A Star Wars/Marvel crossover is finally happening for real, which means Patton Oswalt’s legendary Parks and Recreation filibuster is looking pretty prophetic. Featured as part of an improvised bit back in 2013, there are actually more than a few moments from Oswalt’s over 8-minute-long rant that have actually come true in the years that have followed.
Set to release in early 2027, Marvel and Lucasfilm have announced Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles, a new limited comic series bringing the two franchises together for a major crossover to celebrate 50 years of the Star Wars franchise. Keeping that in mind, the odds seem good that we may see some key moments from Oswalt’s courtroom filibuster come true.
Here’s what we know about the upcoming Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles series, and what parts of Oswalt’s epic Parks and Recreation filibuster have actually come to pass in the 13 years since the episode first aired, for both the Star Wars and Marvel franchises.
Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles Releases In Early 2027
According to the recent announcement from Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm Publishing, Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles is a five-issue limited series written by Kevin Smith with art by David Marquez. The story will also reportedly take place in Marvel’s Earth-616, with the events of 1977’s A New Hope occurring within the Marvel Universe itself. As such, the various connected covers that were released indicate that The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Deadpool, and more classic Marvel heroes will unite with the classic Rebel heroes, including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, and R2-D2.
Likewise, the covers also feature darker characters seemingly ready to join forces, like Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin allying with the likes of Doctor Doom, Thanos, Venom, and more infamous Marvel foes. By all accounts, it seems like the crossover is prepared to knock over and mix the two big toy boxes together with some very fun results. As such, the new series feels primed to pay off Patton Oswalt’s Parks and Recreation filibuster from over a decade ago.
Will More Of Patton Oswalt’s Star Wars/Marvel Crossover Pitch Come True?
In Parks and Recreation’s fifth season, Patton Oswalt appeared as “Garth” in the 19th episode entitled “Article Two”. In the 2013 episode, Garth was shown filibustering the city council and using his time to share his pitch and general ideas for 2015’s The Force Awakens, as Disney had just purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. In the 13 years that have followed, several of Oswalt’s ideas have hilariously come true for each franchise.
To start with the biggest one, Jon Favreau has confirmed that Oswalt’s opening description of Boba Fett’s return and survival from the Sarlacc pit directly inspired his canonical return in The Book of Boba Fett.
When Oswalt later talks about Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones to claim power in both the Marvel and Star Wars universes, the camera just so happens to cut to Chris Pratt’s Andy, who’s absolutely engaged in the monologue. Pratt would go on to star in the MCU as Star-Lord beginning with 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which was also Thanos’ first full MCU debut, seeking Infinity Stones.
Oswalt also mentions several other Marvel heroes he’d love to see Marvel Studios bring into his crossover, such as Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Daredevil, the X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and Hercules. All of those characters have since become part of the MCU since the filibuster episode aired. Even some of Oswalt’s comments about underwritten and underutilized X-Men characters like Colossus and X-23 have since received more attention via projects like Logan and the Deadpool movies.
Other Star Wars predictions were made as well, including Patton’s description of an older, grizzled Han Solo who is having marriage problems with Leia (basically the Han we get in The Force Awakens).
For his crossover, Oswalt also imagined major dogfights between Star Destroyers, The Millennium Falcon, the X-Men’s Blackbird, and Avengers’ Quinjet, several of which are shown on the new Hope Assembles covers. Also, Thanos is prominently featured on the Hope Assembles cover, so could The Mad Titan actually try to gain power from the Star Wars universe like Oswalt pitched? As such, one has to wonder what else might come true once the new crossover releases next year. Perhaps Kevin Smith will feature some nods to Oswalt, like having Wolverine and Sabretooth fight Chewbacca? Fingers are crossed.
Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles releases in January 2027 from Marvel Comics.
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- Created by
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George Lucas
- First Film
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Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- TV Show(s)
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The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Movie(s)
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Character(s)
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Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
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- Movie(s)
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Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, Werewolf by Night, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, The Punisher: One Last Kill
- TV Show(s)
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Inhumans, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Agatha All Along, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Wonder Man, Echo, Marvel Zombies, Eyes of Wakanda
- First Film
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Iron Man
- First TV Show
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Cast
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Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors
- Director
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Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, James Gunn, Peyton Reed, Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a long-running multimedia franchise drawn from the heroes, villains, and narratives of Marvel Comics. The MCU formally began with 2008’s Iron Man, with other successes forming the basis for the contemporary path from comic page to screen, including over 30 films and 20 TV shows.