For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic.

With the Skywalker Saga at its close, LucasFilm is launching a publishing campaign (and potential multi-media project) set 200 years before Episode I. In this period, the Jedi are more like “Knights of the Round Table” or “Texas Rangers,” patrolling the frontiers of the Republic. The major threat are not Sith but rather a band of “space Vikings” known as the Nihl.

LINK




Look for these titles:

Interesting. Shame that its not going to be Sith Wars but could be good.

 Manchu wrote:
. In this period, the Jedi are more like “Knights of the Round Table”

.. finally.

 reds8n wrote:

 Manchu wrote:
. In this period, the Jedi are more like “Knights of the Round Table”

.. finally.

In one breath Knights of the Round Table, in the next breath Texas Rangers. So we’ll see.

The heart of the pitch, to me, is “This is a hopeful, optimistic time, when the Jedi and the Galactic Republic are at their height.”

I want to believe.

 ingtaer wrote:
Interesting. Shame that its not going to be Sith Wars but could be good.

To me, that’s the glory rather than the shame. SW has been made too cramped and its largely thanks to everything being Coke versus Pepsi, er, Sith versus Jedi.

Good direction. Good amount of time in the past. Now jump forward 500 years too. Get as far away from the Skywalker era as we can.

I can't watch the video right now--will there be novels, or just comics?

This looks like the best idea anyone's had for the Star Wars franchise is 25 years. Maybe Lucasfilm can learn from its failures.

Light of the Jedi is a regular novel aimed at adults (“adults”). Into The Dark is a YA novel. A Test of Courage is a children’s book. Note comics to be published both by Marvel and IDW.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
This looks like the best idea anyone's had for the Star Wars franchise is 25 years. Maybe Lucasfilm can learn from its failures.

Yes.

I sense something, a presence I have not felt since ... 1999.

Was hoping to see the Sith Fury on the big screen! Watching the video the first thought I had on the "enemy" for this was Vong, hopefully they are not an inspiration!

Interesting.

Wondering how it’ll feed into the concept of the latter Jedi order becoming a bit complacent, and arguably even corrupt (at least, corrupted from their ideals).

And hey, 200 years? Expect Yoda?

Wow. Something new?

Are... are they even allowed to do that?



---
Wookie jedi at 3:35. Not sure how I feel about that.

Finally! While I have always loved the Old Republic area since the old Dark Horse novels, it'll be nice to see Star Wars as something other than Dystopian, with the weight of the First Order or Empire hanging over everyone's heads.

Kind of wish they had gone further back, though. Because you know this means things like Yoda will constantly be addressed by writers as an easy way to attach themselves to the movies. 1,000 years before OT would have been a nice separation.

I'm ready for all sorts of high adventure.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
Finally! While I have always loved the Old Republic area since the old Dark Horse novels, it'll be nice to see Star Wars as something other than Dystopian, with the weight of the First Order or Empire hanging over everyone's heads.

Kind of wish they had gone further back, though. Because you know this means things like Yoda will constantly be addressed by writers as an easy way to attach themselves to the movies. 1,000 years before OT would have been a nice separation.

I'm ready for all sorts of high adventure.

The 1000 year point has its own set of issues involving existing lore and events. The 200 year point is a blank slate where they can do pretty much whatever they want.

Genuinely curious how they're going to have concurrent regular comic book runs without any era appropriate fan ship designs to trace.

Also a little curious how the Jedi will be one part knight of the round table and one part Texas ranger without being samurai enough to merit a mention.

But beyond that, looking forward to seeing what comes out of this. Lucasfilm's multivector projects always produce a lot of unique side protagonists and the further away we get from 'force sensitive kid with a destiny' the better I'll feel right now.

Third novel in: Somehow Palpatine is still alive and now a time traveler. Sir Walker, Jedi Ranger, must rally the other Jedi Rangers to confront this chronic antagonist while discovering the true nature of his lineage.

 Ahtman wrote:
Third novel in: Somehow Palpatine is still alive and now a time traveler. Sir Walker, Jedi Ranger, must rally the other Jedi Rangers to confront this chronic antagonist while discovering the true nature of his lineage.

"OK, yes. They blew up Corellia. That's ok. We don't have anyone definitively state that Han is from the same Corellia."

 Ahtman wrote:
Third novel in: Somehow Palpatine is still alive and now a time traveler. Sir Walker, Jedi Ranger, must rally the other Jedi Rangers to confront this chronic antagonist while discovering the true nature of his lineage.

