Star Wars: The High Republic Moved To 2021 | Screen Rant
Star Wars has pushed its exciting High Republic initiative back to 2021, the latest sacrifice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The upcoming Star Wars transmedia event "The High Republic" has been moved to 2021. The Star Wars sequel trilogy has come to an end, and as a result the franchise is changing shape. Lucasfilm Publishing intends to use this as an opportunity to launch an exciting new Star Wars sub-brand, in a transmedia operation that embraces both comics and novels.
Also referred to as "Project Luminous," this is one of the most exciting Star Wars initiatives in years. It involves some of the best writers of modern Star Wars fiction, namely Claudia Gray: Cavan Scott, Daniel Jose Older, Justina Ireland, and Charles Soule. They're telling the never-before-told story of the so-called High Republic Era, 200 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, a time when the Republic was at its height. It's a bold new direction for the franchise, and there's been intense speculation this could be successful enough to inspire films and Disney+ TV shows.
Sadly, Lucasfilm has confirmed the High Republic has been pushed back to 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Both Charles Soule’s adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi and Justina Ireland’s middle grade novel Star Wars: The High Republic: A Test of Courage will now release on January 5, 2021. Claudia Gray’s young adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark has moved to a new release date of February 2, 2021. Further adjusted release dates will be announced in due course.
It's disappointing news, albeit not unexpected. This is one of the most exciting initiatives in Star Wars history, and Lucasfilm Publishing won't want to risk it being damaged by any second wave of lockdowns. Making matters worse, in this case, the transmedia nature of the operation actually introduces a new problem, because naturally every aspect of publishing and distribution has been affected. It's entirely possible the pandemic will lead to a global recession, which will naturally affect spending on entertainment, meaning Lucasfilm may need to adjust the scale of their transmedia project. All things considered, then, it makes sense for Lucasfilm to push the High Republic back to 2021.
This decision does seem oddly symbolic, though. The Star Wars tie-ins have always blazed the trail for the franchise; indeed, George Lucas would probably never have returned to make the prequel trilogy if not for a boom of interest due to the old Expanded Universe. In symbolic terms, then, the delay of Project Luminous feels like an acknowledgment most of the entertainment industry is essentially having to skip 2020 altogether.