Get ready to discover what happened after the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi!

Thanks to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the long history of the Star Wars Expanded Universe is no longer canon. Next month, Marvel will explore the period immediately following Return of the Jedi in a four issue miniseries called Journey To Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Shattered Empire.

Veteran comics writer and novelist Greg Rucka and artist Marco Checchetto are the creative team behind Shattered Empire. While the core group of Star Wars characters (Luke, Han, Leia, etc…) will appear in Shattered Empire, Rucka has revealed that the focus will fall on two brand new characters: Shara Bey and her husband, Kes.

“Shara flies, Kes is a ground-pounder, and a very experienced one,” explained Rucka. “So, they have spent more time apart than together, and they’re in the Outer Rim world where the Imperial presence is felt, and they’re hoping that they can bring an end to this. But they’re both very tired veterans, and they come out of [the Battle of] Endor with the elation that we see in [Return of the Jedi]. ‘We’ve won. It’s over.’ — only to discover that, no it’s not. The Empire was huge.”

“The other thing that I tend to look at is propaganda,” added Rucka. “Who controls the airwaves? The Empire does. So, the Rebellion can be jumping up and down, and screaming at the top their lungs, ‘Palpatine is dead!’ But I guarantee you, that message didn’t reach 70 percent of the galaxy. It’s a rumor. It’s a whisper.”

Rucka also expressed his hope that he can stay with the Star Wars franchise beyond this miniseries.

“There are moments that we don’t get to see that we know have to have happened,” said Rucka. “If I do a good job and they like me, hopefully one day I get to write the scene where Leia goes to Mon Mothma and says, ‘So, it turns out you knew my mom?’ You know? That’s a great scene.”

Shattered Empire # 1 will be released September 2.

Star Wars fans, are you intrigued by the glimpse of the first post-Endor adventure of the new official continuity? Set a course for the comment section below!

HT: StarWars.com