The pivotal role Marvel played in the early formation of the Star Wars Expanded Universe is known to most fans of the franchise – but many will likely be surprised to learn that George Lucas' space opera was also essential to keeping Marvel Comics in business in the late 1970s.

According to a CBR interview with Jim Shooter from the year 2000, Marvel had been "losing money for several years" in the '70s, and it was the popularity of Star Wars – which Marvel became the first comic book publisher for in 1977, following the film's blockbuster debut – that generated revenue at a crucial time, allowing Marvel to sustain itself.

"We would have gone out of business," Shooter told CBR, putting it plainly. "Star Wars single-handedly saved Marvel." Especially now, in an era where Marvel is once more the home of a currently flourishing line of Star Wars comics, the former Marvel Editor's comments will provide fascinating context for fans of both.

Marvel And Star Wars Were A Perfect Union In 1977

Jim Shooter rose through the ranks at Marvel incredibly quickly; first joining the company in January 1976, exactly two years later, he found himself in the position of Editor-in-Chief. By this time, Marvel's Star Wars comic line was already proving successful for the company. This is one reason Shooter's recollection in his CBR interview from 2000 should be given credence, as the financial success of Marvel's titles would have become incredibly relevant to him right at the time Star Wars was bringing in much-needed revenue. Shooter credits Roy Thomas – himself a former Editor-in-Chief at Marvel – as the person who "kicking and screaming...dragged Marvel into doing Star Wars."

Roy Thomas ultimately wrote the first ten issues of Marvel's Star Wars run Starting with an adaptation of the original film, the series subsequently provided some of the earliest Expanded Universe stories. Before multimedia franchises were the industry standard –something Star Wars has helped make an essential part of the pop culture landscape – fans of a hit genre film like Star Wars clamored for any additional content they could get their hands on. By publishing the earliest Star Wars comics, Marvel played an essential role in shaping the franchise – and as Jim Shooter explained, kept themselves in business as well.

Star Wars Saved Marvel; Decades Later, Marvel Is Returning The Favor

Running continuously through the release of the Original Trilogy, Marvel's Star Wars ongoing series proved to be a vital source of material from a galaxy far, far away in the post-Return of the Jedi era. The series concluded with issue #107 in September 1986, by which point, Marvel and Star Wars' mutually beneficial impacts on one another had proven indispensable. While many Expanded Universe fans point to the subsequent Dark Horse era as the true high point of Star Wars comics, Shooter's comments emphasize how gamechanging the initial Marvel run truly was for the entire comic book industry, and for American pop culture as a whole.

With Disney's acquisition of Star Wars, Marvel once more became the publisher for the franchise's comic book imprint, twenty-nine years after the company's original ongoing ended. After decades with Dark Horse, Star Wars' move to Marvel felt like uncertain ground, when in fact it was a homecoming. Despite fans' initial hesitation to embrace a new continuity, Marvel has recently presided over a revitalization of Star Wars storytelling, producing some of the franchise's best stories in the medium to date. Former Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter credited the space opera with keeping Marvel alive in the 1970s, and decades later, the company has been able to do the same for Star Wars.

Source: CBR