A new Star Wars comic series has been announced that will focus on Qi'ra, but also include the Knights of Ren. Star Wars Crimson Reign will arrive this fall, spinning out of the events of War of the Bounty Hunters. Crimson Dawn's story is finally being told in greater detail.
Crimson Dawn is a crime syndicate that was introduced in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). This film also introduced Qi'ra, played by Emilia Clarke, who has since taken over the syndicate and led some rather important activities in the crossover comic event, War of the Bounty Hunters. Now, a new announcement has revealed the next chapter in her story - which will likely add even more important lore to the franchise as a whole.
An exclusive from IGN shared details about Star Wars: Crimson Reign - the newest Star Wars comic series from Marvel Comics. It will be a five-issue limited series that will have the creative team of Charles Soule and Steve Cummings. The series will begin publishing in November of this year. This series will focus on Qi'ra, but according to a Tweet from Soule, it will also include the Knights of Ren. This will be the second part of a trilogy focusing on Qi'ra. Covers for the first issue have been revealed, check them out here:
The covers are illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, Steve Cummings, and Ario Anindito. Anindito's cover featuring Darth Vader as the central focus will be a Connecting Variant. Yu's cover features Qi'ra front and center with her dual weapons that can be turned into a single staff. Darth Vader and Darth Sidious are present behind her. Cummings' variant cover spotlights several Star Wars characters, including Qi'ra, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Ren (leader of the Knights of Ren), Doctor Aphra, and the assassin Deathstick. The movies and comics have introduced various loose threads, which are finally being connected. Qi'ra's role in Crimson Dawn was not fully known within Solo, but since her return in War of the Bounty Hunters she has been a major player in the galaxy.
Charles Soule says, "From the moment I took the gig writing Star Wars, I wanted to do new things in the Star Wars timeline between Episodes V and VI, using new characters from all eras of the galaxy far, far away."
Soule has been planning a trilogy of Star Wars comics that all involve Qi'ra. War of the Bounty Hunters was the first and features her role in Han Solo's carbonite bounty. Crimson Reign will be the second. This leaves a future story on the table to close out this plan that fans have not yet heard about. As of late, Charles Soule has been one of the predominant writers of The High Republic initiative. He started the initiative with Light of the Jedi, a novel that introduces the new era. It comes as no surprise that he is also working to connect story threads between later time periods in the galaxy. However, the inclusion of the Knights of Ren could prove very interesting considering how little the group has been used. Their lack of presence has been rather disappointing up to this point, but that seems to be changing with inclusion in extended universe titles, including this upcoming series. Fans can see Qi'ra's latest schemes when Star Wars: Crimson Reign releases in November 2021.
Source: IGN