Dark Empire
Wilkins Animation
2019
Set six years after the conclusion of The Return of the Jedi, Dark Empire follows our beloved heroes as they battle the scattered remnants of The Empire and form The New Republic government. It prominently features Luke, Han, and Leia, and may be one of the most revered stories from the expanded universe. While it’s important to know that it’s no longer canonical, for many of us, it’s a return to what we loved about the Star Wars of our childhoods, before any prequels or sequels changed the original series forever.
Even to those familiar with the story, this series is worth checking out, especially as the story and the voice acting are taken from official sources. But for those new to Dark Empire, this will surely be a ride to remember. The further adventures of such famed heroes is sure to be a big deal, and this is an excellent way to view it. While the art isn’t as fancy as anything we’re used to seeing from The Clone Wars or Rebels, it does have an appealing style all it’s own, and the actual animation is fantastic. The Millennium Falcon may be missing a few details as it swoops over the battlefield, but the flight and combat is smooth as silk. That one artist achieved this by themselves is beyond impressive. The characters look just as amazing, with natural movements and gestures, and even great lip sync. Get over that lack of detail, and it’s easy to forget you’re not watching an official production.
The worst part of the series is that as of this writing, only one twelve minute episode is available. The best part is how much it leaves you wanting more. And while the first episode is now available for free, if you’d like more, there’s plenty of ways to support the artist so that you’ll get updates on the progress and peeks at the upcoming material. Of course, that’s all optional, and as long as the finished content is free, I see absolutely no reason for any Star Wars fan not get excited about this project.
Old Fashioned Star Wars Returns Through Fan-made Animated Series
Many of you may have read Dark Horse's comic Dark Empire and wanted a movie of it. Well, this is as close as we're likely to get! Ian Wilkins' fan-made series takes the story from the comics, the official audio from the Time Warner audio drama, and sets it to fantastic traditional animation.
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
