The New Star Wars Sequel's Name, Plot & How It Could Fix A Huge Problem

Attention, Star Wars fans — a new comic book series set in the galaxy far, far away is coming! What's more, it's not just any story, but one that might bridge an important gap in the franchise's history. "Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku" will explore the events between the original trilogy and "Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Force Awakens." The story covers the titular Battle of Jakku, which marks the Galactic Empire's conclusive defeat at the hands of the New Republic. This is an excellent thing because the franchise can hopefully finally establish what it has avoided so far outside of video games, novels, and the like: the Empire's total fall and the rise of the First Order.  

The Empire is a might like no other, as far as Star Wars factions are concerned. However, the live-action projects have somehow never gotten around to showing its full defeat, instead focusing on the fall of its two top guys and the destruction of its superweapon in "Return of the Jedi." Before you know, the Empire is relegated to a loose group of hiding stragglers on Disney+ shows like "The Mandalorian." 

It seems like there should be a few steps between those two, and "The Battle of Jakku" may finally detail the biggest of said missing steps. Since the main nine movies focus on the Skywalker saga, their plot takes viewers to wherever the Skywalkers are, which explains why "Return of the Jedi" focuses on the battlefronts of Endor and aboard Death Star II. "The Battle of Jakku," hopefully, allows the reader to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of the Empire's defeat and transition into the next dictatorship in line. 

As stated, "Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku" from writer Alex Segura won't just cover the titular battle. It will also explore iconic events like the Battle of Endor, and look into the sequence of events that ultimately leads to the First Order's rise, which has been in full swing for quite some time before the start of "The Force Awakens." Therefore, it will not only show the Empire's demise, but tie the original movies directly into the sequel trilogy. Perhaps fans will even find out something about the most recent person to bear the Skywalker name — after all, Rey (Daisy Ridley) starts the sequel trilogy on Jakku, which is still littered with the battle's wreckage.  

Fans who have been keeping up with recent Star Wars comics won't have to go in blind, either. Since "The Battle of Jakku" is the latest in Marvel Comics' "Star Wars" series, it exists in the same continuum with the likes of "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra" and "Star Wars: Darth Vader" — which means that like them, it will be considered canon. As such, fans can expect to get answers for one of the great unexplored arcs of the entire Star Wars story when the new series starts its four-issue run on October 2 with "Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising." 

For more stories from the galaxy far, far away, be sure to check Looper's articles on the most terrifying creatures in the Star Wars universe and Star Wars comics we'd love to get adapted to the big screen.