Marvel Unveils ‘Star Wars: Han Solo’ Comic Book Series 

Writer Marjorie Liu calls the five-part series “sort of like Han Solo in ‘Cannonball Run’ in space.”

Marvel Entertainment continues to build its Star Wars comic book empire — no pun intended — with the announcement of a five-part Han Solo series to launch this summer, revealing a previously untold story about the character coming to terms with being part of the Rebel Alliance.

Written by Monstress co-creator Marjorie Liu with art by Mark Brooks, the inspiration for the series — which takes place between the original Star Wars and its 1980 sequel, The Empire Strikes Back — is period-appropriate, but not a Star Wars movie, Liu revealed.

“I started thinking about this old movie from the ‘80s that I really enjoyed, which is Cannonball Run. I thought, okay, what if this is sort of like Han Solo in Cannonball Run in space?” Liu toldEntertainment Weekly in an interview about the new series. “It finally came together in the story where there’s this infamous starship race. It’s the pilot dream race. Everyone wants to be in it, everyone dreams of winning it. The race is sort of a cover that will allow him to go on this mission for [Leia], but at the same time, even though the race isn’t a priority, it’s a real struggle for him because he knows he needs to focus, but he’s on the race of a lifetime.”

Solo won’t be… well, solo in the new series; his Millennium Falcon co-pilot Chewbacca will be along for the ride (Chewie, of course, already had his own Marvel comic book series last year), with Princess Leia also showing up. “I couldn’t not write Leia,” Liu admitted, calling the chance to write the two together “a bit of a dream come true.”

Star Wars: Han Solo launches in June.

Source: Marvel Unveils ‘Star Wars: Han Solo’ Comic Book Series – Hollywood Reporter