Star Wars welcomes a new group of elite pilots: the Starlight Squadron

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After the Empire Strikes Back, the Starlight Squadron aims to help the Rebels' response

(Image credit: Carlo Pagulayan (Marvel Comics))

A new group of hot-shot pilots will debut in the Star Wars universe this January; they're called the Starlight Squadron.

Mentioned in passing by Leia Organa in the Marvel Comics' recent Star Wars #6 comic book, the group will make their debut in the upcoming Star Wars #10 (as revealed in Marvel Comics' January 2021 solicitations). This volume of the comic is set between the events of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

(Image credit: Carlo Pagulayan (Marvel Comics))

"The Rebels attempt to create a new communications code that the Empire will never be able to crack, in hopes that they might be able to safely reunite their scattered fleet and rejoin the fight. However, the code has a cost, one that Lando Calrissian is not willing to pay!" reads Marvel's solicitation for Star Wars #10. "Meanwhile, Starlight Squadron, the group of elite pilots tasked with finding the scattered divisions of the fleet, heads out on its first deadly mission."

The identities of the Starlight Squadron pilots - or even their starfighters - have not yet been revealed, but the cover to this issue shows a full complement of the Rebels' starfighters at this time - an X-Wing, a Y-Wing, and an A-Wing.

The Starlight Squadron is part of the Fourth Division - the group of Rebels who escaped Hoth and are seen at the end of Empire Strikes Back.

Star Wars #10 is written by Charles Soule and drawn by Jan Bazaldua, and goes on sale on January 6, 2021. 

Here's a rundown of the complete Star Wars timeline, and how this all fits into the galaxy far, far away.

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Chris Arrant
Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)