We got some pretty big news in the Star Wars world yesterday. A whole new literary era has been launched to create projects without restriction: The High Republic!
Look at that! Jedi! I absolutely hate the Jedi.
These Jedi though look super cool. Set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, the stories of the High Republic are promising us a glimpse at the Republic before it had succumbed to Palpatine’s political machinations. And I’m pretty excited for it! I don’t like Jedi because they’re such hypocrites in most of the media we see. This could potentially change how I feel about them if I get to see them acting like human beings for once.
I want to talk about that concept poster above though, and why I’m visually excited about the Jedi of this era as well:
Lightsaber variation! We have dual-blades, HILTS, and a slew of colors. I want one of those hilted sabers so badly!
Robe variation! Look at those folks! They’re kinda flashy in a way. Yet traditional. Cultured. They could chill next to Count Dooku and look at home, or next to Qui-gon and feel only slightly embellished. They’re great.
Racial variation! Nearly half of the characters on that concept art poster are a classic alien species. How lovely!
Let’s take a look at some of the projects they’re going to start us with now.
Claudia Gray earned her place as one of my favorite Star Wars authors by writing Phasma and Lost Stars — two of the most compelling reads I’ve encountered in the Star Wars canon literature base. I have no doubt this story will be exceptional and kick off the era with a megaton of energy.
The image doesn’t give us much to go off of at first glance, but if you want my speculation, read this next paragraph:
I think this story will introduce us to what the High Republic will be all about. I think the lady in the image is either a Sith soldier, or part of a group that doesn’t realize it is related to the Sith. Her insignia is VERY prominent and resembles common Sith emblems. I think our little padawan here will either help her realize she is on the wrong side that is threatening to destabilize the galaxy, or they may influence each other to form a third path. Point being, they will end up connected. Perhaps a love interest? We’ll see. I also think that the events of the High Republic will be the ultimate cause of how the Sith were able to sneak into the Republic and destroy it from within. The pre-order for this book states a galactic-wide event temporarily halts hyperspace. I think that’s a catastrophic event the Sith will use to infiltrate the Republic — it may be an actual war, and we’ll get to see a sizable Sith force in real Canon for once, or it may be a secret strike team hiding behind the various scum groups they’ve shown us. I predict, though, that the High Republic will ultimately lead us to why the Galaxy became what it was in the Skywalker Saga, while providing a playground the story-group has more control over.
Ok, that end the whole of my speculation on the High Republic, and I think that the above book is going to be the one to plant all of those seeds. Next I’m going to show the remaining covers we were shown, because I feel like they don’t tell us as much.
While there’s a lot visually going on here, I don’t think it tells us too much about the setting: More variations on Jedi, and these scavengers exist. I have a feeling they are basically going to be anarchists and a “chosen family” type situation, which will make it a little more interesting when they butt heads with the more rigid Jedi Order, despite the fact they also kind of operate like a chosen family.
I also really love the “adventure outfits” they show the Jedi in — they look robust, and made of practical materials. They even feature things like low-slung lightsaber straps! How ridiculous. It’s perfectly Star Wars.
I think it’s clear from the boards they show in the YouTube trailer that the writers devoted a lot of time and thought to what lies at the core of Lucas’ vision of what Star Wars should be, and just this little taste of what is to come is all the evidence I need to know the future of Star Wars is in good hands. I know that opinion is probably counter to a lot of what you’re reading but let’s face it, we all know one thing: No one hates Star Wars more than Star Wars “fans”.
What’s unclear though is where this will take us. Is this just confined to literature? Are we going to get cartoons, live actions shows, video games, or maybe even movies? All signs right now point to no, but the fact they have so many visuals to go with this means they creating a library of visual references to build from, which means we will surely get more than they are letting on.
We’ve taken our first steps into a larger world.
Rampant Swan 