In January 2021, Star Wars publishing officially embarked on a journey quite unlike any it had previously attempted. A new book series, first known by its codename Project Luminous before revealing itself as The High Republic, launched its first two books simultaneously. One was a middle-grade novel featuring a young Mirialin with a purple lightsaber whip. The other, a sweeping adult novel called Light of the Jedi, trended on Twitter on its release day.
Since the initiative's beginning, Charles Soule has been known as the author who sort of started it all. Light of the Jedi was the first story in the soon-to-conclude series. And though he has since penned numerous other stories in the series -- and throughout Star Wars storytelling overall -- this first book began a four-plus-year journey. And as his book began the tale, his next -- Trials of the Jedi -- will end it all.
The author recently spoke with Star Wars Insider magazine about his work on the initiative -- the interview will release in full in issue #231, out today. Many readers and fans have speculated that this final book won't really be the end of the High Republic era, and Soule was able to offer some hope on that subject.
When asked about the future of the series -- which technically comes to an end, in terms of the original books and comics, in June -- Soule spoke with confidence that The High Republic will never really be gone.
"Even though this cycle of storytelling is wrapping up, I strongly suspect The High Republic will always be around. There are people who have been following this initiative since January 2021, and it has been a memorable event for a whole generation of Star Wars fans. It really brought Star Wars to a new level for them, and it’s going to mean a lot to a lot of people for a long time. People are so connected to The High Republic personally because of the way it hit for them when it came out. The characters are very real to them. What it inspires the next generation of creators to do is what I think will be really interesting to see. I’m very proud of what all those who were involved have done here."Charles Soule
Although Star Wars publishing has featured lengthy book series in the past -- the most well-known being Legends' New Jedi Order, which spanned 19 full novels as well as several novellas and other stories -- The High Republic was a unique return to the concept. The series features books for all ages -- from young reader stories to adult novels -- as well as ongoing comic book series, manga, and audio dramas. The High Republic era has also since been featured in video games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and in TV shows such as The Acolyte and Young Jedi Adventures on Disney+.
No Star Wars multimedia project has been quite this expansive. And its success is hard to ignore. Many of the series' novels have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list, and entire panels and meetups at events such as Star Wars Celebration have been dedicated exclusively to the characters, stories, and creators of the era.
Even if The High Republic does not continue in a more informal way, its success has created future opportunities for diverse teams of creators to craft long-form, interconnected stories across multiple forms of media in the Star Wars universe. But that's not all Soule had to say about the initiative as a whole.
You can read the full interview with the author -- and many more exclusive articles -- in Star Wars Insider #231, out today. They also have a special deal running from May 3 - May 24 with the Humble Bundle Promotion. Get more details at StarWars.com.