Galactic Republic

When Star Wars first arrived in the world—back when it was just the original trilogy, mountains of toys, and one peculiar holiday special—fans knew where things stood. The Jedi were the good guys; Darth Vader and his pals were the baddies. But in the decades since, things have gotten a lot murkier across both sides of the Force.James Mangold on his Future Star Wars Film | io9 InterviewSpeaking to C Magazine, Amandla Stenberg—soon to star in Star Wars series The Acolyte, created by Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland for…

Screenshot: LucasfilmThe idea of a Force sensitive clone isn’t at all surprising—it’s an idea that was explored repeatedly in Star Wars’ old Expanded Universe, and in contemporary canon we’ve known the potential is possible, considering that’s how Palpatine ultimately returned in Rise of Skywalker. But one interesting thing that Bad Batch has subtly brought to the fore in this mix that was lacking in the Expanded Universe’s exploration of the concept is that, well, clones are actually also as much their own people in the…

Image: Killian Plunkett/Dark HorseDecades even before the Republic was made aware of the existence of the Kaminoan clone army, the Senate backed multiple elaborate projects to support and enhance the effectiveness of the various, smaller defense forces aligned with the Republic and its member worlds. One such project, completed in 46BBY—14 years before the events of The Phantom Menace—was the Katana Fleet.A 200-ship strong fleet made entirely of Rendili StarDrive dreadnaught heavy cruisers, the Katana Fleet was valuable…

Star Wars can often feel culturally ubiquitous, but sometimes even the people operating in its space find themselves inside a world they have little experience with (as they should: Star Wars thrives on the perspectives of many, and that includes people unfamiliar with it!). But for Eman Esfandi, going back and acquiring that knowledge made his Star Wars role even more fun in hindsight.Let’s Eat a Chocolate Xbox ControllerEsfandi recently discussed his initial lack of Star Wars knowhow in a recent interview with The…

This year has been jam-packed with new Star Wars, with three new seasons of TV in Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka, and oodles of books and comics that saw us revisit legends or the High Republic. Even as we await its return to the big screen, Star Wars remains ever-present—but one new story in particular fulfilled the promise of connecting points across this vast galaxy this year more than anything else: Jedi Survivor.‘I Started a Yoda Fan Club’As a standalone piece of Star Wars, Jedi Survivor proudly stands on its…

You feel like for something to be “Star Wars,” there are only two prerequisites. One, set it in the stars. Two, there should be wars. But the upcoming Disney+ show The Acolyte is only embracing one of those staples. It’s very much set in a galaxy far, far, away but, for the first time, it’ll be set in a time of star peace.The show, which is expected to hit Disney+ in 2024, was created by Leslye Headland and is set near the end of the High Republic era in Star Wars. So, well before the prequels. But even at the start of…

Screenshot: LucasfilmBut is anything ever really gone in Star Wars? It’s telling that the Darksaber was simply grievously damaged rather than completely destroyed—and even when the galaxy far, far away has seemingly gone out of its way to show a legendary weapon like a lightsaber being lost, it can still find its way into the hands of a new hero. While it seems like The Mandalorian and Star Wars at large are currently ready to move on from the rebuilding of Mandalore as a focal storyline, there are potential seeds in…

After Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, it will be impossible for Star Wars fans to ignore The High Republic era. Once limited to books, Disney is starting to make the fictional time period matter a lot more to the overarching narrative of Star Wars. If upcoming shows like The Acolyte weren’t already an indication of that to you, then The High Republic’s presence and relevance in Survivor will be. Although the game isn’t set during The High Republic — it takes place in the Reign of the Empire time period between Revenge of…

Oh, so that’s where this has all been leading. The penultimate episode of The Mandalorian season three (yes, it’s almost over already) was all about paying off moments and stories from earlier this season. The journey of Bo-Katan Kryze, the planet Mandalore, that evil villain that’s been looming over everything, all that and more came to a head this week, which was supremely satisfying and exciting. And yet, it came with a huge cost to our characters, some of whomwill never be the same.Bryce Dallas Howard on a Feature…

The High Republic is ready to make the leap to the Star Wars TV series world with The Acolyte, but before we see the final days of the Jedi’s apex, it’s time to see the explosive next step of their fight with Nihil in the third phase of the publishing initiative.The Rings of Power | First FandomsRevealed at Saturday’s High Republic panel at Star Wars Celebration, phase 3 of the novels and comics depicting this 200-year-prequel will return to the time of the initial phase of fiction, picking up with characters and…