“Star Wars: The High Republic” is the newest “Star Wars” campaign that will bring fans to an era longer ago in the same galaxy, far, far away. And now we have a little taste of what to expect.
What’s happening:
- Lucasfilm announced a new “Star Wars” campaign of books and graphic novels earlier this year called “The High Republic,” which is set 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga.
- “Light of the Jedi” — a novel from Charles Soule — will be the first project to bring us into that era.
- The novel is deemed the feature piece for the new campaign, unveiling what happened to the galaxy that set events in motion for the entire arc. Specifically, a technological issue occurs that sends the galaxy into chaos, requiring the Republic to seek the help of the Jedi.
What’s the incident?
- So the chapter reveals the major event that kicks off the new campaign. Basically, a freighter with passengers and cargo gets broken while traveling through hyperspace. The debris fall out of hyperspace, sending projectiles toward multiple planets across the galaxy.
- The Jedi — who have organized outposts throughout the galaxy in this era — are tasked with helping planets avoid destruction and aiding citizens from dealing with the impact.
- Gizmodo said: “And that’s extremely cool, because we get to see what the Jedi are like beyond wizards with dangerous quantities of weaponized glowsticks. They’re healers, aid-relief workers, botanists, and farmers out on the edge of their civilization—guardians in a sociological and ecological point of view, instead of necessarily a militaristic one.”
How to read the first chapter:
- IGN published an entire excerpt from the first chapter.
- Soule told IGN: “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. Fragments of the destroyed cargo vessel begin flying out of hyperspace at super-accelerated speeds, meaning that deadly missiles of debris can appear anywhere at any time, from the Outer Rim to the Core. In this moment of crisis, the Republic turns to the guardians of peace and justice — the Jedi.”
- Soule added: “The opening beats of Light of the Jedi depict an epic disaster, and a heroic, thrilling response by both the Republic and the Jedi to save lives and end the crisis. It’s just the beginning, though. The Legacy Run disaster kicks off a much larger story; it really is just one piece of a much bigger saga.”
- Read the entire first chapter of “Light of the Jedi” at IGN.