Lucasfilm and Disney have announced Star Wars: The High Republic, a set of stories set 200 years before Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. The initial series will consist of books and comics and is part of the oft-rumored Project Luminous, a campaign meant to enlarge the Star Wars expanded universe under Disney. That new EU will kick-off with Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi, and will be the first arc in the continued High Republic series. According to StarWars.com, the arc will consist of two adult novels, one YA novel, one comic book series from IDW, and another comic series from Marvel. Veteran Star Wars writers Charles Soule and Claudia Grey will lend their talents alongside Justina Ireland, Daniel Jose Older, and Cavan Scott.
While it’s not clear what The High Republic will look like in this new version of the Star Wars EU, we do know that it will show the Jedi in their prime, as well as galactic expansion into the Outer Rim territories. Lucasfilm Vice President of Franchise Content and Strategy James Waugh said:
As of writing, Disney says that The High Republic era will not overlap with other Star Wars films or television shows, including those on Disney Plus. It will act on its own and usher in a new prequel era, inflating the current expanded universe to heights not seen since the golden age of Timothy Zahn and Kevin J. Anderson.
The High Republic is also reportedly separate from the rumored Rian Johson Star Wars trilogy, as well as the trilogy that was being worked on by former Game of Thrones showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Outside of a generic 2020 release window, there is no word on when the first issues of Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures (IDW) and Star Wars: The High Republic (Marvel) will hit shelves. Into the Dark (Grey), A Test of Courage (Ireland), and Light of the Jedi (Soule) are now available for pre-order from various retailers. In other Star Wars news, The Rise of Skywalker will release on Blu-ray and digital in March.
