What is the High Republic in ‘Star Wars?’

Listen, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Skywalker saga.  For as long as Star Wars has existed, the Skywalker family has been the center of its universe. While fans certainly love the time we’ve spent in the era of the Empire vs the Republic, we can all agree Star Wars needs something wildly different after the much-reviled 3rd trilogy.

Disney’s push for new content has seen the company dredge the deep lore for ideas. We’ve seen more of Mandalore than we ever thought possible, followed Ahsoka Tano out of the ‘verse we’ve come to know, and even seen Grand Admiral Thrawn’s first live-action appearance. And for the first time outside of video game or book form, fans are finally getting a glimpse of the High Republic on the silver screen when The Acolyte comes to Disney Plus.

What is the High Republic?

We all know that Star Wars is the fight between the rebels of the Republic vs Empire, but it wasn’t always. The prequel trilogy gave us a glimpse of the bloated carcass of the Republic just before it burst, but the failing government was just a shadow of its former self. The High Republic, a period 200 years before the Phantom Menace, marked one of the greatest periods for the galaxy. The Age of the High Republic lasted for 400 years, and ended near the beginning of the prequel trilogy.

The heart of the Republic, which is still the gleaming city of Coruscant, is in the middle of a galactic renaissance. Despite the grandeur of the Republic, much of the galaxy isn’t unified. Space travel is still in its fledgling stages. Hyperlanes are still being charted, and current rim planets, likeTatooine, are part of a wild frontier – one common people would struggle to read about, let alone experience. Technology is a shadow of what we understand Star Wars to be. Bacta tanks are a new, unperfected technology, and the ships you know and love won’t exist yet for several hundred years.

The Jedi Order is also at the height of its power. Separate from the Republic, the Jedi represented the truest version of their ideal. Peacekeepers in the truest sense of the word, Jedi could be found all over the galaxy and had different recruitment methods than we’ve seen so far. There were Wayseekers, nomadic Jedi who didn’t answer to a council, and those who took a Barash Vow, essentially hermits who only listened to the Force.

The Galactic Frontier was harsh and unforgiving. Beyond the harsh environments of new planets, pirates and brigands were common. Settlers on colonized planets could find a fortune Hyperspace prospecting but had limited ability to call for help when attacked. One of the biggest threats settlers faced was the Nihil, a band of ferocious marauders.

In an attempt to protect communication, the Republic launched the Starlight Beacon. A space station and a testament to the galactic renaissance, the orbital station was positioned near the rim. Both a holdover stop for travelers and a way to extend broadcast range, the station was meant to connect planets in an attempt to diplomatically recruit new worlds to the Republic’s coalition of planets.

We don’t have a ton of information yet, but The Acolyte is set somewhere near the end of the High Republic’s glory days. Series writer Leslye Headland said it best with when she described the series as existing, “in a pocket of the universe and a pocket of the timeline that we don’t know much about.”