Ten years ago, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story won plaudits as one of the best Star Wars movies of all time. It was far more than that, though, simply because Star Wars is so much more than just a film franchise. The movie’s release was accompanied by a prequel novel, James Luceno’s Catalyst, and a novelization by Alexander Freed. It was one of the most remarkable, carefully-coordinated transmedia initiatives of all time, because these three stories wove together perfectly. There had never been anything quite like it, even in Star Wars.
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There was, however, one surprising exception. Marvel Comics announced additional comics to tie in to Rogue One; a three-issue prelude series and an additional standalone to be published at a later date. That initial announcement was light on details, with the publisher choosing not to reveal anything about the creative teams or the plot. They were dropped a month later; retailer subscriptions were canceled, and Amazon sent out messages confirming pre-orders could not be fulfilled.
We’ve Never Learned Why the Rogue One Tie-Ins Were Canceled
Marvel regained the rights to Star Wars comics in 2015, and the franchise had become one of the publisher’s biggest successes. Star Wars: Shattered Empire #1 – the first official comic book tie-in to The Force Awakens – was the best-selling comic in September 2015, and Star Wars books continued to flourish in the sales chart through 2016, helped by epic crossover events such as “Vader Down.” All that means the Rogue One tie-in cancellations were big news, a massive missed opportunity for Marvel.
We’ve never learned exactly why this happened. But it’s worth noting that the transmedia event surrounding Rogue One has only become more impressive with time, as we’ve learned about the behind-the-scenes drama that shaped the film itself. Tony Gilroy recently hinted how much he redesigned Rogue One when he took over from Gareth Edwards; “Rogue [One] it was like, ‘There’s a corpse on the table, what are you gonna do? Could someone come in and save it?’” Given the apparent scale of Gilroy’s changes, it’s frankly a miracle Luceno’s tie-in and Freed’s novelization worked so well. Perhaps those Marvel tie-ins were just too much.
We’re Finally Getting the Rogue One Tie-Ins We’ve Been Waiting For
Now, a full decade later, we’re finally getting the tie-ins we longed for all those years ago. Marvel may have sat out the film’s actual release, but the publisher is celebrating the film’s ten-year anniversary with official tie-ins to Rogue One and Andor. They include:
- Rogue One – Cassian Andor #1 (on sale May 6), by Benjamin Percy and Luke Ross
- Rogue One – Jyn Erso #1 (on sale June 3), by Ethan Sacks and Ramon Rosanos
- Rogue One – Saw Gerrera #1 (on sale in July), by Marc Bernardin and Gabriel Guzman
- Rogue One – Guardians of the Whills #1 (releasing August), by Stephanie Phillips and Kieran McKeown
- Rogue One – Darth Vader #1 (releasing September), by Chris Condon and Luke Ross
These will all serve as official preludes to the main movie, helping show how the characters got into the places we saw in Rogue One. Let’s face it, this is the kind of publishing initiative Marvel would have looked to do a decade ago, and it does feel as though it’s about time; but it comes after the world of Rogue One has been fleshed out substantially through yet more tie-ins and Gilroy’s two-season Andor.
All that means the stakes are higher than ever before for Marvel’s new comics. Rogue One‘s reputation has only improved over time because of the great TV shows and other tie-ins that surround it, and Marvel now has a chance to contribute to that. Recent Marvel Star Wars books haven’t always handled continuity all that well, so this is very much a test for the publisher; if these books can land well, they will only further continue to build the film’s mystique.
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