As Phase I of The High Republic ends, the story continues in its second phase.
New authors for the Phase II of Star Wars: The High Republic books were introduced in a segment in The High Republic Show with Krystina Arielle.
The authors introduced in the segment “Beyond the Page” are Zoraida Cordova, who will be writing Star Wars – The High Republic: Convergence, George Mann, a UK-based author who will be penning Star Wars – The High Republic: Quest for the Hidden City, Lydia Kang, who wrote a short story called Right-Hand Man, a short story from the anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, and Tessa Gratton, who will write Star Wars – The High Republic: Path of Deceit.
During the segment, the authors talked about when they first heard that they were joining The High Republic team.
Kang noted that when finding out she was joining the project, she was “in shock.”
“Like, is this actually really happening?” Kang remembered asking herself when recalling her surprise. Kang added that there was a monumental responsibility behind working in the Star Wars universe.
Like Kang, Zoraida, the scribe behind Star Wars: A Crash of Fate, also questioned the news when she received an email.
“Like, are you sure? Did you mean to send this email to me?” said Zoraida. The writer explained how both “exciting and terrifying” it was to be unraveling The High Republic timeline.
“There are so many new Jedi to meet, new Republic characters, especially the new worlds that we’re going be going to,” said Zoraida. The author behind Convergence said that she was excited for readers to be diving into Phase II.
“I can’t wait for everybody to meet the new characters, new storylines, and it’s a dream come true as a writer,” said Zoraida.
Mann, who authored Star Wars: Myths & Fables, Star Wars: Dark Legends, and Star Wars Life Day Treasury, recalled how he celebrated after getting the news on the phone.
“As soon as I put the phone down, I probably did a bit of a dance in front of my kids,” said Mann. The author also mentioned the influence behind his Star Wars writing.
“I was kind of looking back at those classic adventure stories, kind of frontiers tales, westerns.” Said Mann. “For me, it is like the initiative itself. You know, we’ve got this case of characters going on this journey into the unknown, and that’s a bit like what we’re doing with Star Wars: The High Republic.”
Next, Gratton, who is a writer of several young adult novels, noted the awe she experienced when receiving the news of her involvement in the project.
“I had to push my computer away because it came, like, crashing down on me,” she said. Gratton said that she was happy to be taking part in the project in her mother’s memory since she was a Star Wars fan.
Earlier in the segment, the authors behind Phase II spoke about their first experience with Star Wars.
Mann talked about going to the movies with his grandfather during his childhood to watch The Empire Strikes Back which sparked his interest in Star Wars.
“And from that point on, I was addicted to the comics, the action figures, the sticker books, and obviously the movies too,” said Mann.
Zoraida said that her first experience involved her mother’s coworker giving her and her little brother a box of Star Wars toys which also came with the movies in VHS form.
“And, so we would watch the movies and act out the scenes with all the little figurines,” said Zoraida.
Kang gave a hilarious answer to her first Star Wars memory.
“So, my very first Star Wars memory – this is going to age me a little bit, but it was in 1977 watching A New Hope in the theater,” Kang recalled. Kang also mentioned creating mini crochet Grogu figurines during the Pandemic which kept her company and made her happy.
Gratton recalls her mother being a huge Star Wars fan and being enchanted by the Ewoks that she decided to change her name to Wicket, one of the Ewoks encountered by Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi.
“No Tess, but was Wicket for anyone who asked,” said Gratton.
The Phase II authors also talked about what Star Wars means to them.
What resonated with Mann when it came to Star Wars was the idea of one finding family “no matter who you are” or what journey one was on.
“There are people who will care about you,” said Mann. “That idea of people coming together.”
Zoraida talked about how In the Star Wars universe, even the “smallest person can make a difference” and overcome adversity.
“No matter how hard a situation feels like, if you come together with your friends, you can save the day and you can make a difference,” said Zoraida.
To Gratton, Star Wars was about being aspired to make the world a better place.
“I wanted to grow up and be a wizard who changed the world to make it better, and that’s really what the Jedi were all about,” said Gratton.
Kang’s was enchanted by the philosophical and moral meanings behind Star Wars.
“The fight and that push and pull between good and evil is something I find really fascinating because its never black and white,” said Kang. “It’s never really concrete. There are so many gray zones in that push and pull, and in every single story, you get to explore that.”
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