In another one for the "what's old is new" file, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Marvel Comics announced plans today to rerelease its original, comic adaptations of "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" throughout 2015 and leading up to the release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in December.
The rereleased adaptations will be re-colored by Chris Sotomayor and presented in an oversize hardcover format, starting with (rather obviously) "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope," in comic specialty stores and bookstores May 2015.
"With new Star Wars comics being published by Marvel in 2015, we're proud to look back on this exciting remastered adaptation of the original film, with remastered adaptations of 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi' coming later in 2015," Marvel Senior VP of Sales and Marketing David Gabriel said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
This new hardcover edition will actually be the second time the Star Wars material will be reissued by Marvel next year...in its original, untouched format. It will also appear in "Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years" Vol. 1, another oversize hardcover releasing January 2015. Subsequent issues of the original 1970s "Star Wars" comic book will follow this release.
The announcement of the adaptation re-release schedule follows Marvel's verification last week that the first issue of its new "Star Wars" comic book series has gotten more than one million preorders ahead of its January 2015 release, outperforming every other title published by the company. The force is strong (and rather lucrative), it seems, with the partnering of Star Wars and Marvel.
