Star Wars: The High Republic

Star Wars: The High Republic, initially known as Project Luminous, is an expansive, ongoing multimedia initiative. It is largely crafted by the following authors: Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray, Charles Soule, Daniel José Older, and Justina Ireland. The project employs various storytelling mediums, such as novels, comics, and audio dramas, to present a unified narrative situated in the High Republic Era. This era takes place two centuries before the events of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Soule has characterized The High Republic as an immense, interconnected "mega-story."

Although its official launch occurred in 2021, the project's initial branded material, a short story, was released in December 2020. The project was first publicly detailed at a press conference on February 24, 2020, with the original plan being a launch later that year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay in its release.

History

Development

The concept for Project Luminous originated with Lucasfilm Publishing's creative director, Michael Siglain. In the summer of 2018, he contacted each author individually to propose their involvement in what he initially termed the All-Star Initiative. Siglain revealed the project to Cavan Scott over breakfast at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, but kept the other participants a secret at that time.

Ireland, Gray, Soule, Older, and Scott at Skywalker Ranch

Several months later, in September 2018, the five confirmed authors were invited to Skywalker Ranch in California. There, they collaborated to expand the narrative beyond its initial parameters. They were joined by the Lucasfilm Publishing editorial team and the Lucasfilm Story Group. During their multi-day stay, they dedicated most of their time to discussing the project, and also enjoyed a 4K screening of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. They revisited Skywalker Ranch in March of 2019 for another 4K screening, this time of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.

Marketing

The announcement of Project Luminous occurred a month later during the Lucasfilm Publishing: Writers Roundtable at Star Wars Celebration Chicago on Monday, April 15, 2019.

The High Republic concept art by Phil Noto

The reveal of Project Luminous, now known as Star Wars: The High Republic, took place on February 24, 2020. In the announcement trailer, James Waugh, Lucasfilm's VP for Franchise Content and Strategy, explained that in light of the conclusion of the Skywalker saga with the release of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the publishing division enlisted authors experienced with tie-in materials. These authors were granted creative autonomy to enrich the Star Wars universe beyond the scope of the films and the Skywalker family. Pablo Hidalgo from the Lucasfilm Story Group, who participated in the Project Luminous writers' room, described the initial phase as providing the writers with complete creative freedom, allowing them to select their subjects and timelines. Eventually, inspiration was drawn from one of Obi-Wan Kenobi's earliest lines about the Jedi in A New Hope, referring to them as "the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic." Michael Siglain also noted that the narrative truly coalesced around the question, "What scares the Jedi?"

The project saw involvement from several Lucasfilm staff, including creative executive Jason D. Stein and senior illustration manager Jeffrey Thomas.

Phase I

Star Wars Insider revealed its plans to publish a series of High Republic short stories exclusive to the magazine, starting with "Starlight: Go Together" in Star Wars Insider 199.

On January 5, 2021, the day before The High Republic was launched with Charles Soule's Del Rey novel, Light of the Jedi (originally slated for August 25 of the previous year), a YouTube livestream was hosted by Kristin Baver. It featured the five High Republic authors and Michael Siglain, Director of Creative Franchise for Disney–Lucasfilm Press. The panel included a trailer, a discussion among the authors about their collaboration, cover reveals and details for upcoming stories, and concept art. Siglain also announced that the story would be structured into three phases:

  • Phase I: Light of the Jedi (January 2021 to March 2022)
  • Phase II: Quest of the Jedi (October 2022 to May 2023)
  • Phase III: Trials of the Jedi (October 2023 to June 2025)

In the same announcement, Michael Siglain confirmed that new stories would be released monthly, and a web series titled The High Republic Show, hosted by Krystina Arielle, would air bimonthly. This series would provide in-depth explorations of the creative process behind The High Republic, featuring interviews with the authors, artists, and publishers involved in the initiative.

The adult series included:

The Young Adult novels included:

The junior novels included:

Phase II

On January 4, 2022, marking the eve of The High Republic's first anniversary, the five authors reunited on an episode of The High Republic Show. They discussed the remaining projects of Phase I (which concluded on March 2 with the release of the final issue of Cavan Scott's Star Wars: The High Republic comic series and Charles Soule's Eye of the Storm), and revealed the first details about Phase II. Four new authors were announced as additions to the initiative: Zoraida Córdova, George Mann, Tessa Gratton, and Lydia Kang. Other projects from the original five were also announced, including Daniel Jose Older's new High Republic Adventures as the first new Dark Horse Comics series since 2015, Cavan Scott's return to a new The High Republic comic series, and Soule's follow-up to his Eye of the Storm series with the origin story Star Wars: The High Republic — The Blade about Phase I character Porter Engle. The five authors also disclosed that Phase II would be set 150 years before the events of Light of the Jedi.

The adult series included:

The Young Adult novels included:

The junior novels included:

Phase III

In April 2023, the High Republic panel at Star Wars Celebration in London presented the initial details for Phase III. Alyssa Wong, the comic writer of Doctor Aphra, was confirmed to be joining the initiative. She will be contributing a short story to the anthology Tales of Light and Life and co-writing the middle-grade novel, Escape from Valo, with Daniel José Older. Mirroring Phase I, Phase III will center around three novel trilogies: one for adults, one for young adults, and one junior novel series.

