Star Wars fans will be very pleased to know that Star Wars: The High Republic begins today. Lucasfilm debuted the trailer yesterday in a special live-stream presentation, and it looks different to anything fans have seen from them before.
The trailer describes The High Republic as "an interconnected mega story told across books, comics, and magazines." It's set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, meaning it'll have no attachments to the Skywalker Saga.
Though the trailer seemed to be the biggest news to come out of the event, the hour-long live-stream, hosted by StarWars.com's Kristen Baver, featured a discussion with a multitude of the collaborators on The High Republic era and it offered a taste as to what fans should expect. They revealed vague plot points, character details, as well as just how much media this era of Star Wars is putting out. There are graphic novels, magazines, and novels all slated to release in just the first phase of this multi-year project.
Though explicit details weren't given, fans will be excited to know that the names of all three phases of this project were revealed in the live-stream. There is Phase I: Light of the Jedi, Phase II: Quest of the Jedi, and Phase III: Trials of the Jedi. The Jedi focus makes sense, as Lucasfilm has said multiple times that The High Republic is meant to really explore the Golden Age of the Jedi.
The Star Wars franchise has been a heavy hitter in media since started in 1977, with nearly everything Lucasfilm releases being mega-successful. While The High Republic is likely to follow suit, the YouTube comments under the trailer definitely lean more towards the critical side. Some fans plainly say the trailer looks disappointing. Many highly criticize the use of the phrase "Control of the Force itself" in a Jedi-focused project.
With season two of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian coming to an end just weeks ago with glowing reviews, now is a perfect time for an expansion of the Star Wars universe because people are still interested. The era of The High Republic only begins today, so it's certainly too early to measure its success as of yet. All things Star Wars seem to have equal amounts of excitement and criticism, and this launch seems no different.
Source: Star Wars|YouTube