Sadly, they don't even have to do this work Palpy in. They can just expand on his stupid episode 9 backstory and have him send a clone or three of himself from Evil Sith planet.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
Finally! While I have always loved the Old Republic area since the old Dark Horse novels, it'll be nice to see Star Wars as something other than Dystopian...

I get your point, but the initial main villains are literally 'Mad Max in space' aliens.

That along with the 'Dinosaurs' bit pointed out above worries me that essentially it's a "think what movies have been more successful than the sequel trilogy in the last 5 years and do that".

 Captain Joystick wrote:
Genuinely curious how they're going to have concurrent regular comic book runs without any era appropriate fan ship designs to trace.

Also a little curious how the Jedi will be one part knight of the round table and one part Texas ranger without being samurai enough to merit a mention.

But beyond that, looking forward to seeing what comes out of this. Lucasfilm's multivector projects always produce a lot of unique side protagonists and the further away we get from 'force sensitive kid with a destiny' the better I'll feel right now.

They can always trace pictures of common objects, like funny-looking lamps or half-eaten baklava, then trace details from tiny, little pictures of artillery. Instant Star Wars ships.

Dinosaurs?

 Riquende wrote:

I get your point, but the initial main villains are literally 'Mad Max in space' aliens.

Junker pirates are hardly a rarity in the existing SW material.

 Manchu wrote:
Dinosaurs?

...Sure. Add some thrusters, some 1/144 battleship bits, and they can be Star Wars ships, too, I guess?

Oh, you mean in the stories.

 Captain Joystick wrote:
Genuinely curious how they're going to have concurrent regular comic book runs without any era appropriate fan ship designs to trace..

Bit of luck GW will have released some more Tau vehicles by then and....

Glad to see them break from the usual Sith vs Jedi paradigm. I know its a core part of SW, but at some point there must have been SOMETHING that wasn't based around just force sensitives given the scale of the galaxy. So since Mandos are off the table, I'm glad something else is involved.

 Manchu wrote:
Dinosaurs?

Its written on the whiteboard of ideas in the video.

Sterling191 wrote:

 AegisGrimm wrote:
Finally! While I have always loved the Old Republic area since the old Dark Horse novels, it'll be nice to see Star Wars as something other than Dystopian, with the weight of the First Order or Empire hanging over everyone's heads.

Kind of wish they had gone further back, though. Because you know this means things like Yoda will constantly be addressed by writers as an easy way to attach themselves to the movies. 1,000 years before OT would have been a nice separation.

I'm ready for all sorts of high adventure.

The 1000 year point has its own set of issues involving existing lore and events. The 200 year point is a blank slate where they can do pretty much whatever they want.

Yup, the fact that they've deliberately gone for a time period that hasn't been previously covered actually has me really interested. While I enjoyed the Sequel Trilogy, I've really struggled to get into the post-EU books, as for some reason I find it more difficult to ignore the previous setting in the books than I did with the movies.

This has the potential to tell some really cool stories without running into canon conflicts. Win!

I didn't realize 1k years in the past was covered in fluff already.

I'm more of a "seriously casual" Star Wars consumer. I know about the Old Republic from things like the old Tales of the Jedi comics and the video games, and I have read a bunch of the now non-canon EU, but that's it. I can't name complete timelines, or anything. What was the big stuff that happened 1k years ago? I thought the Sith War was older than that.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
I didn't realize 1k years in the past was covered in fluff already.

I'm more of a "seriously casual" Star Wars consumer. I know about the Old Republic from things like the old Tales of the Jedi comics and the video games, and I have read a bunch of the now non-canon EU, but that's it. I can't name complete timelines, or anything. What was the big stuff that happened 1k years ago? I thought the Sith War was older than that.

Darth Bane, the New Sith Wars, the Ruusan Reformations, and the foundation of the "modern" Republic that old man Palps would tear down with the Clone Wars and O66ing the Jedi. From a structural perspective its a big honking deal in the film chronology, even if few people are aware of it, which is why they're not going near it.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
I didn't realize 1k years in the past was covered in fluff already.

I'm more of a "seriously casual" Star Wars consumer. I know about the Old Republic from things like the old Tales of the Jedi comics and the video games, and I have read a bunch of the now non-canon EU, but that's it. I can't name complete timelines, or anything. What was the big stuff that happened 1k years ago? I thought the Sith War was older than that.

