Centuries before the Skywalker saga there was The High Republic! Join luminous authors for an in-depth conversation about epic new tales spanning books, comics, audio, and beyond. Including all-new announcements and reveals from Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II, and a sneak peek of what’s to come in Phase III!

Panel Recap

Panel Recap

The Star Wars: The High Republic panel focused on the future of the publishing initiative, the transition into Phase III, and the connection between The High Republic publishing era and the upcoming live-action series The Acolyte.

The panel was hosted by Krystina Arielle and featured High Republic authors Claudia Gray, Lydia Kang, George Mann, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule, along with Lucasfilm’s James Waugh and Michael Siglain. Alyssa Wong was also revealed as a new author joining the High Republic publishing team.

One of the panel’s biggest surprises came when Leslye Headland appeared as a special guest. Headland discussed The Acolyte and its connection to The High Republic era. The panel then revealed that Rebecca Henderson would play Vernestra Rwoh in The Acolyte, bringing the fan-favorite High Republic Jedi to live action. The announcement confirmed that Vernestra, introduced in Phase I as a young Jedi Knight, would appear in the series roughly a century later as an elder Jedi figure.

The panel also introduced Alyssa Wong as a new High Republic author. Wong was announced as contributing to the young adult anthology Tales of Light and Life before joining the initiative more fully during Phase III.

Phase III was officially presented under the title Trials of the Jedi. The panel debuted teaser artwork for the new phase and explained that the story would pick up about a year after the fall of Starlight Beacon, with the Republic still shaken and the Nihil holding a dangerous new position of power.

Several major Phase III titles were announced. George Mann’s The Eye of Darkness was revealed as the first adult novel of Phase III, scheduled for November 2023. It would be followed by Tessa Gratton’s Temptation of the Force in summer 2024 and Charles Soule’s Trials of the Jedi in spring 2025, bringing the adult novel trilogy and the larger High Republic initiative toward its conclusion.

The young adult lineup for Phase III was also revealed. Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland were announced as co-writing Defy the Storm, scheduled for March 2024. The YA trilogy would continue with George Mann’s Tears of the Nameless in fall 2024 and Claudia Gray’s Into the Light in spring 2025.

The middle grade lineup was announced as well. Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong were revealed as co-writing Escape from Valo, scheduled for January 2024. Zoraida Córdova would follow with Beware the Nameless in summer 2024, and Justina Ireland would write A Valiant Vow for spring 2025.

The panel confirmed that Marvel’s flagship Star Wars: The High Republic comic would continue into Phase III, again written by Cavan Scott, with the first issue scheduled for December 2023. Lydia Kang was also announced as writing new serialized short fiction for Star Wars Insider under the title Chronicles from the Occlusion Zone, beginning in October 2023.

Before Phase III, the panel also previewed the end of Phase II. The finale was framed around the Night of Sorrow, with teaser artwork showing Jedi Oliviah Zeveron and the Mother, leader of the Path of the Open Hand, reflected in the eyes of a fearsome creature.

The panel also gave fans a first look at interior pages from the Viz manga Star Wars: The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Precedent, including material tied to Ravna, Arkoff, and the Battle of Dalna.

Overall, the panel served as one of the major publishing events of Celebration Europe 2023, connecting The High Republic’s book and comic future to The Acolyte while laying out the major structure, titles, creative teams, and release windows for Phase III.