With The Rise Of Skywalker, Disney and LucasFilm brought the central Star Wars story to a close – but if the Skywalker Saga is over, a new storytelling era is about to begin. The latest official expansion of the Star Wars universe arrives this summer with the launch of ‘The High Republic’ books and comics – a new age that takes place roughly 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, which sees the Galactic Republic and Jedi Knights in full swing.
“We’re at a place of, ‘What’s next for Star Wars?’” explains LucasFilm’s James Waugh, who describes the High Republic as “a golden age where there’s much more peace and calm in the galaxy”. There’s an influence from Arthurian legend, with concept art featuring Jedi with classic sword-hilted handles and being pitched as the “Jedi Knights of the round table”. There’s also a sense of the wild west, an era in which the Republic only extends so far with criminal activity on the fringes – bringing more smugglers, scoundrels, and bounty hunters, and Jedi who act like “Texas rangers” to try and bring everything in line.
As well as a core set of heroes, the High Republic will introduce new villains – including ‘The Nihil’ (presumably they believe in, well, nothing) who are pitched as “space Vikings”, pillaging formerly peaceful places in the galaxy. And it all kicks off with an event called ‘The Great Disaster’ – the exact nature of which remains under wraps, but promises portentous things to come. And while this all takes place much more ‘recently’ than the Old Republic era (which was 4,000 years before the Skywalker Saga), don’t expect the High Republic to head into Prequel Trilogy territory. "This period on the Star Wars timeline will not overlap any of the filmed features or series currently planned for production, giving creators and partners a vast amount of room to tell Star Wars stories with new adventures and original characters,” says StarWars.com.
For now, the High Republic era is set to be explored primarily in novels and comics, with different stories aimed at adults, teens, and kids. The first wave, arriving in August, will include the novels ‘Into The Dark’ and ‘Light Of The Jedi’, young novel ‘A Test Of Courage’, and the launch of comics ‘The High Republic Adventures’ and ‘Star Wars: The High Republic’. And even though this is all in the publishing arm of LucasFilm at the moment, with Star Wars seeking new screen adventures and having the two avenues of cinematic releases and Disney+, we could be in for a glimpse of where the saga goes next.