It depends which 'Sith War' you're talking about (there are un-apologetically a lot of them). The Knights of the Old Republic games and Old Republic MMO are about FOUR thousand years before the battle of Yavin. There are about seven separate wars in that period, collectively known as the Old Sith Wars (if you trust Wookiepedia). The Great Hyperspace War was 5000 BBY. (Republic versus what was technically probably a completely different Sith Empire.... there have also been a lot of those)

Darth Bane is the primary contender for 1000 years ago

SW 'history' is stupidly long and repetitive.

Going to a period with little information is a good call by Disney. Less pushback on canon, expired canon and whatever. The notable entries for the year 200 BBY are that droid memory wipes become commonplace after a personality virus is unleashed, the Mandalorians are off killing some species no one cares about, and the Jedi noted the Force is 'in flux' and feared a shift in the power of the dark side. And most of that only comes from the New Essential Chronology, published in 2005, so doesn't have any real hold on what Disney might do. The memory wipe bit is from the 1985/86 SW: Droids cartoon.

I didn't realise the Darth Bane stuff was the 1,000 year mark. I thought it was more in the era of the KOTOR period and there was largely nothing in the between times.

Still will be a nice era to have Jedi heroes that aren't either token "turns out my character is a survivor of Order 66" (a surprisingly large group when it comes to personal fiction), or knowing they will be otherwise killed off either in or at the end of the Clone Wars.

 AegisGrimm wrote:
I didn't realise the Darth Bane stuff was the 1,000 year mark. I thought it was more in the era of the KOTOR period and there was largely nothing in the between times.

Yeah the SW timeline is weird. Long lag times, then certain periods are just packed. Until I looked the Sith War stuff I hadn't realized the Exar Kun stuff was immediately prior to KotoR and Naga Sadow was 1000 years earlier.
It doesn't help that I mostly think of Exar Kun tied to the Sun Crusher, and Han Solo foiling that book plot, but that sort of thing happens when evil ghosts can just hang out for thousands of years.

All the Sith lords blend together, and the more-or-less complete technological stasis (and political repetition) over 5000 years makes it difficult to parse historical 'eras.' Vaguely tie fighter and star destroyer shaped things are constantly attacking a Galactic Republic, whether its 5000, 4000, 1000 or film time.


Hopefully there won't be Sith machinations behind the Nihil 'vikings' or whatever. Its a chance to make the SW universe bigger, not spin the wheels on the same plots.

From Wookiepedia (great name)...

Sith article wrote:The Sith stayed in hiding for a thousand years

So provided that remains Canon (and it is from the Canon page, not the Legends)? Perhaps we'll find the Sith deep behind the curtain. After all, Darth Plageuis must've had a Master, and that Master and so on...So there's definitely room - just keep them properly shadowy.

To what point though? 'But it was those evil Sith all along' is a dull cliche in SW. There isn't any reason to saddle a new project with the same old junk.

I feel like two years ago this would have excited me. As it is, I'm somehow not excited... On the one hand, getting away from Sith vs Jedi would be cool, but l also fall in the camp that conflict between the Jedi and the Sith has heavily defined the SW universe, and the solution to the current problem isn't so much to ignore it but to get the feth out of an era where the entire concept is cliche.

Survivors of order 66 (dark and light) and secret children of evil who are good has gotten staler than stale bread.

On the other hand, a Golden age doesn't seem like a time with much to do. I mean, there will be stuff to do obviously. But kicking of a franchise with "this is the good times when everything was working right" sounds like "don't worry, none of this will matter by the time the ride is over."

And I guess there are other things I'd rather see. If we want wild west, how about the post TRoS era? No First Order. No Empire. No Republic. No Jedi. I mean, if we want Walker Texas Rangers in space western, why wouldn't you just go there? Why not go all the way back to the founding of the Republic? The Force Wars? Hell, I'll take the Yuuhan Vong at this point. Seeing the Republic and Jedi order at their peak 500 years before they all died and their achievements in an optimistic golden age rendered moot isn't much of a sales pitch.

The Unknown Regions are just that: the Unknown Regions.

It's where the Yuuzhan Vong, Chiss, etc were.

The republic in a golden age means we have to deal with zero politics.

The jedi as questing knights protecting the fringes of the republic means there is a vast wilderness outside of the walls of the city of light and there is PLENTY to do facing the dragons at the gates.

Yes, the lack of a crisis that will affect every corner of the setting isn’t “nothing happening” — it’s remembering that a galaxy is actually a big place!

 Lance845 wrote:
The republic in a golden age means we have to deal with zero politics.

