The Ships Of Star Wars: The High Republic Revealed
Star Wars: The High Republic is almost here, and now we have a look at the ships of this early era of a galaxy far, far away.
The official Star Wars site continues its exclusive series of reveals into the High Republic era, which kicks off in January with a slew of books and comics. This new era of the Star Wars saga takes place 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, and the prequel aesthetic was kept in mind for the designs of the High Republic. The fluid, hand-crafted lines of the first prequel movie in particular feature prominently in the designs of the new ships.
“By moving further in time, away from that downfall, we’re able to see the Republic at its height in this storytelling,” says Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group. “In the Core Worlds especially, that’s reflected in fashion and technology. A lot of the visual exploration in the High Republic is taking what we know, but idealizing it.” That concept is clear in the design of the Jedi Vector, a starfighter almost mosquito-like in design, an angular and elegant design befitting this gilded age.
The Nihil, the villains of the period, go in the opposite direction design-wise. “For the Nihil, their look derived from art developed specifically for The High Republic initiative,” Hidalgo said. “There were some pieces from The Force Awakens and the current Star Wars movies that explored pirates, scavengers, and basically Star Wars survivalists. That pointed in the direction of a patchwork force that was uniform in its non-uniformity.”
“The Starlight Beacon is a good example, I think, of a design telling a story,” Hidalgo said of the space station that plays a prominent role in the story of the High Republic. “The top of the station is a deliberate echo of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and imagined to be this iridescent monument that shines in the dark. The underside of the station is the utility, the industrial foundation that keeps the station chugging along. It’s the plumbing. Those who are allied to the ideals of the Republic can look at it as an inspiration example of balance, of working together.”
Check out many more designs at the official site!
DARBY HARN is a novelist, freelance writer and podcaster. His novels include Ever The Hero, The Judgement of Valene, Nothing Ever Ends and A Country Of Eternal Light. His short fiction appears in Strange Horizons, Interzone, Shimmer and other venues.
