The past is the key to Star Wars future in the High Republic Era, a stunning transmedia initiative that's serving as a launchpad for so many fresh new characters and ideas. Star Wars has always been a transmedia franchise, but that's even more the case under Disney. Grand Admiral Thrawn - a character first introduced in Timothy Zahn's "Thrawn trilogy" back in the 1990s - is confirmed as the main villain of The Mandalorian era. Meanwhile, Lucasfilm Publishing's latest initiative - Star Wars: The High Republic - is already rippling out into other mediums.

Related: Star Wars’ High Republic Era Explained

In 2020, rumors began to circulate about the mysterious "Project Luminous," an initiative expected to open up a whole new time period for Star Wars. This was ultimately revealed to be Star Wars: The High Republic, a transmedia initiative set centuries before the events of the prequel trilogy. The High Republic Era is becoming increasingly mainstream, with one character - Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh - set to make the jump to live-action, played by Rebecca Henderson in The Acolyte. Given that's the case, many are wondering just how to begin their journey into the High Republic Era. Here's your guide to the entire story.

Star Wars: The High Republic Explained

When Obi-Wan Kenobi handed Luke Skywalker his father's lightsaber in the first Star Wars film, he told Luke it was "an elegant weapon for a more civilized time." The High Republic is that "more civilized time," an age when the Republic was strong and confident and the Jedi were its guardians and peacekeepers. Phase I introduced the Republic's "Great Works," including an expansion into the Outer Rim featuring the construction of the new Starlight Beacon. This is a space station serving as a hyperspace beacon that helps navigate in the turbulent and treacherous Outer Rim territories.

The greater the light, the darker the shadows it casts. The Jedi find themselves dealing with terrible threats out in the Galactic Rim. These include a marauding group of space Vikings known as the Nihil, who possess the technology to manipulate hyperspace itself - and who unleash the ultimate Force predator against the Jedi. Star Wars: The High Republic is broken down into three phases, with phase three just beginning. They are:

• Phase One: Light of the Jedi - set 200 years before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
• Phase Two: Quest of the Jedi - set 350 years before the sequel trilogy
• Phase Three: Trials of the Jedi - set 199 years before the sequels

The first phase began in January 2021, and the whole initiative is currently planned to finish off in 2025.

Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 1 - Light of the Jedi Reading Order

Novels In Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 1

• Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, published on January 5, 2021. This kick-starts the entire initiative, introducing many of the main Jedi as well as the Nihil. The first third of the book is occupied with the Great Disaster, demonstrating the sheer power of the Jedi as they battle against impossible odds.
• The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott, published on June 29, 2021. This continues the main story from Light of the Jedi.
• The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray, published on January 18, 2022. This continues the main arc, and sees the Nihil launch their most terrifying attack to date.

Young-Adult Novels In Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 1

• A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland, published on January 5, 2021. This junior novel introduces Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh, a prodigy in the Force and one of the youngest to ever pass the Jedi Trials.
• Into The Dark by Claudia Gray, published on February 2, 2021. This sends Padawan Reath Silas on a mission to the Outer Rim - one that gets caught up in the Great Disaster. He and his traveling companions find themselves stranded on what appears to be an abandoned space station, and soon discover a terrifying new dark side threat.
• Race to Crashpoint Tower by Daniel José Older, published on June 29, 2021. This middle-grade novel stars a Jedi with an unusual Force connection to technology.
• Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland, published on July 22, 2021. This young-adult novel continues the story of Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh.
• Mission to Disaster by Justina Ireland, published on January 4, 2022. This continues Vernestra Rwoh's battle against the Nihil.
• Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older, published in 2022. Concurrent with The Fallen Star, this explores a side mission to Corellia.

Comics In Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 1

• Marvel Comics published a High Republic ongoing series by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito, while IDW's The High Republic Adventures ongoing is by Daniel José Older and Harvey Tolibao. Marvel's series began on January 6, 2021, while IDW's launched on February 21, 2021.
• The Monster of Temple Peak by Cavan Scott and Rachel Stott, an original graphic novel published on August 11, 2021.
• Trail of Shadows, by Daniel José Older and David Wachter, published on October 6, 2021. This sees a Jedi and a detective team up to solve the murder of a Jedi Master.
• The Eye of the Storm by Charles Soule, published in January 2022. This reveals the backstory of Marchion Ro, leader of the Nihil, and serves as an essential setup to Phase II.

Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 1 In Other Mediums

• The Great Jedi Rescue by Cavan Scott and Petur Antonsson, published on January 5, 2021. This is a young-readers' book inspired by the opening chapters of Charles Soule's Light of the Jedi.
• Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott, published on August 31, 2021. This audio novel explores the Nihil, starring one of their lieutenants.
• The Edge of Balance Part I by Justina Ireland, Shima Shinya, and Mizuki Sakakibara, September 7, 2021. This was the first-ever Star Wars original Manga.
• Showdown at the Fair by George Mann and Petur Antonsson, published on October 5, 2021. This 8x8 storbook sees the Nihil attack the Republic Fair.

Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 2 - Quest of the Jedi Reading Order

Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II is a much more tightly-woven narrative, with events often taking place concurrently in different mediums. It's a transmedia form of storytelling that does make it much more difficult to establish the narrative flow. Here's the breakdown:

• Convergence by Zoraida Córdova, published on November 22, 2022. This novel opened Phase 2, set another 150 years before Phase I and mostly featuring new characters. It sets the Jedi up on a mission that will lead to an encounter with the Force predators known as the Nameless.
• Path of Deceit by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland, published on October 4, 2022. This young-adult novel focuses in on members of the Path of the Open Hand, explaining their antagonism toward Jedi.
• Quest for the Hidden City by George Mann, published on November 1, 2022. Focusing in on Jedi Padawan Rooper Nitani, this sets up the quest that will ultimately lead to the mysterious world the Nameless originate from.
• The Battle of Jedha by Cavan Scott, an audiobook published on January 3, 2023, tells the story of the Battle of Jedha - a conflict that broke out because of the Path of the Open Hand.
• Cataclysm, by Lydia Kang, published on April 5, 2023. This novel tells the main story of a fateful encounter with the Nameless and a religious sect known as the Path of the Open Hand.
• Quest for Planet X by Tessa Gratton, published on April 5, 2023. This returns to Rooper Nitani, and sees her come close to discovering the Nameless' homeworld, Planet X.
• Path of Vengeance by Cavan Scott, published on May 2, 2023. This explores the end of Phase II from the perspective of the villains, the Path of the Open Hand.

Comics In Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 2

• Marvel Comics published a High Republic ongoing series by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito, while IDW's The High Republic Adventures ongoing is by Daniel José Older and Harvey Tolibao. Marvel's series began on October 12, 2022, while IDW's launched on November 30, 2022. These stories are concurrent with the main arc told in the novels, and often weave in.

Star Wars: The High Republic Phase 3 - Trials of the Jedi Reading Order

The following publications have been confirmed, although a best reading order is unknown at this time.

• The Eye of Darkness by George Mann, published on November 14, 2023.
• Escape from Valo by Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong, published on January 30, 2024.
• Defy the Storm by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland, published on March 12, 2024.
• Beware the Nameless by Zoraida Córdova, published in summer 2024.
• Temptation of the Force by Tessa Gratton, published in summer 2024.
• Tears of the Nameless by George Mann, published in fall 2024.
• A Valiant Vow by Justina Ireland, published in spring 2025.
• Into the Light by Claudia Gray, published in spring 2025.
• Trials of the Jedi by Charles Soule, published in spring 2025.

Star Wars: The High Republic In Jedi: Survivor

The Jedi: Survivor game explores the legacy of the High Republic Era, as Cal Kestis discovers a secret of the Jedi lost for hundreds of years. The precise placement of the High Republic events is uncertain, but they appear to take place roughly alongside Phase I. Hopefully there will be references in Phase III to cement the timeline.

Star Wars: Acolyte

Finally, and most intriguingly, Leslye Headland's The Acolyte is confirmed to take place toward the end of the High Republic Era, roughly a century before the events of the prequel trilogy. It will even feature a live-action Vernestra Rwoh, with Rebecca Henderson playing an older and wiser version of the Jedi. Little is known about The Acolyte, which has been described as "a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era." This should give another boost to Star Wars' most exciting initiative, and it will be exciting to see how this develops.