New ‘Star Wars’ Series Retcons ‘The Force Awakens’

Star Wars is going back in time once again, this time to do some quick retcons on the origins of Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley).

The Walt Disney Company is currently in need of some big financial gains, given that it can’t rely on Disney World to bring in the bulk of its income forever. Among its major IP assets, things have not been as smooth as they once were. Pixar managed to make over a billion dollars with Inside Out 2, but it can no longer rely on Disney Pictures, Indiana Jones, or the Marvel Cinematic like it once could.

Deadpool & Wolverine is likely to make a crazy amount of money when it is released later this week and taps into the immense power of nostalgia for Hugh Jackman, but Disney can’t rely on that alone. Accordingly, Lucasfilm currently has at least two different Star Wars movies in active development that it hopes can repeat the box office grosses of its Daisy Ridley-starring sequel trilogy.

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The first movie will star Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin and essentially replace the fourth season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, while the second will bring back Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker and follow her mission to build a New Jedi Order, which conveniently also happens to be the working title of the film. Accordingly, Disney is beginning a rollout of new Star Wars material that will fill out Rey’s backstory and most likely tie up and retcon any loose ends that have amassed since The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

Marvel Comics has announced the release of Star Wars: Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising, a new four-part series that will chronicle the events immediately after Return of the Jedi (1983) and depict the titular battle, which has been established as the last stand of the Empire before its complete collapse prior to The Force Awakens (2015). It is also an opportunity to delve into Rey’s still-murky origins, as she was first introduced as a scavenger on the planet Jakku, mining the remnants of crashed ships for parts.

Star Wars: Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising is written by Alex Segura, illustrated by Leonard Kirk, Stefano Raffaele, and Jethro Morales, with cover art by Phil Noto. The official synopsis for the first issue reads:

In the wake of the Battle of Endor, can Luke, Leia and the nascent New Republic stave off an unexpected— and deadly— new threat? A Defiant Imperial takes center stage—and goes on the offensive against the New Republic! Leia makes a startling discovery in the forests of Endor! Who are the mysterious and deadly Acolytes of the Beyond?! What is the new villain’s connection to Darth Vader?

Alex Segura says of the maxi-series, “It’s an unbelievable honor to be able to tell this lost story of Star Wars history, alongside so many amazing artists, in the pages of the three BATTLE OF JAKKU limited series. Our story will be epic in scope—involving all the major characters you love, plus some new, exciting additions to the mythos.”

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He continues, “We’ll not only give readers a front-row seat to the final battle of the Galactic Civil War—we’ll reframe the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and introduce a new, menacing threat that will keep our heroes guessing. The goal for all of us is to turn up the volume and make sure this adventure stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the other stories of the era. As the Empire collapses, a new darkness arises!”

It will be interesting to see how this new Star Wars series lands with the fandom, given its resistance to altering existing canon or introducing new characters. But, at the very least, we’ll get some more backstory on Rey.

Which new Star Wars movie are you looking forward to the most?