With Phase II of Star Wars: The High Republic wrapping up, most of the talk at The High Republic panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe centered on what we can expect from the next phase.
Krystina Arielle, host of Star Wars: The High Republic Show, led a stacked panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, joined by previously announced authors Claudia Gray, Lydia Kang, George Mann, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule. The storytellers were also joined by panel regulars, Lucasfilm’s James Waugh, and the publishing creative director Michael Siglain.
It was the surprise guests that stole the show however as Leslye Headland, The Acolyte creator/director, and actress Rebecca Henderson (Russian Dolls), showed up to announce that Phase I fan-favorite Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh will make her live-action debut in Disney Plus series. They didn’t share too many details, none really, but you can watch Jodie Turner-Smith and Rebecca Henderson discuss their respective roles below…
But the backbone of the initiative is of course the publishing side and there was plenty of book/author reveals to keep the very large crowd on the edge of their seats. Phase 3, titled Trials of the Jedi, officially begins with The Eye of Darkness, an adult novel by George Mann releasing November 14, 2023, which will be followed by Escape From Valo, an MG novel co-written by Daniel José Older and High Republic newbie Alyssa Wong. These are followed by Defy the Storm on March 12, 2023, which sees the reteaming Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton, who of course worked together on last year’s Path of Deceit.
Taking us all the way into spring of 2025, we’ll also see books from Gratton (Temptation of the Force), Soule (Trials of the Jedi), Mann (Tears of the Nameless), Gray (Into the Light), Zoraida Córdova (Beware the Nameless), and Ireland (A Valiant Vow). Finally, they also announced that Tales of Light and Life, a new anthology coming September 5, will cover stories from across all three phases of The High Republic featuring shorts from the entire Phase III stable of authors.
*Images courtesy of Star Wars and Lucasfilm Ltd.
