Star Wars is Doubling Down on the High Republic Era
The prequels-to-the-prequels are getting bigger.
The Acolyte was Star Wars’ first live-action foray into The High Republic, an era set centuries before the prequel trilogy that had previously been confined to books and comics. It shows the Jedi at their peak, when they served as peacekeepers across the galaxy and weren’t being withered by conflict and Sith machinations. The Acolyte even showed the live-action debut of Vernestra Rwoh, a key character from the High Republic books.
But now that The Acolyte is canceled, the High Republic is returning to where it started: comics and books. However, it will be picking up the torch that The Acolyte dropped and taking on a bigger role in the franchise.
Early art for Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories–Qui-Gon shows the Jedi in two different eras.
At New York Comic-Con, Lucasfilm Publishing announced a slew of new books, most of which center on the High Republic and prequel eras. There’s a graphic novel about a young Qui-Gon Jinn, a Bad Batch prequel comic, and a giant High Republic wedding spectacular, but the most exciting announcements were the ones that straddled both spots on the timeline.
For example, the graphic novel Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories–Qui-Gon, slated for March 4, 2025, will follow Qui-Gon both as a padawan under Count Dooku and as a Master teaching Obi-Wan Kenobi. In both storylines, Qui-Gon encounters the Brotherhood of the Ninth Door, a dark-side religious sect featured in recent High Republic adventures. Another comic series, Jedi Knights, takes place before the prequel trilogy but after the High Republic era, providing even more opportunity for crossover between the two periods.
Acolyte characters like Kelnacca are living on in books and comics.
Elsewhere, characters seen in The Acolyte will live on in books. Wayseeker, Justina Ireland’s novel about Vernestra Rwoh, is slated for a May 2025 release, and Tessa Gratton’s young adult novel The Crystal Crown will follow Jecki and Yord in the days before they fell victim to Qimir. Even Kelnacca, the Wookiee Jedi we met in The Acolyte, is getting his own one-shot comic.
The High Republic may have had a fumbled introduction to the main Star Wars fandom, but The Acolyte still increased awareness of the era. In this post-Acolyte world, the books can finally fill in the gaps of what was previously a disconnected story, and make it a key part of the entire Star Wars timeline.
