Star Wars confirms the High Republic books will not overlap with upcoming movies and TV shows. While The Rise of Skywalker closed the book on the iconic Skywalker saga last December, Disney has plans to keep the franchise on the big screen for years to come. The studio's set aside release dates in December 2022, 2024, and 2026 for three mystery films. In typical Star Wars fashion, concrete details about these projects are virtually nonexistent - including what era they'll be set in. Meanwhile, Lucasfilm is continuing to add to the property's rich mythology through other mediums.
After several teases, Lucasfilm finally unveiled the mysterious Project Luminous, a publishing initiative that takes readers to the High Republic era. Set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, fans will experience stories set when the Republic and Jedi Order were at their peak. The idea was inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi's line in A New Hope when he described the Jedi as "guardians of peace and justice" for generations. With the novels and comics placing an emphasis on the High Republic, some might have thought the movies would explore this territory as well, but that's not the case.
In a press release announcing High Republic details, Disney confirmed "this period on the Star Wars timeline will not overlap with any of the films or series currently planned for production, giving creators and partners space to tell Star Wars stories in a never-before-explored timeline."
While Lucasfilm's desire to give their authors plenty of leeway in High Republic books is logical, this development is nevertheless disappointing. One of the best things about the Star Wars novels and comics published to date is that they provided additional context for the movies; they were never required reading to understand the films, but those who made an effort to keep up with the canon materials gained a deeper appreciation for certain plot points and elements. So, it's sad there's going to be a disconnect between the High Republic books and the new movies coming out. There's always the possibility Lucasfilm moves forward with a High Republic film at some point, though that won't be for a while. The studio has multiple movies coming through the pipeline, including projects from Kevin Feige, Rian Johnson, and J.D. Dillard.
Since these new Star Wars movies won't take place in the far past, perhaps they'll be set centuries after the Skywalker saga. That would give the filmmakers the necessary creative freedom to craft whatever stories they want, similar to how the High Republic authors have maximum flexibility for their books. TV shows like the Cassian Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series are obviously going to be adjacent to the Skywalker saga, but it'd probably be good if the films moved far away from that time period and took advantage of the sheer breadth and scope of the Star Wars timeline. For more than four decades, Lucasfilm has mined the Skywalker saga in just about every way possible. Hopefully, they're set on exploring new horizons on the big screen.
Source: Disney