‘The High Republic’ Writers and Artists Provide New Story Details and Concept Art as Phase III Begins
With Phase III of The High Republic now underway, StarWars.com has put out multiple interviews with writers and artists from the publishing initiative. This includes George Mann, the author of the upcoming Star Wars: The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness, and Cavan Scott, writer of the flagship The High Republic comic published by Marvel.
Mann and Scott interviewed one another as their two projects are what kick off Phase III. Mann was responsible for writing Phase II’s The Battle of Jedha and Quest for the Hidden City. Cavan Scott wrote The Rising Storm and Path of Vengeance books.
Scott detailed more of what Keeve Trennis’ arc is in The High Republic Marvel comic, with issue #1 just releasing this past Wednesday. He spoke about how Phase III begins with the Jedi and Keeve in a very bleak position, and it’s up to them to remain positive:
“The first few stories of the phase are dark. You know, Starlight is gone, [Marchion] Ro is triumphant, and these Jedi have to earn that hope again. I think that’s the interesting thing. When I launched the Marvel comic originally with the dedication of Starlight Beacon, the Jedi…had no one to push against them. Everyone respected them because of what they stood for. But now we’re seeing them have to learn what that means. For some of the Jedi, they’re questioning, and for other Jedi, they’re seeing it as the opportunity to go, “No, this is a chance to show the light because we’re in darkness. So we need to be lighter than ever.”
I think that’s where we see Keeve at the beginning of this series. She spent the entire first phase plagued with doubts about herself. This is a girl — now a woman — who questioned her right to be a Jedi and then has found herself promoted. She didn’t think she should have been a Knight, let alone a Master. And she’s always got Avar in the back of her mind. Avar was a hero. Avar was the person she looked up to and she saw what happened to her. [Keeve] doesn’t want it to happen to herself, as well. So, yeah, it’s really exciting to be back at the beginning, but I think it was tough writing those first couple of issues because Keeve is not the Keeve we know. She has been under the cosh for a year now and she’s struggling.”
Mann also echoed some of those sentiments. In his conversation with Scott, Mann talked about The Eye of Darkness and how Avar Kriss is dealing with a similar situation:
George Mann: The Jedi have been properly challenged in a way that they’re not used to. Like Avar…at this point, she’s thinking about how far she’s fallen. But she starts Eye of Darkness and it’s almost the opposite journey to Keeve. It’s all the way back from that doubt. And realizing, actually, I need to be a part of something bigger. That’s what the Jedi are, you know?
Cavan Scott: Their arcs have always mirrored each other and been inverted from each other. That was always the plan with them.
George Mann: There’s a kind of a trajectory there for the whole of the Jedi at the start of this phase, which is, you know, that they’re not as together as they were both individually and as a unit, as an Order. That’s what they have to learn; to push and pull in the same direction and recognize that there is hope and they have to carry that hope forward into the future.
Later in their discussion, Mann teased his fall 2024 Tears of the Nameless young-adult novel, saying he cried “writing the final pages.” Meanwhile, Scott seemingly revealed he is working on a to-be-announced project. He also says fans will lose their minds when they see the cover for The High Republic issue #5. Their full conversation can be found on StarWars.com
In another feature article, writer Alyssa Wong was brought on to talk about Escape from Valo, the middle-grade novel co-written by herself and Daniel José Older. Escape from Valo comes after The Eye of Darkness and will be released on January 30, 2024. Wong went into much detail about three of the new characters introduced: Gavi, Kildo, and Tep Tep.
Beginning with Gavi, Wong highlighted Gavi’s tragic past and how that is affecting his connection to the Force:
“Gavi was once the most promising youngling of his age, but when the Nihil occupied Lonisa City and murdered every Jedi they could hunt down, he saw the Nameless kill one of the masters. Now traumatized, he’s lost the ability to use the Force. He’s just trying to keep his friends alive… but the Force has always been the most important thing in Gavi’s life and he isn’t sure who he is without it. And then there are his burgeoning romantic feelings for his friend, another youngling boy named Kildo… and his complicated feelings of guilt surrounding Driggit Parse, the non-Jedi friend he left behind.”
Kildo is another of the three younglings looking to evade the Nihil on Valo. Wong describes Kildo as being the more care-free one of the group, looking to stir up a little trouble:
“Kildo is an Alcedian, an avian species that originated on Valo, and his design is inspired by a magpie: black and blue feathers and an eye for mischief. Sly and irreverent, Kildo never turns down the chance to play pranks. Using the Force comes easily to him, but he struggles with focus and rules. ‘Great potential, needs to apply himself,’ is his teachers’ main complaint. He’s a trickster with a heart of gold.”
Finally, Wong talked about Tep Tep, the girl with a deep affinity for animals and who is seen carrying a cute pet:
“Tep Tep’s design is based on a frillback pigeon — the fancy kind with curly feathers. She’s a shy, soft, fluffy Alcedian girl who loves animals, especially big, carnivorous ones. There’s a pack of five acklays who would die for her, and on the cover of Escape From Valo, she’s holding a baby nexu. Jedi don’t adhere to family structures, but Tep Tep is basically everyone’s little sister.”
Phase III of Star Wars: The High Republic issue #1 is out now. The adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness is out on November 14. In our review of The Eye of Darkness, Nate Manning scored it an 8/10, calling it a “sprawling yet intimate tale about reckoning with your past and giving everything you have for the future you want.”
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
