Disney has spent years building an entertainment empire filled with some of the biggest franchises in the world. Now, two of its most recognizable properties are finally colliding in the same story.
Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles will bring the events of A New Hope into Marvel’s Earth-616, creating the first official in-universe crossover between Star Wars and Marvel.
The upcoming five-issue comic book series, written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by David Marquez, will see Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca caught up in a version of the original 1977 adventure that also includes some of Marvel’s biggest heroes.
Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, Thor, Wolverine, Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Guardians of the Galaxy are among the characters appearing, while Darth Vader finds himself joined by villains including Doctor Doom, Thanos, and Ultron.
The idea is undeniably huge, particularly because Star Wars and Marvel have existed under the Disney umbrella for years. Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, bringing Star Wars into the same corporate family as Marvel.
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But that raises an obvious question: could this eventually happen outside the comic books?
For now, there is no announced Marvel/Star Wars movie or television crossover. Hope Assembles is a comic-book event, and there is no indication that Disney is preparing to bring these characters together in live action.
Animation, however, could theoretically offer a much easier route.
Star Wars already has a long history of experimenting with animation, while Marvel has used animated projects to explore alternate realities and versions of its characters. A crossover could therefore exist without requiring Disney to solve the enormous logistical and continuity problems that would come with putting live-action versions of Luke Skywalker, Spider-Man, and the Avengers together.
And live action is where things get particularly complicated. Bringing Star Wars into the Marvel Cinematic Universe would immediately raise questions about canon, the lore, the Multiverse, and where exactly the galaxy far, far away fits into Marvel’s enormous continuity.
For now, Disney appears happy to let the two universes collide on the page. But once you’ve put Luke Skywalker and Spider-Man in the same story, it’s difficult not to wonder where the Mouse House could take this next.
What do you think of Marvel and Star Wars finally crossing over? Could Hope Assembles become the beginning of something much bigger? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