The adult series will include:

The Young Adult novels will include:

The junior novels will include:

Additionally, Cavan Scott's High Republic comic series will continue beginning in December 2023, and the Star Wars Insider short stories, titled Tales from the Occlusion Zone, have been penned by Phase II author Lydia Kang.

The Celebration event also revealed that High Republic character Vernestra Rwoh will be featured in the live-action series, The Acolyte.

Era references

Foreshadowing

The High Republic was initially referenced in the audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott, released on April 30, 2019. It was first officially identified as the High Republic Era in The Rise of Kylo Ren 2, a comic issue by Charles Soule published on January 8, 2020.

Also mentioned in Dooku: Jedi Lost are Padawan Klias Teradine and Jedi Master Trennis. Teradine discovered the Archive of Forbidden Artifacts and was subsequently expelled from the Jedi Order. Trennis became one of the Lost Twenty who departed from the Jedi Order. Keeve Trennis is a Jedi character featured in The High Republic comic series, although it has not been explicitly confirmed that she is the same individual.

The Nihil raiders were initially mentioned in the comic story "The Lost Stories, Part 1," written by Scott and published in Star Wars Adventures (2017) 30 by IDW Publishing on January 29, 2020.

Starlight Beacon received an indirect mention in the comic Star Wars (2020) 2, authored by Charles Soule and published by Marvel Comics on January 29, 2020. Its name was formally revealed during the project's official announcement on February 24, 2020.

A female Jedi depicted in a holocron in The Rise of Kylo Ren 3, a comic written by Soule, illustrated by Will Sliney, and released on February 12, 2020, was confirmed by Soule to be Avar Kriss, a character in The High Republic: Light of the Jedi.

The announcement trailer for the High Republic project featured concept art of entities labeled "Nameless." These beings were first referenced in Claudia Gray's novel Master & Apprentice, released on April 16, 2019. They were also included in two of Cavan Scott's works: the aforementioned Dooku: Jedi Lost and the fourth issue of the comic series Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle.

Chelli Aphra observed that murals of the Rings of Vaale contained High Republic iconography.

Impact on non-High Republic stories

The High Republic has enriched the Star Wars universe by providing additional context and background, particularly for the Jedi Order. According to editor Tom Hoeler, it adds more "texture" to the canon history of the galaxy, allowing the High Republic Era to "ripple forward" to subsequent eras, as many other Star Wars works do. John Jackson Miller's 2024 novel The Living Force is not part of The High Republic, and Hoeler assured readers that familiarity with The High Republic is not necessary to enjoy it, but it does build upon the groundwork established by the initiative.

In The Living Force, the planet Kwenn was the site of the Grand Renewal, an environmental restoration project during the High Republic era spearheaded by Master Oppo Rancisis. This project involved transforming mountains of tailings, slag, and waste into artificial islands known as the Gem Cities of Kwenn. The Grand Renewal was regarded as one of the Great Works initiated under Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh. The Jedi also established an outpost on Kwenn's Sanctuary Mount. Furthermore, Master Yaddle draws a parallel between the Jedi Order's bicentennial celebration on Kwenn and public events organized by the Jedi in Kublop Springs on the planet Tenoo, which debuted in the 2023 animated television series Young Jedi Adventures.

The High Republic receives a brief mention in Chris Kempshall's 2024 reference book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, which is presented as an eponymous history book by Resistance historian and academic Beaumont Kin. Kin described the High Republic era as a period in galactic history where the state aspired to be a unifying force, and the population and Jedi sought to advance the galaxy. He critiqued certain historical studies of that era for excessively emphasizing idealism and overlooking the insidious agendas of some senators, as well as the Republic's initially slow response to the Nihil pirate groups, which resulted in significant civilian casualties before their defeat. Despite these shortcomings, Kin contended that the High Republic era demonstrated the capacity of the galaxy and its institutions to unite against "emerging menaces." The memory of the High Republic served as inspiration for efforts to reform the Galactic Republic during its final century before the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Related media

The Chinese-language web novel The Vow of Silver Dawn, which began its chapter releases on December 17, 2020, is also set towards the end of the High Republic Era. The short stories "A Bitter Harvest" and "A Coruscant Solstice," featured in Dark Legends and Life Day Treasury respectively, are set within this era. The Star Wars Adventures 6 comic strip "Tales of Villainy: The Gaze Electric" was written by Older and focuses on the Nihil, taking place before The High Republic Adventures (2021) 1.

The reference book Star Wars: Jedi Artifacts provides extensive details about artifacts from the High Republic Era, although it is not considered part of the official multimedia project. The one-shot comic Life Day 1 includes the short holiday story "Deck the Halls," written by Justina Ireland. It is set after the events of The High Republic: The Rising Storm, and centers on Jedi Master Nib Assek and her Wookiee Padawan Burryaga Agaburry investigating Drengir activity on Kashyyyk.

The 2023 Disney+ preschool animated series Young Jedi Adventures is set during the High Republic Era. The 2024 Disney+ live-action series The Acolyte is set late in the High Republic Era and features the Jedi Vernestra Rwoh.

Promotional

  • The High Republic Free Digital Sampler [104]
  • Characters of Star Wars: The High Republic [105]
  • Star Wars: The High Republic Show [8]
  • The High Republic – The Edge of Balance/Guardians of the Whills [106]

Sources

Notes and references

External links

Appearances