The Star Wars: The High Republic publishing initiative is almost ready to take fans 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga and we’ve officially received our first sneak peek.
The story of the Skywalkers and their struggle with the rise and fall of the Empire may be over, but Lucasfilm has big plans for the future of Star Wars and its shared continuity. While the studio is probably hard at work developing the next batch of films that succeed The Rise of Skywalker, what we look forward to seeing in the galaxy far, far away in the near future are a series of books and comics that take us to the High Republic era, some 200 years before Episode I – The Phantom Menace. In this celebrated period, the Jedi Order is at the height of its power, looking over peace and justice in the Republic’s golden age.
While the series got pushed back to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the first chapter of the first novel, Light of the Jedi, has found its way online. The tiny glimpse teases a catastrophic event that is yet to come, which compels the Senate to turn to the Jedi for help. This prologue, featuring an “epic disaster, and a heroic, thrilling response by both the Republic and the Jedi to save lives and end the crisis,” will undoubtedly spoil some plot points, so you’d be wise to avoid it if you want to go in blind. If not, you can read the chapter here.
Charles Soule, the book’s author who shared this preview, recently explained the importance of this particular moment to the grander design of Star Wars: The High Republic, saying:
“This excerpt is our first look at the moment that changes The High Republic forever. The destruction of the Legacy Run is the catalyst for a galaxy-wide disaster,” he told IGN.
As it stands to reason, this is just the beginning of a much larger story, and it’ll be interesting to see where the group of writers decide to take our new Jedi protagonists next.
