The High Republic: A New (Old) Era in Star Wars!

Earlier this week Lucasfilm announced a brand-new era of Star Wars books and comics that will be arriving soon: The High Republic. Set approximately 200 years BEFORE The Phantom Menace, this era has never before been properly explored. Now it will be the time-frame for numerous books and comics!

“Star Wars: The High Republic features the Jedi as we’ve always wanted to see them — as true guardians of peace and justice. This is a hopeful, optimistic time, when the Jedi and the Galactic Republic are at their height. But of course, into this glorious new era something wicked this way comes,” says Lucasfilm publishing creative director Michael Siglain. “This initiative will give readers young and old a new corner of the galaxy to explore through rich, meaningful stories. Plus, readers will learn what scares the Jedi.”

So far only the first wave of stories has been announced but already there's plenty of cause for excitement for young Star Wars fans:

Into the Dark (Disney/Lucasfilm Press)
From Claudia Gray (Lost Stars) comes the mysterious Young Adult novel of Padawan Reath Silas, stranded on what appears to be an abandoned space station...at first.

A Test of Courage (Disney/Lucasfilm Press)
From Justina Ireland (Spark of the Resistance, Lando's Luck) comes the middle grade novel about a teen Jedi Vernestra Rwoh, a young Padawan, an audacious tech-kid, and the son of an ambassador who are stranded on a jungle moon where they must work together to survive both the dangerous terrain and a hidden danger lurking in the shadows.

 
The High Republic comic series from Marvel Comics will begin written by Cavan Scott, one of our favourite current Star Wars writers! He has written several of the Adventures in Wild Space books, as well as the Choose Your Destiny titles, numerous Star Wars Adventures comics and Dooku: Jedi Lost!

For younger comic readers comes The High Republic Adventures (IDW Publishing)! These will begin with stories by Daniel José Older author of the Solo: A Star Wars Story tie-in novel Last Shot.

Details are still pretty sparse at the moment but other titles will be announced soon from this exciting new era!

Big News for Young Star Wars Fans!

Star Wars Celebration 2017 has come to an end and over the 4 days in Orlando, Florida fans were treated with plenty to get excited about. Yes, of course the biggest news was the first look at the upcoming movie The Last Jedi (out December 2017). Seeing moments of Rey training, Finn recovering, Leia leading and more were unquestionably the highlight of the weekend. If you haven't yet seen the teaser trailer, view it here. 

In the months up to the December premiere, books, comics and more will be released under the banner "Journey to The Last Jedi".

Nearly every site on the internet will have something to say about the new images, teaser poster and trailer for The Last Jedi, so we're going to focus on a few pieces of news that will be specifically interesting to Star Wars Kidscast readers and listeners:

New Comics!

Comic publisher IDW announced that in September 2017 they will begin publishing Star Wars comic books specifically aimed at younger readers. The Star Wars Adventures will have familiar characters from many eras of our favourite galaxy. 

There have not been Star Wars comics specifically created for younger readers in several years so it's exciting to see that happening again! Here's more information.

Marvel Comics will continue publishing their excellent Teen-rated comics as well. It's a great time to be a Star Wars comics reader!




New Books!

Daring Adventures Volume 1 & 2!

Lucasfilm/Disney Publishing announced several new books for younger readers, including a BB-8 picture book (above), more additions to the World of Reading leveled reader series, a new book called The Legends of Luke Skywalker and a Leia-focused YA novel. As well, there are "Daring Adventures" books to tie directly into the new Forces of Destiny cartoons coming soon!

DK Publishing also announced new titles, including an update to 2015's Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know and new book for tech-minded younglings: Star Wars Coding Projects! 

New TV!

A bittersweet announcement was made regarding Star Wars Rebels - yes, there's a new season of Rebels coming this fall, but it will actually be the final season of the show. What happens to the crew of the Ghost in the next season is anyone's guess but it sure looks like it'll be exciting!

Before we see any more Rebels though, this summer will debut a brand-new animated series of short stories called Star Wars: Forces of Destiny. We wrote about these new shows here. There will also be new toys and books connected with this series too! More on this as announcements are made! Here's a new clip:

Fans of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures have a second series to look forward to starting May 4. The fun and excitement continues as the Freemakers start to fight in their own way against the Empire! More info on season two is available here.

This is far from a complete list of everything we're excited about from the past few days, but it sure is plenty! More new info on upcoming fun Star Wars stuff is coming soon!

What are you most excited to see that was announced at Celebration? Comment below!