- "Vader is a character with a long shadow, literally and figuratively. His legacy is deep and unpleasant."
- ―Author Chuck Wendig
Star Wars: Shadow of Vader was a planned five-issue comic book miniseries that focused on Darth Vader's influence on the galaxy across eras. Each issue would have followed a different character or group, reflecting on how their encounters with Vader changed their lives.[3] Chuck Wendig was originally announced to write the miniseries, but was fired from Marvel in October 2018 after a series of negative and vulgar political tweets attacking Brett Kavanaugh and the Republican Party. According to Wendig at that time, at least issues 4 and 5 of the miniseries weren't going to be written by him anymore.[2]
During New York Comic Con 2018, Wendig told the attendees what each issue would have been about: the first issue was an homage to Friday the 13th, with Vader hunting down kids at a summer camp; the second issue involved the Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back background character Willrow Hood; the third issue centered on a morgue attendant on the Death Star battle station; the fourth issue diverged to focus on the Acolytes of the Beyond, first seen in Wendig's The Aftermath Trilogy; and the fifth issue followed a New Republic pilot—whose parents were killed by Vader—who joins the Resistance only to learn that Leia Organa's father was none other than Vader himself.[1]
The series was to be published by Marvel Comics starting November 2018,[1] but was delayed until February 2019 as it wasn't mentioned in January's solicitations.[4][5] Wendig later speculated at his Twitter account that perhaps Marvel would hire a new writer to rewrite the first three issues or that the series has been cancelled.[6] On November 15, 2018, however, Marvel officially confirmed via Bleeding Cool that the series had effectively been cancelled.[7]
Media
| Issue | Title | Publication date | Trade paperback |
| 1 | Shadow of Vader 1 | Star Wars: Shadow of Vader | |
| 2 | Shadow of Vader 2 | ||
| 3 | Shadow of Vader 3 | ||
| 4 | Shadow of Vader 4 | ||
| 5 | Shadow of Vader 5 |
Cover gallery
Sources
NYCC 2018: Alphabet Squadron Revealed and More from the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
NYCC 2018: Alphabet Squadron Revealed and More from the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Star Wars' Comic Writer Says Marvel Fired Him For Social Media Behavior by McMillan, Graeme on The Hollywood Reporter (October 12, 2018) (backup link archived on March 9, 2020)
- ↑ New Star Wars Books And Comics Were Announced At NYCC on www.kotaku.com.au (backup link archived on April 14, 2020)
- ↑ Chuck Wendig's 'Shadow of Vader' Star Wars Series Has Been Pulled From Marvel's Schedule by Schmidt, J.K. on ComicBook.com (October 17, 2018) (backup link archived on September 20, 2020)
- ↑ The five-part comic book series is absent from the company's January 2019 releases. by McMillan, Graeme on The Hollywood Reporter (October 17, 2018) (backup link archived on October 17, 2018)
- ↑ Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) on Twitter (post): "Also possible they are looking for a brand new writer on the first three issues OR they just said fuck it, and canceled it quietly. Obviously, ha ha, they're not gonna keep me on the loop on that one." (backup link)
- ↑ Marvel Cancels All Of Star Wars: Shadow Of Vader by Chuck Wendig by Johnston, Rich on BleedingCool (November 15, 2018) (backup link archived on June 11, 2019)