The jedi as questing knights protecting the fringes of the republic means there is a vast wilderness outside of the walls of the city of light and there is PLENTY to do facing the dragons at the gates.

This intrigues me.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I can’t really conceive of SW without The Sith.

But? Perhaps without The Sith, we will see the Jedi at their absolute best? Literally just fulfilling their role as Peace Keepers.

I mean, they’re highly skilled warriors even before we consider their Force abilities.

Put them up against comparatively vanilla foes, and it’s not whether they win that’s interesting but the how.

There could be all sorts of bad guys introduced that are not just retreaded Sith. There could be warlords out in the unknown regions with whole fleets of raiders ready to face off against Republic forces where Jedi are just a side character, rather than Great Generals. Or guys who get ahold of old Sith artifacts, but who are not just Evil Jedi, themselves.

I personally would rather see more stuff around the Kotor era, but this'll do in a pinch.

Frankly I would most like to see things in the Exar Khun and Ulic Qel Droma era, like the old Dark Horse comics. I loved the art style of all the jagged, unrefined tech.

Bit early to comment on but I like the gold'n'elegant theme so far.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I mean, they’re highly skilled warriors even before we consider their Force abilities.

Put them up against comparatively vanilla foes, and it’s not whether they win that’s interesting but the how.

Indeed. It's not like we haven't had non-Sith opponents who were able to go toe-to-toe with Jedi before.

 Lance845 wrote:
The republic in a golden age means we have to deal with zero politics.

That's an odd assumption. Golden ages are retroactively defined and usually gloss over details, but 'no politics' isn't a defining feature.
For example, the Ottoman Empire's golden age is usually pointed at the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent because of politics (and his handling thereof), not because of a lack of politics.


Plus, I'd wager that at least one of the Jedi 'team' that ends up as the protagonists ends up on it due to internal Jedi politics. In the sense of 'a hard-boiled cop with nothing left to lose.' Its too easy a backstory and character type to miss in an ensemble cast about 'Jedi Texas Rangers.'

Are people really disinterested in the politics of the Star Wars universe or just its implementation?

Honest question, I don't remember anybody saying they hated the depiction of 'politics' in the prequels until the Simpsons' toothless Phantom Menace parody made that the whole joke.

If anything, exploring the Republic's golden age would probably require a look at its politics - it's not like they're a massively established totalitarian state that can go around smashing planets when an official gets embarrassed at a dinner party.

 Captain Joystick wrote:
Are people really disinterested in the politics of the Star Wars universe or just its implementation?

Its entirely an implementation issue.

If the focus on the republics golden age is the questing jedi knights protecting its boarders then no. You don't need any of the republics council meetings and trade tariffs and other crap.

"Texas Ranger" style westerns don't focus on whats happening in Washington D.C. They focus on the small town, colonies, and the threats they face. Inner workings of the republic itself will literally be on the other side of the galaxy.

Ah, I forgot small towns and colonies don't have politics.

There certainly isn't any bitter knife twisting and petty power struggles in the small town I lived in, in anyone's historical colonies, or in any western you care to name.

I just want small stories that don’t affect entire systems fates. This looks cool!

Voss wrote:
Ah, I forgot small towns and colonies don't have politics.

There certainly isn't any bitter knife twisting and petty power struggles in the small town I lived in, in anyone's historical colonies, or in any western you care to name.

I think it's fairly obvious that when people say they want to get away from SW politics they mean an opening crawl about trade tariffs, long slow walks down vast empty corridors or a senate building, and watching people call for votes.

Rival families or ideologies screwing each other over in interesting ways and the violent fall out of such things on the fringes of society makes for interesting viewing.

This...





"While the congress of the republic endlessly debate..."

is not.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I can’t really conceive of SW without The Sith.

Utterly baffling to me, that. But then my Star Wars was the gritty world of the Original Trilogy, and I'm far more invested in the war between the Alliance and the Empire, in which the philosophical conflicts of tiny numbers of religious zealots is just a sideshow. And the days when the word 'Sith' was never uttered on-screen and was only found in early drafts and novelisations.

 Lance845 wrote:
If the focus on the republics golden age is the questing jedi knights protecting its boarders then no. You don't need any of the republics council meetings and trade tariffs and other crap.

"Texas Ranger" style westerns don't focus on whats happening in Washington D.C. They focus on the small town, colonies, and the threats they face. Inner workings of the republic itself will literally be on the other side of the galaxy.

