Beyond all the awesome new content arriving for The High Republic initiative, there’s a novel and two comics in the first week of February alone (!), January 27 saw the launch of the bi-monthly The High Republic Show, hosted by the affable and engaging Krystina Arielle! The premiere episode comes in at a hefty but enjoyable 20-plus minutes, covering some slight spoilers, talking with creatives behind-the-scenes, and revealing new details about upcoming releases, so head below for summary of the latest news!
For starters, we have to be clear here: not only did the official Star Wars account show they stand with Krystina Arielle, but I do as well, and any grotesque comments against her is unacceptable and not welcomed in this fandom, the Manor, or any place. Fans have organized a charity drive to help show support, having donations going to the Loveland Foundation, “a non-profit organization offering access to therapy and other mental health services to communities of color–particularly to black women and girls, cis or trans–who might not have access to benefit from these services otherwise.” Go and support the cause if you can, otherwise just make sure to keep tuning into The High Republic Show and taking steps to ensure a more inclusive fandom, like blocking/reporting those who harass others (I’ve never blocked/reported as many people as I did these past few weeks than all my time on Twitter).
Alright, now that we got the important stuff out of the way, time for THR Show thoughts, news, and details! For starters, just want to say Krystina is a funny, enjoyable host, and I loved all the wink and nods at the camera. There’s an excellent, inspiring interview with Krystina over at the official site’s blog, showing how she went from red carpet fan to hosting her own show; it’s really worth a read to see how one fan took the initiative and it paid off big time! Also, I can’t wait for more puns, as I do quite enjoy them! Overall, the pacing of the show, the author interviews, and new details mean tuning in twice a month should be loads of fun; I’ll be curious if all episodes will be as long and if they’ll still post news about THR outside the show or keep it to the show for the most part. Either way, it’s pretty amazing a publishing initiative has a show like this, so regardless of the content I’m just glad to see it around.
I loved how the show started with a look at the “Temple of Darkness” part of the Oculus Quest exclusive VR game, Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, introducing fans to its star, Padawan Ady Sun’Zee (whom they’ve teased will appear in upcoming books/comics), and a look at some of the gameplay. My wife was awesome enough to get me an Oculus Quest 2 for the holidays, and while I’ve only played Vader Immortal so far, I plan on tackling this next so I can check out the first THR-era video game…make sure to tune back to the Manor for my review! Getting to see some of the minds behind the game at ILMxLAB was a nice touch and I enjoyed the comment Frank Oz left one of the character designers: “Struggle.” Sounds about right with Yoda or anyone who has to live for 900 years.
The author round table didn’t offer too much in the way of new tidbits, but it was great to have Charles Soule, Justina Ireland, and Lucasfilm Publishing Creative Director Michael Siglain chatting about the project, from general thoughts on the process to specific stuff like Starlight Beacon or Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil who takes front and center villain stage in Light of the Jedi. The light spoilers means Justina gets to talk about covering Imri’s feelings after the death of his Master, as seen in A Test of Courage, while Soule can tease Marchion’s story is really only just beginning. We also get concept art for Claudia Gray’s Into the Dark YA novel, introducing us to Orla Jareni, an Umbaran Jedi who chooses to be a Wayseeker; we’ll discuss more about her and the novel next week in our review! Also hidden in the video (around the 17:45 mark) was the next Characters of Star Wars: The High Republic digital short, focusing on Bell Zettifar and featuring his Master, Loden Greatstorm, and I hope that gets released separately soon because that’s such a cool little series. At the end, there was also a Q&A section, and you only need to tag your questions for the show with #THRSQuestions to potentially have yours answered, so if you have burning questions make sure to Tweet them out!
As for some new content, we have more details from the manga by Justina Ireland and Shima Shinya, with illustrations by Mizuki Sakakibara, The Edge of Balance: it stars Lily Tora-Asi, while she’ll be joined by Stellan Gios (Vernestra Rwoh’s former Master) and another Wookiee Jedi named Arkoff (yay, more Wookiee Jedi!!). The serene, remote outpost Lily is stationed becomes anything but when the Drengir arrive; these monsters have been teased by the team for awhile now, but they play a big part in next week’s Into the Dark and will be explored in Cavan Scott’s The High Republic comic as well. The Edge of Balance is out June 8.
And lastly, this ominous cover above for The High Republic #5, out in early May, that shows Keeve Trennis clutching her fallen (but hopefully not dead!) Master, Sskeer. We have a review out for the first issue already, while it’s second comes out February 3, so check back to the Manor to maybe see what could lead Sskeer down a path that could end like what we see in the cover!
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.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC NEWS
Review: The High Republic – A Test of Courage
Review: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi
Review: The High Republic #1
Livestream for The High Republic Launch Reveals Trailer, New Content, Three Phases, And More!!