Marvel’s ‘Star Wars: Hidden Empire’ Revealed by Charles Soule
The final chapter of Charles Soule’s Qi’ra saga has been revealed. Starting this November, Star Wars: Hidden Empire follows the events of War of the Bounty Hunters and Crimson Reign. StarWars.com spoke with Soule about what we can expect from the miniseries that marks a climax for all of Marvel’s Star Wars comics set during the time period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Now, before that last sentence is misconstrued, there is no indication that this series will be the end for this period of comics. But for Soule, it very much is in a spiritual sense. He presents Hidden Empire as an endgame, saying:
“This new story is designed to deliver the big finale to Qi’ra’s story — at least this phase of it… She emerged from years of hiding with an elaborate, incredible plan to bring down the Sith, and Hidden Empire is the endgame. It brings in players from all over the Star Wars universe, from Darth Vader to Doctor Aphra to the Knights of Ren, and I think it’ll be really satisfying — but tragic. As I had a character say in the very first issue of Crimson Reign, Qi’ra’s story is a tragedy. But… in a good way.”
That quote also confirms that more crossovers between the other Marvel series are coming. We don’t have November comic solicitations yet, but Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra, and Bounty Hunters are all conveniently set to kick off a new arc that month. November’s Star Wars #29 is still part of this next story arc, which begins August 17th with Star Wars #26.
Soule then went into more about Qi’ra’s motivations. In War of the Bounty Hunters, she orchestrated a plot to bring Crimson Dawn back to the forefront by stealing Han Solo, still frozen in carbonite. Crimson Reign saw her begin a galactic shadow war between the major crime syndicates, forcing the attention of Emperor Palpatine; her end goal of all this being the eradication of the Sith. Soule also touched on an attempt to begin the final bridges between the films Hidden Empire is wedged between. He said:
“I think it will deliver a deeply satisfying conclusion to Qi’ra’s arc here, and readers will understand how her choices in this story impacted events all across the Star Wars galaxy at this time. As with many of the comics and novels and ancillary stories beyond the films, the idea is to deepen the experience and understanding of the characters… There are direct connections here to both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi — and beyond — and I think the fans will be very happy.”
No matter the fate of Qi’ra, her reintroduction was worth it. Soule reflects on bringing this chapter of her story to a close.
“This whole storyline’s been a gift, honestly… It’s given me a chance to write some deeply resonant stories that connect with the particular moment in the Star Wars timeline in which they are set, as well as prominent characters across the galaxy. It’s been a very rich experience for me as a writer, and I’ll be sad to say goodbye to Crimson Dawn, Qi’ra, and the rest of this corner of Star Wars once I’m done. This kind of story doesn’t come around that often, and I’m glad I’ve been able to build it alongside Steven Cummings, Luke Ross, and the other amazing writers and artists working in Star Wars right now. I think the fans are in for a treat.”
Head over to the official Star Wars website for the rest of the interview. For a refresher on the final chapter of Crimson Reign, check out our review of issue #5 here.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
