The ending of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story showed the moment that the data regarding the Death Star – and its weakness – was handed to Princess Leia – or a strange balloon-like CGI approximation of her, leading directly into the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Today's Star Wars #40 from Marvel Comics, by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larocca, set after both movies (but before The Empire Strikes Back) sees Leia reminiscing about a scene set before that – how she got the mission in the first place. Gillen has described writing Star Wars comic books as like writing a historical novel, knowing the established facts, and excavating all the missing bits between.

StarWars.com: It's almost like historical fiction, in a way. Kieron Gillen: Oh yeah, absolutely. It's like, that's the kind of thing. I researched the canon. I researched the history of the Star Wars universe of that period especially, and kind of went, "Okay, what's the implicit story here?" I felt a lot like an archaeologist or an historian, as opposed to the Marvel universe where we're normally writing stories, which are history being written. Just like current affairs.

And we get a little bit extra, flashbacking to before the Star Wars movie…

And an appearance of Bail Prestor Organa, First Chairman and Viceroy of Alderaan, and Leia's adoptive father, as portrayed in the movies as Jimmy Smits. In Rogue One, we saw him planning to send the Death Star details to Obi-Wan Kenobi, with a messenger he trusted – "I would trust her with my life".

And in today's Star Wars comic, we get that missing scene…

He does like to repeat himself, doesn't he? Published today…

STAR WARS #40

(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Salvador Larroca (CA) David Marquez

ASHES OF JEDHA part 3

• As Queen Trios' forces move in to strip what's left of Jedha, the Rebellion and the remaining Partisans struggle to save the planet for its survivors! The echoes of Rogue One continue to be heard through the Rebellion!

Rated T In Shops: Dec 13, 2017

SRP: $3.99