Regardless of how well they rolled out the announcement, Project Luminous officially opens a new era in the Star Wars universe. What was once deemed Legends and titled the Old Republic, now goes by the name High Republic. The era of the High Republic begins, but what does this actually mean for the future?
High Republic Begins: The Past Becomes Present
What used to be labeled the Old Republic took place thousands of Years ago, but the stories actually spanned three different periods. The very first story of Uliq Qel-Droma occurred 4,000 years before Yavin with the story of Revan taking place just after. Darth Bane jumped ahead to 1000 before Yavin.
This new era of the High Republic already has two close eras rumored. Much of the rumors rest around the 400 years before Yavin. The new books and comics seem to focus on 200 years before Yavin. This does not mean if a fresh venue is needed, the stories can’t jump thousands of years earlier. I think if Revan or Bane come into play, they will jump back.
High Republic Begins: Are They Playing It Safe?
The great thing to this time jump is it completely frees creators from any ties to existing materials. Sure we have mentions of older stories and characters, but none told enough back story to tie any creative hands, but does the fact they are only stepping back 200 years mean they are playing it safe?
Being only 200 years before current events suggests the galaxy will unfold very similar to the way it was used during the Phantom Menace. A chancellor will lead the Republic with the Jedi as the Peace keepers. Ships will be close enough I would bet we see designs suggesting s-foils as predecessors to X-wings. We will see panels that suggest a predecessor to the TIE fighters. Things, while new, may feel a bit too similar to the present.
High Republic Begins: Who’s In.
One face I have no doubt will surface will be Master Yoda. Whether they use him in the beginning or for a ratings boost remains to be seen. The cool side will be to see him slightly younger and more spry, but not by a lot. Most likely he will be on the council still even if not the head. In the end there will be very little change, save it’ll be pre-Dooku.
Truth be told, using him now might be a waste. Back the story up 600 years and we now have a 300 year old Yoda, most likely a Jedi Knight. Given we know about Yoda’s species thanks to The Mandalorian, that would make him a young Jedi Knight. We could then experience him as a trixie Jedi, known for causing problems with his pranks and humor.
I do not know of any other species/characters we know of that live long enough to surface in the High Republic, save Yaddle of course.
High Republic Begins: Who’s Out.
As we know, the Sith cannot be apart of this time frame (from a certain point of view), but we will come back to this. The presser told us there will be a new enemy for these Jedi, the Nhil. The Nhil are described as ‘space vikings’, so space pirates who pillage and plunder. The name begs the question, could there be a connection to Darth Nihilus? Perhaps the biggest question will be – What is so special about these pirates that allows them to go toe-to-toe with Jedi Knights?
Now for the Sith to be a part of the High Republic, the timeline would need to back up a thousand years. Presumably that story would follow Darth Bane and the Rule of Two; However, there is nothing to say the Sith can’t be influencing things behind the scenes. They simply cannot be identified by the Jedi.
I wish Lucasfilm would have jumped further back in time, but just to have a free hand in story telling with new characters and new directions will be incredible fun. I also can’t help but think a movie announcement would have accompanied this announcement if Benioff and Weiss were still producing their movies, which were rumored for this time frame. Make sure to follow us at thathashtagshow.com for the latest Star Wars news.
