Han Solo Is a Giant Lizard and Luke Is an Old Fogey In THE STAR WARS

George Lucas’s original 1974 draft about that galaxy far far away is receiving its first ever adaptation in the form of a Dark Horse Comics mini series. The 8 issue romp will be titled THE STAR WARS, the name attributed to that first script, and will feature strange (yet familiar) versions of our favorite laser-sword wielding Jedi, blaster popping rogues, and rebel princesses.

When the enterprise was first proposed to the jowl king himself, George Lucas, he initially refused the project, as he was a tiny bit embarrassed by his early take on the tale. But he quickly realized it wasn’t nearly as embarrassing as his Prequel Trilogy, and granted Dark Horse their wish.  (apologies for the obligatory anti-Lucas diatribe).

Here’s the full word on the matter from Dark Horse’s press release:

APRIL 1, MILWAUKIE, OR–It’s no April Fools’ prank! Dark Horse is honored to announce a dream project: working with J.W. Rinzler, executive editor at LucasBooks, and artist Mike Mayhew (Avengers) to adapt the rough-draft original screenplay which spawned the biggest franchise in film history!

Three years before his 1977 film, George Lucas put down on paper his first story set in a galaxy far, far away—a tale of fantastic adventures, daring escapes, “lazer swords,” romance, and monsters. A story of Jedi Annikin Starkiller and General Luke Skywalker, an alien named Han Solo, and evil Sith Knights. The screenplay was titled The Star Wars!

“I’m not sure where I first read about The Star Wars—it was years and years ago—but the idea of Luke Skywalker being an older Jedi General, and Han Solo being a six-foot-tall lizard, turned my Star Wars fan brain on its side,” said longtime Star Wars editor Randy Stradley. “I always assumed this would be one of those stories that would be ‘lost to history,’ so getting to work on bringing it to life is kinda like a dream come true.”

“While researching in the Lucasfilm Archives I’ve found many treasures—but one which truly astounded me was George’s rough draft for The Star Wars. His first complete imaginings were hallucinating to read—mind blowing,” said writer J.W. Rinzler. “While working with George on another book project, I once asked if we could adapt his rough draft. He was hesitant. Years later, with Dark Horse’s invaluable help, we showed him a few drawn and colored pages of what it might look like. He gave us the okay.”

Originally conceived in 1974, The Star Wars has been the subject of rumor and legend in the fan community throughout the history of the galaxy far, far away. Now, Lucas has seen fit to grant Dark Horse the right to adapt this fabled story into an eight-issue comic series launching in September!