With the first Phase of The High Republic nearly at an end, the final comic issues dropping March, the latest The High Republic Show was focused more on how we got here, Krystina Arielle’s cool new digs and fan-made costume, and discussing much of what’s transpired since The Fallen Star‘s release in January, plus a suggestion on which piece to read to finish Phase I, Wave III. There were some reveals for Phase II: Quest of the Jedi, like who’s writing what, from Zoraida Córdova kicking off the new story with the adult novel and Claudia Gray behind a comic book, as well as a much requested and really exciting Art of The High Republic book, but it was focused mainly on the journey so far and teases of the future (5 or so years total in story) and I think it was well-deserved considering how fandom has accepted the initiative since its launch, though it also mentioned something fandom has been rallying against for sometime. Head on for the lowdown!
If you aren’t already following the stellar Krystina Arielle on Twitter, correct that mistake now, but as she teased in previous THRS that she’d be leaving her garage for future installments, she posted a while back her arriving at Lucasfilm in San Francisco, so I figured/hoped there would be a cool new space for her and the show. I did not expect it to be as stellar as what she got to show off in today’s installment, from the beautiful wood round table, the tons of era-appropriate lightsabers, items like the Starlight Beacon model and Marchion Ro’s helmet, and even some Jedi robes! It looks beautiful and I’m so glad she’s been given such a space, as it shows Lucasfilm’s confidence in her, the show, and the era. She has to go through a ton of recapping this episode, so mad kudos to her for keeping it fun, despite the dire subject matter of these last few issues and books, and I hope she took a nice long nap after section before shooting the next. The way they animated comic panels and other art is really cool, bringing the era to even more life and adding some flair to some already flair-filled comics like Trail of Shadows. Even more exciting than the new digs was Arielle’s fan-made Jedi costume!! There’s a short little interview with Caitlin Jacques during both the show and on the official site, but it’s so cool they reached out to someone in the community and put them at the forefront on delivering new robes based off the era. I really hope Arielle gets drawn into the era somehow (here’s some fan art of that!), in those exact robes, as it’s the least she deserves for being such a wonderful, open part of The High Republic and Star Wars fan communities!
Arielle’s first in-person guest was Lucasfilm’s Senior Vice President James Waugh, who looked back at the whole process, from Kathleen Kennedy “throwing down the gauntlet” on them to go big and different to the fateful writers’ room that built what we have now. He also discussed how the biggest challenges have been making content that’ll be coming out in multiple phases and multiple years, mentioning 5 years in total, which is really daunting when you think about it, knowing we won’t see the end of this thing until 2026 potentially! Which is why his next point will be quite the test going forward, as they’ve said the most important part is not alienating people who aren’t going to read everything, which will get harder as this thing goes on, and I know it’s not as possible with The Fallen Star, as it’s clearer in the book than any before it that you’re missing out on certain parts if you’re also not reading the comics. I wish them the best of luck with this aspect going forward. He then goes on to hype up content in the wings, like Lesleyle Headland’s The Acolyte show tying into the end of the era, that there are more things they can’t talk about in the works (maybe this Stranger Things inspired TV show rumor or a live-action film), but unfortunately they continue to hype up Star Wars Eclipse without mentioning any of the controversy or fan outcry that’s happened and continued since its announcement. They don’t even mention the game by name, which felt like a way to avoid the elephant in the room, but it was a poor attempt and really disappointing measure/aspect to the latest episode. It’s high time Lucasfilm acknowledges the hurt and harm they are perpetrating by committing to Star Wars Eclipse, but if they aren’t ever going to change their mind on Rosario Dawson, it’s hard to imagine them trying to be open to listening and taking feedback on the project since they seem to deem the concerns of many LGBTQIA+ fans beneath their notice. Which is even more glaring considering the breadth of beautiful, game-changing representation coming out of The High Republic, from Kantam Sy’s non-binary POV and Zeen/Lula’s love story in the stellar Midnight Horizon, making the continued silence and commitment to Star Wars Eclipse, instead of listening to #BlackoutStarWarsEclipse all the more harmful. There’s no way they haven’t heard any of the thoughtful commentary from fans or other articles from entertainment sites covering the outcry, and the Luminous authors’ silence and words about how things can be out of one’s control signal they know about it and hear it, so there’s just no way this hasn’t been brought to their attention. There’s always hope, as they say in the video despite all the darker aspects to this Wave of Phase I, but it’s getting smaller by the moment, though hopefully in this show at least, they can try to be more respectful of the hurt the game’s existence is causing beyond not saying it by name.
After Waughn, Arielle was joined by Lucasfilm Publishing Creative Director Michael Siglain, This Week! In Star Wars Host Kristin Baver, and luminous author Daniel José Older for a chat about The Fallen Star, Older’s many contributions, and some exciting news from Baver. Older talks about writing Trail of Shadows, like what it was like bringing to life and adding to the backstory of characters like Beesar and Uttersond, and The High Republic Adventures, on having the plan for Lula Talisola and Zeen Mrala to accept their love for one another from the start. Siglain understandably talks up ToS, as it really has been some stellar stuff, while he suggests the final piece of Phase I, Wave III content you should read is March 2’s Eye of the Storm #2; interesting tease! Baver provides some exciting news about her next project: The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic!! She interviewed the authors and writers to bring us as full a picture as she could to explore the earliest iterations to the final product we’re all enjoying now, while Siglain admits they only had her in mind for the project and I totally understand why! While it wasn’t mentioned here, there’s also an Illustrated Archive coming October, so curious to learn more about that as well. Lastly, two questions from the fan community went out to Claudia Gray, answers which once again sort of iterated how the process of writing this interconnected story goes and how it can change even as they write the content (like she said in a recent interview) and gave her ideas on how to give us more amazing Geode content in the future.
You’ve waited this long, so it’s time to finally dive into the other reveals beyond the upcoming “Art of” book! It’s been revealed the adult novel for Phase II Wave I, The High Republic – Convergence, is being written by Zoraida Córdova, one of the new authors joining the initiative as revealed in the anniversary show! The co-written YA book between Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland received a name, The High Republic – Path of Deceit, while George Mann will handle the middle grade book, titled The High Republic – Quest for the Hidden City, which sounds, by name alone, a fun little adventure like something from Indiana Jones and Uncharted! The most exciting announcement, for me at least, is Claudia Gray writing a comic book for Dark Horse called Quest of the Jedi! I’ve been hoping to have more content from her in the future of the project and this guarantees a nice steady stream of work from her while making it the first new comic announced for 2022 with a female creative behind it, so I have to rejoice when those things happen! There’s no details on any of the titles announced, nor the ones already revealed like Cavan Scott’s The High Republic comic, Charles Soule’s Porter Engle focused comic for Marvel and Older’s The High Republic Adventures graphic novel for Dark Horse, with only temporary covers as expected at this point, but at least we now have a picture of what to expect once Phase II kicks off 150 years in the past in October!
Lastly, as Phase I Wave III is nearly over, here’s a look at the updated release schedule (it’s been changing a bit lately due to printing issues/delays, but we try to keep it updated on our THR page!): Feb 22 – The Edge of Balance Vol. 2 {digital release}| Feb 23 – The High Republic Adventures #13 | March 2 – The High Republic #15; Eye of the Storm #2.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.