‘Star Wars: The High Republic’ Launch Pushed to January 2021 Due to “General Marketplace Delays”

Earlier this year, back when the future was virus-free and full of promise, Lucasfilm announced a major new publishing initiative called Star Wars: The High Republic. Set 200 years before the Skywalker saga began in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the multi-year program will span books and comics that follow an era when Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order are at the height of their power, serving as true guardians of peace and justice around the galaxy. The High Republic was intended to launch in August with two books, and a third following in October, but now they’ve all been delayed to early 2021.

StarWars.com reported the news of Star Wars: The High Republic delayed with an official statement from Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain. In a letter, he wrote:

“Given these unprecedented times, we have made the decision to move the launch of Star Wars: The High Republic to January 2021 to ensure that the launch is as grand and epic as it deserves to be.

Now, I know that waiting isn’t easy. And I know fans have been excited for this since it was first announced. I’m right there with you. I’ve also been waiting to tell this story for years. And while I still can’t say much about it, I can tell you that our story architects – Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel Jose older, Cavan Scott, and Charlies Soule – are continuing to work away on this new era of stories. You’ll hear from them this summer, and when you do, be sure to ask them about “The Hero of Hetzal,” “the twins,” the “Blade of Bardotta,” the Starros and San Tekka clans, and the Storms. You’re not going to believe what they’ve got in store for the Jedi and the Republic.

So from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I thank you for reading, and I thank you for your understanding and patience. Star Wars: The High Republic has been a true labor of love for us, and we can’t wait for readers to experience the golden age of the Jedi.”

Both Charles Soule’s adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi and Justina Ireland’s middle grade novel Star Wars: The High Republic: A Test of Courage will now be released on January 5, 2021. Then Claudia Gray’s young adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark will follow on February 2, 2021.

The High Republic comic books that will be coming from Marvel and IDW Publishing have been delayed as well, but new release dates for those titles won’t be announced until later.

At the very least, it sounds like we’ll learn some more about Star Wars: The High Republic sometime this summer, since Siglain specifically mentioned that in his official statement. That likely means we’ll get teases of what’s to come in those books, presumably as part of whatever marketing push was already in place when the books were slated to launch in August.

The excitement for The High Republic obviously isn’t on par with a Star Wars movie or TV show, but this is the biggest publishing initiative that Lucasfilm has taken on in awhile, probably since Shadows of the Empire. Many fans are probably waiting to see what these first few titles are like before getting too gung-ho about The High Republic, but until then, you can read more about the next era of Star Wars stories right here.

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