As all fans of the gargantuan science-fiction fantasy space opera franchise Star Wars know, there are plenty-if not infinite-possibilities in of places to explore. While the rumors of an announcement for the 2022 Star Wars film did not come to fruition, there was something at the final days of February. However, it was not what fans may have been hoping for. It was officially announced that a High Republic publishing campaign would launch in 2020 with a series of books across multiple publishers, including comic books.
However, fans may not be as excited at this news as Lucasfilm might have expected. The Old Republic era has been in high demand for a film, TV series, or even another (canon) video game, so this announcement could be seen as disappointing to at least some. Here are five reasons the High Republic was the right move for the franchise and five why it should have been the Old Republic.
The High Republic: It's Never Been Deeply Explored
First and foremost, and perhaps the most important point in the favor of having the High Republic be the next big move for the franchise, is the fact that this particular era in Star Wars lore has never been explored. Up until now, this era in the newer Disney canon has not been brought up further than just in ing reference.
It was first mentioned in the 2019 audio book titled Dooku: Jedi Lost and then more clearly identified in the 2020 comic titled The Rise of Kylo Ren. Therefore, it could be an even more exciting move to focus on a new era.
The Old Republic: This Era Is Still A Fan-Favorite
While it is understandable to an extent as to why Lucasfilm decided to move on ahead with an era never explored, those waiting on a canon on-screen adaptation of the Old Republic era will feel more than a little disappointed. And this is with good, or at least understandable, reason as this era has been a fan-favorite setting for Star Wars since the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, its sequel, and the MMORPG.
Since the introduction of this era it has brought in a rich slew of new lore and characters for fans to latch onto and fall in love with.
The High Republic: The Jedi Were Highly Involved Throughout The Galaxy
Of course, since this new campaign was only introduced at the end of last month, we know very little about the High Republic. This is especially so when comparing what our knowledge is on the era of the prequels, original trilogy, and now even the sequels. But based off the information they have given us on the High Republic, one thing we know is that the Jedi were highly involved in much of the galaxy.
One of the aspects emphasized so far is the exploration of the Outer Rim. The Jedi are one of the biggest appeals of the entire franchise, so seeing them even more involved around the galaxy could be exciting. We may even see the Jedi become even more prominent than in the prequels.
The Old Republic: It's Been Waiting Its Turn In The Disney Canon
As a sort of building on from the earlier point that the Old Republic era is a fan-favorite backdrop for Star Wars, it is fair to say that this time period has been waiting its turn to be properly introduced into the new official Disney canon. Sure, some aspects of this era have been canonized, with the famous Darth Revan being confirmed in the visual dictionary for the last Skywalker film.
However, these are small bits of fan service that do not make up for an actual film or TV series. This deserved fan-favorite era continues waiting its turn to be canon, if it ever gets there.
The High Republic: This Could Expand Beyond Books
This may be a bit of a long shot considering what we have been told about the High Republic campaign so far. For one, as of now, it has been made clear that it is a publishing campaign for books. To add on that, it has been said that none of the works to be published in this campaign will overlap or interfere with any of the released and movies.
But, assuming this campaign proves to be popular enough with the fans, it may expand beyond just books. That is to say that it may, at the very least, get a video game set in this era and, if we're lucky, a film.
The Old Republic: The Sith Were Much More Prominent
Just like the Jedi are one of the greatest appeals of the Star Wars franchise, so are the Sith. This is coincidentally one of the biggest appeals of the Old Republic era video games and books.
In what we have seen so far in official canon, we never saw very much of the Sith due to the fact that the time periods presented in the films are in a post "Rule of Two" world. It would be safe to say that a good amount of fans would love to see a time when the Sith were much more present.
The High Republic: Potentially New Great Characters
While the Old Republic era works, from the video games to the various books, introduced plenty of characters that fans have grown to love, it is more than possible that we will see some interesting ones in the High Republic. That is part of the beauty of having Star Wars choose to explore an era that has never been explored before, even in the "Legends" continuity.
There are seemingly endless possibilities for what kinds of characters could be introduced and explored here. As long as Lucasfilm gets competent writers, expect to see some solid characters.
The Old Republic: A True Canon Intro To Revan
As mentioned in an earlier entry, thanks to the visual dictionary to The Rise of Skywalker, the legendary Sith Lord of the Old Republic era, Darth Revan, has been made canon. However, also already mentioned, this serves no more than just bits of fan service for Star Wars fans.
It would not be surprising if this actually just frustrated fans more because of Lucasfilm's continued unwillingness, fear, and whatever else it may be to giving a proper introduction to Revan, let alone the era. A character with the reputation and complex story of Revan deserves a well-done live-action series or film(s).
The High Republic: The Possible Exploration Of Older Sith
Another possibility in the favor of having the High Republic be the next official era to be explored in the franchise's canon is the possibility of introducing and exploring never-before-seen Sith. Since this era takes place at least 200 years before the start of the Skywalker saga, it lines up with being an era where the Rule of Two was already established by Darth Bane and the Sith subsequently operated in secret.
Sure, the writers of these works might choose to introduce different villains to mix things up, but seeing more Sith wouldn't hurt, even if it would just be one or two more.
The Old Republic: More Than Worthy Of Being The Next Film Series
While Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy did recently say that Lucasfilm would not necessarily continue to rely on the trilogy model like gospel as they have done in the past (for the most part), it does not write off multiple films in the future being in the same era. Kennedy made it sound like from now on they would let the stories told on film dictate how many entries they would have.
That being said, the Old Republic era is more than worthy of being the next series of major films. It has the lore and characters to back that up.
