#ProjectLuminous is Star Wars: The High Republic – Everything We Know

What is #ProjectLuminous?

This secret ‘future of Star Wars project’ was first announced at Celebration Chicago at the Lucasfilm Publishing Writers Roundtable on Monday April 15, 2019. And that was it…just an announcement with no details. Until…

February 24, 2020 – Five fan-favorite authors, Lucasfilm Publishing Worldwide, Story Group members and a handful of media congregated at Walt Disney Studios for an exciting rollout of… The High Republic! That’s right, we learned that #ProjectLuminous was the secret working title for what is now called Star Wars: The High Republic! 

Star Wars: The High Republic – Details

The High Republic is a collection of interconnected stories for adults, teens and kids from a variety of publishers including Disney/Lucasfilm Press, Del Rey, IDW Publishing, and Marvel. The initial books and comics come from fan-favorite authors such as Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soul. 

These stories are set 200 years before the Skywalker Saga, when the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic are at their peak. Think of the line Ben Kenobi tells Luke in Star Wars, “For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights have been the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy…” THIS time period is what Ben was referring to as told to us by Michael Siglain, Director of Creative Franchise at Disney–Lucasfilm Press.

These stories are spread out over multiple years and cover tales of exploration; charting out the galaxy, meeting new cultures, and discovering what pioneer life in the Outer Rim was like. 

The High Republic features a core group of heroes, consider them the Jedi Knights of the roundtable! Since the Republic does not stretch from one side of the galaxy to the other, this is a wild west time period and these Jedi patrol the frontiers of the outer rim from opportunists and scoundrels.

What Scares the Jedi?

What makes this publishing event so special is the fact that all of these authors, the Lucasfilm story group and Disney Publishing Worldwide congregated at Skywalker Ranch for two brainstorming and story-writing sessions. They asked the question, ‘what scares the Jedi?’

This fueled a new set of stories, where the Jedi are not fighting Sith. Instead, they will be taking on the Nihil (pronounced “Nile”) and our authors described them as “space Vikings!”  

But that’s not all that threatens the Jedi. The High Republic storyline begins when everything is good, the people are content. But that’s when the “Great Disaster” happens, which threatens the Jedi, the galaxy, and the Force itself. 

Five New High Republic Titles Announced

There are five different books and comics in this first wave of The High Republic. Each starts with the Great Disaster and how characters deal with it from different perspectives and places in the Star Wars galaxy.  

We should note that Bobby Moynihan, who voiced Orka on Star Wars: Resistance and brought Matt The Radar Technician to life in the SNL sketch, Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base, was the moderator for this event. As always, he brought the funny. When asked “What does Star Wars mean to you,” he quipped “Well, I’ve only seen one Star Wars film – The Phantom Menace...” before answering that Star Wars means “Hope.” 

After more fun moments, which you can hear on our podcast episode 278, Bobby asked each author about their particular title. We learned that the first wave of The High Republic titles include:

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi

This novel by Charles Soule releases on 8/25/20, 2 days before Star Wars Celebration Anaheim.
Synopsis: Two hundred years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, in the era of the glorious High Republic, the noble and wise Jedi Knights must face a frightening threat to themselves, the galaxy, and the Force itself….       

The High Republic: A Test of Courage

This junior novel by Justina Ireland releases on 9/8/20.
Synopsis: When a transport ship is abruptly kicked out of hyperspace as part of a galaxy-wide disaster, teenage Jedi Vernestra Rwoh leads a rag-tag group including a young Padawan, a tech-kid, and the son of an ambassador. They are all stranded on a jungle moon and must work together to survive both the jungle and a hidden danger lurking in the shadows….

The High Republic: Into the Dark

This YA novel by Claudia Gray releases on 10/13/20.
Synopsis: Padawan Reath Silas is on a mission to the undeveloped frontier, against his will. But when the ship he’s traveling on is knocked out of hyperspace in the  galactic-wide disaster, Reath finds himself at the center of the action. The Jedi and their traveling companions find refuge on what appears to be an abandoned space station. But then strange things start happening, leading the Jedi to investigate the truth behind the mysterious station, a truth that could end in tragedy….                                                      

The High Republic Comic Series

Cavan Scott pens this new Marvel Comic series. As of now we do not have a release date. This series will take place on the space station called The Starlight Beacon, and as Cavan says, it is literally “a beacon of hope”. This storyline focuses on a “newly minted” Jedi who doesn’t really know how good she is and is constantly asking herself ‘should I be here with these legendary Jedi?’ 

After the event concluded, we had an opportunity to speak with Cavan Scott, who mentioned that the idea of #ProjectLuminous started germinating after the release of A Certain Point of View, when all of the writers were in one room together signing at Star Wars Celebration. That was when an idea was born that they should work on stories together.

We also spoke with him about adding Jaxxon to the comic universe and talked with him about our #MakeHoojibsCanon campaign. He said that he’s tried a number of times to add hoojibs into the comics, but each time they’ve been cut out. Drat!!!

The High Republic Adventures Comic Series

Daniel José Older is in charge of this new IDW Publishing Release. Again we do not have a confirmed release date. The comic centers on two Padawans who make friends while on a mission, and these friends have a distrust for the Jedi. And then these friends go in different directions with their beliefs and we follow them in their paths as they learn about the Jedi.

Want Even More Details?

Tune in to Episode 278 of Skywalking Through Neverland. We go over the details and share audio from the event. You can listen here:

What do you think of Star Wars: The High Republic? Share in the comments below, or talk with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.