Lucasfilm announced that the upcoming multi-platform project called Star Wars The High Republic will not launch this Summer. The first releases have been pushed back to January 2021. The company announced it with an official letter, which confirmed that nothing except the date is changing. They even teased a few bits from stories and events that will be a part of this project
Star Wars The High Republic was originally announced to launch its first releases around August 2020. As this time approaches and considering the current situation we are in, the announcement from Disney about several months delay of the release of this project is anything but a surprise.
The High Republic release date is not set for the beginning of 2021.
This is a multi-publisher project including stories from a number of authors all set in the same time period in the beloved by us Star Wars universe.
Taking us back around 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, the High Republic will tell us brand new stories and events that may or may not be related to characters, plots and narratives from the canon movies and comics books.
“We are so excited to be opening up such a rich, fertile era for our authors to explore. We’ll get to see the Jedi in their prime.” – Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy commented for the official announcement of what was previously rumored only as “Project Luminos”.
This is a time when the Republic is at its highest. The Jedi are (presumably) everywhere and among the most respected individuals.
The first title from The High Republic series – “Light of the Jedi” has a new date – January 5, 2021. “A Test of Courage” (middle grade novel by Justina Ireland) also launches on the same date and Claudia Grey’s young adult novel “Into the Dark” is set to arrive on February 2 2021.
There is still no official date announced for the release of the comic books series by Marvel and IDW.
Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Micharl Siglain explained why this change was made in a letter published by starwars.com.
Here is the full text of the letter:
“Always in motion is the future.”
That quote from Yoda is just as relevant today as it was when The Empire Strikes Back was released forty years ago. Ant while it applies to the uncertainty of the future, it also applies to Star Wars: The High Republic.
Star Wars: The High Republic is a massive, interconnected, cross-publisher initiative that will establish an all-new era of Star Wars storytelling. Set 200 years before the events of the prequel trilogy, this mega-story will give readers and Star Wars fans of every age an entry point into The High Republic – a time of galactic renaissance, when the Jedi Knights were at their height.
Given these unprecedented times, we have made the decision to move the launch of Star Wars: The High Republic to January 2021 to ensure that the launch is as grand and epic as it deserves to be.
Now, I know that waiting isn’t easy. And I know fans have been excited for this since it was first announced. I’m right there with you. I’ve also been waiting to tell this story for years. And while I still can’t say much about it, I can tell you that our story architects – Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel Jose Older, Cavan Scott and Charles Soule – are continuing to work away on this new era of stories. You’ll hear from them this summer, and when you do, be sure to ask them about “The Hero of Hetzal”, “the twins”, “the Blade of Bardotta”, “the Starros and San Tekka clans, and the storms. You are not going to believe what they’ve got in store for the Jedi and the Republic.
So from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I thank you for reading and I thank you for your understanding and patience. Star Wars: The High Republic has been a true labor or lolve for us, and we can’t wait for readers to experience the golden age of the Jedi.
Until then, and as always, stay strong, stay safe, and may the Force be with you.
Best,
Michael Siglain
Creative Director, Lucasfilm Publishing
The letter does not hide the real reason behind this delay. Disney wants to make a big buzz and noise with the release of the first novels from this project.
Few months ago Disney gave us the first glimpse at who are the Jedi heroes part of the project will be. We got a chance to learn a few details about each one of them.
The characters from each individual story will all live and interact with each other between each release. They will appear in various books from various authors and not be individual separate roles that each author will create for themselves.
I am curious about these quoted questions we are seemingly getting answered this summer. If the name sounds familiar it is because Lor San Tekka is the name of the old man Poe Dameron meets in the beginning of Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
The High Republic may be set 200 years before Episide I, but family relationships and lineages are often traced thousands of years back in the Star Wars universe.
There are no movies or TV series planned for this particular period that The High Republic project will cover. The authors have complete freedom to draw on a blank slate.
With the announcement of this delay, those of us who were eager to get their hands on it and find out if the wait was worth it, well, disappointment is surely an accurate word to use for it.
The circumstances that affected the whole world this Spring delayed many major other events and canceled all conventions. Without those there is no way a major release celebration could happen.
Disney’s decision to delay the Star Wars The High Republic release with more than half an year is completely understandable and was to be expected.
Some of you might speculate that something is wrong with this project or that Lucasfilm want to start the new year with a fresh release. There’s even a theory/rumor I heard that the stories are not good and possibly received negative reviews from the first test readers.
I personally think the reason is the situation around the world. Most countries are still very much fully occupied with other matters and people are not interested in books as much as they would be if their lives were running normally again, which is what we are all hoping for come next year.
So, what do YOU think?