This. Would Firefly have been at all improved if a portion of every episode was devoted to watching the Alliance government debate the name for a new colony, for example?

People don't want galactic politics. Galactic politics are, for the vast majority of the time, boring tedious bureaucracy (you want proof? Watch BBC Parliament Live and consider how much more dull it would be when trying to govern a galaxy, with thousands more representatives all trying to say their bit, compared to a couple hundred from an island and a bit). What people enjoy is scheming. Well, scheming doesn't require you to be dealing with the galactic government. A corrupt local governor/sheriff/whatever works just fine and doesn't require the ever outwardly spiralling nonsense that comes with trying to have a massive galaxy wide conspiracy.

Sterling191 wrote:

 Captain Joystick wrote:
Are people really disinterested in the politics of the Star Wars universe or just its implementation?

Its entirely an implementation issue.

It depends on what you mean by "people". If you're talking about the kind of people who know who Willrow Hood is... then, "people" are very interested in the politics of the universe. If you talk about the rest of the millions who are fans of the movies and toys and games and cartoons.... not... really.

when I see Disney is involved with this my hopes hit rock bottom, even more so as KK is still involved albeit in a limited way.

Its the same thing when I hear EA and star wars.

Well disney owns sw now. So its disney and sw forever at this point.

 Lance845 wrote:

Voss wrote:
Ah, I forgot small towns and colonies don't have politics.

There certainly isn't any bitter knife twisting and petty power struggles in the small town I lived in, in anyone's historical colonies, or in any western you care to name.

I think it's fairly obvious that when people say they want to get away from SW politics they mean an opening crawl about trade tariffs, long slow walks down vast empty corridors or a senate building, and watching people call for votes.

Ah. No. When people say 'politics,' I don't 'obviously' think of the prequels. I think of real politics. Framed against 'Jedi Texas Rangers,' I think of scenario where a high faluting city boy from back east (a courier from Coruscant/Jedi Temple/Sector Gov't) comes to the merry band of Jedi Rangers and asks them to resolve a situation in the best interests of the {Coruscant/Jedi Temple/Sector Gov't} which leaves the local population out in the cold, violates their burial grounds, mining rights or whatever. Or a local land baron trying to take control of the town/colony or whatever. Corrupt mayors, idealistic governors... I can't see a 'Jedi Texas Rangers' property not doing stories like that.

Riqeunde wrote:Utterly baffling to me, that. But then my Star Wars was the gritty world of the Original Trilogy, and I'm far more invested in the war between the Alliance and the Empire, in which the philosophical conflicts of tiny numbers of religious zealots is just a sideshow. And the days when the word 'Sith' was never uttered on-screen and was only found in early drafts and novelisations.

Same here. 'Dark Lord of the Sith' got bandied about maybe... once? It was a personal story inside a political revolution, not some weird religious schism.
But then I also feel that SW is at its best when there aren't any Force users around at all.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Lance845 wrote:
If the focus on the republics golden age is the questing jedi knights protecting its boarders then no. You don't need any of the republics council meetings and trade tariffs and other crap.

"Texas Ranger" style westerns don't focus on whats happening in Washington D.C. They focus on the small town, colonies, and the threats they face. Inner workings of the republic itself will literally be on the other side of the galaxy.

This. Would Firefly have been at all improved if a portion of every episode was devoted to watching the Alliance government debate the name for a new colony, for example?

People don't want galactic politics. Galactic politics are, for the vast majority of the time, boring tedious bureaucracy (you want proof? Watch BBC Parliament Live and consider how much more dull it would be when trying to govern a galaxy, with thousands more representatives all trying to say their bit, compared to a couple hundred from an island and a bit). What people enjoy is scheming. Well, scheming doesn't require you to be dealing with the galactic government. A corrupt local governor/sheriff/whatever works just fine and doesn't require the ever outwardly spiralling nonsense that comes with trying to have a massive galaxy wide conspiracy.

This is an amusing statement given the explicitly political bent of the Firefly crew, and the underlying plotlines of a political cabal within the Alliance trying to retrieve River by any (usually bloody) means necessary.

Parliamentary shenagains are a subset of political intrigue, but they arent remotely the only part of it. Look at The Expanse for a show that deals with macro-politics exquisitely well.

 Lance845 wrote:
Well disney owns sw now. So its disney and sw forever at this point.

Nah they own Disney star wars, I still have mountains of good/bad fanfic I can go through, older novels, original films etc. I do not have to interact with Disney wars thankfully, on a more positive note though Iger is gone so there may be some hope.

