THE RISE OF KYLO REN - 7/23/2019

RISE OF KYLO REN - This is the Star Wars story we’ve all wanted to see since we saw Rey’s visions when she first touched Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber in The Force Awakens. It’s the story of Ben Solo being turned to the Dark Side and becoming Kylo Ren, as well as the tale of some of the most enigmatic and fascinating villains in all of Star Wars today - the Knights of Ren.

I can’t believe I’m writing this.

The story behind this project is fun, too, but it’s a bit early to reveal it - ain’t that always the way with Star Wars? I’ll talk about it eventually. The reaction to this project has been THROUGH THE ROOF, with a massive hit on Twitter and picked up on all the relevant media channels. I have, however, seen some questions about why a story this central is being done as a comic instead of, say, a film. I think Episode IX will answer some of that, but don’t discount the power of comics as a storytelling medium. Comics are pretty damn close to films, in many ways, particularly the visual scope. I love the power they have to convey ideas and story, and the unique storytelling tricks they provide (the magic of the gutter, the power of the page-turn cliffhanger, etc.) Telling this tale this way will let me go as huge as possible, just like I did on my Darth Vader series with Giuseppe Camuncoli and all the other Star Wars comics I’ve done. Anyway, to cut to the chase - Lucasfilm asked me to do it, I said yes IMMEDIATELY, and now I’m vibrating with the reality that I’m tasked with bringing such a vital part of the canon to life.

Much more to come on this, including artist details, etc. - but it’ll be here before you know it. The book will drop just before The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters in December, and will run through the early part of 2020.

(I have two other huge Star Wars things I’m working on at the moment too - the already-announced but still mysterious Project Luminous, and another very big story that’s taking a lot of my time right now. More on those soon - it won’t be long. Right now, though, I’m all about THE RISE OF KYLO REN.)

Questions, comments? Send me a note through the site here or on my twitter. See you at the temple, my young padawans!