A DC Comics/Star Wars Crossover Didn’t Happen For One Simple Reason

Comic books are not just fuel for some of the biggest movies and TV shows of all time. Aside from being a genuinely great medium that could enrich the lives of many people who haven’t previously wandered down that endless rabbit hole, comics offer the chance to do things that can’t be done on screen. They represent imagination that is only limited by what a given artist can do with a pen, and what a writer can dream up. That even extends to utterly bonkers crossovers that couldn’t happen anywhere else, like “King Kong” meets “Planet of the Apes.” It turns out, the world came very close to getting a DC and “Star Wars” crossover several years back. Why didn’t it happen? That’s where things get frustrating.

For some historical context, writer Kurt Busiek revealed in 2017 on Twitter that he was working on a “Superman/Star Wars” crossover with the legendary artist Alex Ross before it was later tabled by the powers that be.

“Alex Ross and I were geared up to do SUPERMAN/STAR WARS, but the corporate parties involved couldn’t agree on how to divvy up the money,” Busiek wrote at the time. He also shared concept art of Superman duking it out with Darth Vader (which you can get a glimpse of above), and referred to Superman/Star Wars as “a dead project.”

Now the table is set. More recently at Tampa Bay Comic Convention, former DC publisher Dan DiDio recently addressed this proposed crossover (via Popverse). The exact timing is unclear, but what we know for sure is that Marvel Comics took over the “Star Wars” license in 2015 following Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm. In any event, DiDio confirmed that this crossover made its way to his desk.

“I was brought a DC Universe and Star Wars crossover. There was fighting over what you could and couldn’t do, and who gets the better shot, and who gets the hero moment … it wasn’t worth it. Honestly, it just wasn’t worth it.”

DiDio served as co-publisher at DC Comics from 2010 until 2020 alongside Jim Lee. In 2023, Lee was named as President of DC Comics. In any event, this proposed crossover clearly happened at some point in that window when DiDio was running the show with Lee. At that time, Dark Horse Comics was publishing “Star Wars” comics, with the publisher holding the license from the early ’90s until they went back to Marvel in 2015. Rather crucially, that was also before Disney had any involvement.

Even so, it sounds like corporate squabbles got in the way. These crossovers can be tricky. Each party is very concerned for their respective franchise. If Superman beats the tar out of Darth Vader, would Lucasfilm be happy with that? Probably not. Similarly, if Darth Vader cuts Superman’s arm off with a lightsaber, with DC like that? Nope. So this all has to be negotiated down to the letter. That’s why a Marvel/DC crossover probably won’t ever happen in live-action. DiDio, speaking a bit further, explained that the creator, presumably Busiek and/or Ross, was none too happy when it all fell apart.

“The creator who came onboard got really angry because he brokered the deal and brought it to us. I just didn’t want to do it at that time, because it didn’t make sense.”

DiDio seems to be saying it didn’t make sense from a business perspective. But would it have made sense from a story perspective? At the very least, Superman was born on Krypton and has alien origins. Marrying that to the whole, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” bit would be tough, but stranger things have happened in comic books. In any event, this is merely something to wonder about in the “What if?” sense because Marvel and DC are far less likely to make this happen now.