The Mandalorian may be over for now, but the next chapter in Star Wars begins this week. Star Wars: The High Republic finally debuts tomorrow with the release of several books and comics set generations before the Skywalker Saga. You’ve been hearing about it for a while, and it’s finally here.
To celebrate, the authors behind the works did a YouTube interview discussing the release and revealing several brand new books — as well as where all of this is going. After this first slate of books, The High Republic continues this summer. Cavan Scott pens the second Del Ray novel, The Rising Storm, which follows Jedi Stellan Gios and introduces a “monster hunter” named Ty Yorrick. Scott is also doing a graphic novel called The Monster of Temple Peak, with artist Rachel Stott.
[referenced id=”1658261″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/12/star-wars-the-high-republic-is-as-refreshing-as-it-is-familiar/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/15/h9nimhvhtfhbi1hrltg5-300×169.png” title=”Star Wars: The High Republic Is as Refreshing as It Is Familiar” excerpt=”Adding something truly new to the canon of Star Wars media has to strike a delicate, daunting balance. Anything so vastly removed from what we know about the franchise — particularly the Skywalker saga — has to balance feeling worthy of being called new, while paradoxically still delivering that vague,…”]
Also announced was that Justina Ireland is doing a YA book called Out of the Shadows which stars Yoda along with Vernestra Rwoh (a character introduced in Ireland’s A Test of Courage, which is out tomorrow), and an original manga called The Edge of Balance, co-written with Shinya Shima and featuring art by Mizuki Sakakibara. Edge of Balance will be the first in a new series of Star Wars manga published by Viz Media, taking place at a Jedi outpost, where we’ll see Jedi just mingling among the people of the Republic’s frontiers.
Also on the younger readers front, High Republic Adventures’ Daniel José Older has a middle-grade book coming called Race to Crashpoint Tower, starring two Jedi Padawan, including a new one named Ramjo Maram. He’s apparently a mechanically inclined Jedi — he has a flying droid named V-18 — and with a huge event happening on his planet, he begins to discover its ramifications on the wider galaxy.
New books and comics won’t be the only way fans can catch up with the initiative, however. Several of the current High Republic authors are also writing serialised fiction for the Star Wars Insider magazine; the series is called “Starlight Stories” and will provide additional context for characters and locales featured in the series, while the official Star Wars website will soon launch a bi-monthly High Republic YouTube show, hosted by Krystina Arielle, to interview creatives and update readers on what’s happening in the series.
The second wave of books will all be available over the summer, and The High Republic will continue from there. It was revealed that all of these books, comics, manga, and more will collectively be grouped as Phase One of the story, dubbed “Light of the Jedi,” which will run into 2022. Sometime in 2022, Phase Two will begin, called “Quest of the Jedi.” Some time after that, Phase Three, called “Trials of the Jedi,” will arrive. Those are all years down the road — but at least they give us the sense that The High Republic has some long game plans in the works…
You can view the full announcement of all of these books, including a tonne of new concept art, here. StarWars.com also has a round up (including book covers), and below is the latest trailer.
Star Wars: The High Republic begins this week with the release of Charles Soule’s Light of the Jedi and Justina Irelands A Test of Courage.
[referenced id=”1661533″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2021/01/januarys-new-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-will-help-you-start-2021-on-the-right-page/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/02/drisj0cmw0qv8ult9pdh-300×169.jpg” title=”January’s New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Will Help You Start 2021 on the Right Page” excerpt=”Happy New Year! Time to add some new books to your 2021 reading list, and we’ve got you covered with space adventures (including a little something from the world of Star Wars), fantasy battles, ghosts, unicorns, dragons, magical con artists, narcoleptic detectives, and so much more.”]For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.