Disney and LucasFilm have officially unveiled the future of Star Wars publishing with the announcement of: The High Republic. An interconnected series of books and comics, that was revealed in a new trailer as a tease for fans.
Lets be honest… Its been a while, since Star Wars fans have been given a definitive plan for the future of the franchise. LucasFilm has basically been pushing many their fans into the forest without a compass or a map, and just hoping they’ll leave excited for more. Well with this new announcement, it seems LucasFilm has finally heard our feedback, and may have given Star Wars fans a proper map to show them the way.
The hyped and secretive, Project Luminous, was officially unveiled last night as a new publishing initiative to explore a new era of Star Wars for novels and comics, that LucasFilm is calling it: Star Wars: The High Republic.
It was a sight to behold, to see almost the entire LucasFilm Story Group taking turns in the trailer explaining the project. They explain how this time period is a time of great peace across the galaxy where the Republic is at the height of its power. This time period is set 200 years before The Phantom Menace and the events of the Skywalker Saga.
In the trailer, James Vaughn, Vice President of Franchise Content and Strategy at LucasFilm, called this an incubation period, to explore the potential of creativity found in this new time period. They’ve gathered a room of the best Star Wars writers including Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule. They will push these new storylines forward and lead the charge into the next phase of Star Wars in the world of books and comics.
The Jedi will be the main characters of this new storyline, but there will of course be other bounty hunters and smugglers like there always is in Star Wars. Lucasfilm compared the Jedi to Texas Rangers or Knights of the Round Table, who are roaming the borders of this younger Republic to keep the peace. The Republic is much smaller and that leaves a lawless galaxy out there to explore.
The villains of this new publishing initiative is a group called The Nhil. They are described as a group of space Vikings, that pillage and plunder. Basically a new brand of space pirates like Honda Onaka and the Weequay that have been in Clone Wars and Rebels. The entire story starts with something called “The Great Disaster”. They say that the whole basis for this new initiative, is the question “What scares the Jedi?” Which seems to allude to some version of the Sith being a serious threat to the galaxy.
So while Star Wars is showing us their future, the High Republic series only pertains to reading materials. There will be books, young adult novels, kids books, comics books, all pushing the same interconnected storyline. The official Star Wars website says that these stories will not overlap with any movies or television to give the authors total creative control over this entire time period.
The Old Republic canon doesn’t exist anymore, so there is a world where the stories and characters could be used for this new High Republic time period. Just as Thrawn was brought into Rebels, Darth Bane or Darth Nihilus could be brought into the High Republic. As the rumors have been suggesting for months, Yoda would be alive during this time period, meaning it could truly be Yoda and the Jedi fending against an ancient Sith Army, especially with Exegol now canon.
The first books and comics start being released in August of 2020 and Star Wars: High Republic: Light of the Jedi is already available for pre-order.
What do you think of the future of Star Wars? Or do you think any of these theories are correct? Tell us below in the comment section.
