection to Star Wars. Marvel began publishing Star Wars comics in 1977, the same year A New Hope reached theaters.
Five decades later, the characters themselves will finally meet on the page. Lucasfilm Publishing Creative Director Michael Siglain said the timing makes the crossover especially appropriate.
“On April 12th, 1977, Marvel Comics introduced readers to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars #1. Now, 50 years later, it’s only fitting that the Star Wars galaxy collides with the Marvel Universe to celebrate the 50th anniversary of A New Hope,” Siglain reflects. “With Hope Assembles, Kevin Smith has written a true love letter to Star Wars, to Marvel, and to comics in general. And combined with David Marquez’s incredible art, we’ll see the heroes and villains of Star Wars team-up and battle with the heroes and villains of Earth-616.”
Marvel Promises a Long-Awaited Collision
Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Stephen Wacker also pointed to the long relationship between the two franchises. He said the crossover gives longtime fans something they have imagined for decades.
“Marvel and Star Wars’ histories have been intertwined for 50 years and continue to set the standard for storytelling across the world… and across the media landscape,” Wacker adds. “Lifelong lovers of both Star Wars and Marvel have a lot to look forward to as we finally bring the characters together in ways fans have been dreaming about for decades!”
Kevin Smith Gets His Dream Crossover
Aside from being known for his films and one of the worst written runs on Green Arrow, Smith has his own long history with both Marvel and Star Wars. He said he was already imagining this type of crossover while reading Marvel’s Star Wars comics in the early 1980s.
“Back in the early ‘80s, I had a subscription to Marvel’s Star Wars comics. And as fun as it was to follow the adventures of Luke, Leia and Han, I always wished that Spider-Man or Doctor Doom could cross over into their cinematic saga,” Smith shares. “So when the opportunity arose to actually tell that story, nobody had to Force my hand! I’m ecstatic to be writing Hope Assembles for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars! Many thanks to Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm for trusting me to fly the Falcon and the Quinjet!”
A Crossover Years in the Making
C.B. Cebulski, outgoing Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief and Consulting Editor on Hope Assembles, said Marvel has wanted to explore the concept for years. The company regained the Star Wars comics license more than a decade ago, but the creative team waited for the right opportunity.
“My time at Marvel has been filled with many ‘dream come true’ moments but this Hope Assembles crossover is truly one of our proudest. It’s an idea we’ve wanted to explore since getting the Star Wars license back over a decade ago, but we knew we’d have to wait with the patience of a Jedi to make it happen,” Cebulski adds. “The 50th Anniversary of A New Hope has finally given us the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring these two universes together, in this incredible story being told by Kevin Smith and David Marquez.”
Hope Assembles Arrives in 2027
Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles will celebrate 50 years of Star Wars by bringing two of entertainment’s biggest fictional universes together. The five-part event launches with Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles #1 at comic book shops in January 2027.
For the first time, Marvel’s heroes and villains will stand alongside and against the characters of Star Wars. The crossover turns a decades-old fan fantasy into an official Marvel and Lucasfilm story.