Well I'm onboard for this, one of my many issues with the sequel trilogy was I was promised lots of Jedi being back, and instead we got Luke and Rey and that was it pretty much, I love the prequels and the Clone wars for the Jedi, so this is scratching that itch, if it manages to feel like high fantasy as well I will be a very happy man.

foenixphate wrote:
Well I'm onboard for this, one of my many issues with the sequel trilogy was I was promised lots of Jedi being back,...

Were you? Where was that promised?

Before they axed the entire EU, I'd have been excited for this. Now? Not so much.. and that even before the cringey white board and its lists of priority come into focus. I like the various art styles though of the concept art.

Old EU was a right mixed bag though.

And this, to the best of my knowledge, isn't an era covered before?

Plus they've brought back various EU elements with good success in Rebels (ship types, Thrawn etc)

That white board is full of worrisome priorities.

It would also be interesting to see if they took the "high" of the "high" republic and made it the vernacular version that most people associate that word with >.>

I wouldn't mind seeing a Jedi Shaggy looking for some "Sithy Snacks"

What was written on the whiteboard?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

And this, to the best of my knowledge, isn't an era covered before?

Completely blank slate.

 insaniak wrote:

foenixphate wrote:
Well I'm onboard for this, one of my many issues with the sequel trilogy was I was promised lots of Jedi being back,...

Were you? Where was that promised?

Its pretty heavily implied that post Return of the Jedi, given the title, that Luke was gonna rebuild the order, we sort of got that, in flashbacks but like most things in the sequel trilogy, JJ decided to tease what we wanted and then rip it away.

Ah. So nothing was 'promised'... you just assumed, and then were disappointed when those assumptions weren't met.

Here are some screenshots of the whiteboard(s):

It looks like the writers had a mandatory brainstorming session hosted by the marketing department. Some of those columns scream “spelling it out for the moron in charge” to me.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
It looks like the writers had a mandatory brainstorming session hosted by the marketing department. Some of those columns scream “spelling it out for the moron in charge” to me.

Yup. Thats pretty much all white board brainstorming right there.

The handwriting seems to be the same across all words on each board.

My bet would be that everything on them was already there before the team arrived and they are just props.

 Manchu wrote:
The handwriting seems to be the same across all words on each board.

My bet would be that everything on them was already there before the team arrived and they are just props.

Or as is often the case, the guy running the meeting was writing down whatever everyone else was saying when asking for blank.

I have been involved with marketing a photoshoot and the stuff the subjects “acted around” were merely props. I think it is likely here that the props were designed by marketing professionals but throughout the actual video, you don’t see anyone write words. Rather they draw rudimentary shapes or circles around words. It also seems very posed to me.

Anyhow, I’m only saying I don’t believe scrutinizing these words will give us any particular insight into the upcoming stories.

You’ll change your tune when the relatable Porg Jedi and his diverse knights get morally but subtly eaten by dinosaurs.

Their poor spouses.

 insaniak wrote:
Ah. So nothing was 'promised'... you just assumed, and then were disappointed when those assumptions weren't met.

Well, I mean...as far as the sequels are concerned, Episode 6 should have been called Return of "A" Jedi, lol.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
You’ll change your tune when the relatable Porg Jedi and his diverse knights get morally but subtly eaten by dinosaurs.

Their poor spouses.

Also something to do with Aquaman.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 AegisGrimm wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
Ah. So nothing was 'promised'... you just assumed, and then were disappointed when those assumptions weren't met.

Well, I mean...as far as the sequels are concerned, Episode 6 should have been called Return of "A" Jedi, lol.

I'll be starting a petition to have that updated. Also to change the title of Episode 2 to 'The Bit Before The Clone Wars'...

I just can't get excited for this. it's not that I even hated the new movies but.. eh I dunno. this just doesn't jazz me. but maybe once it comes out I'll change my tune

I'll wager the back of the board says "Knock off Kotor, hope nobody notices"

On a serious note.....

Sooner or later, we won’t have John Williams upon our present plane of existence.

What do we do then? Who will score the background of our lives after that? Eh?

As a Brit, I’ve already lost John Peel, and so my access to new and interesting music is already massively stymied.

I. Dread. To. Think.

You mean we might get some SW music that doesn't sound a boring retread of exactly the same thing? Perish the thought!

That's an interesting take.

The use of recurring themes is part of what makes the various soundtracks work so well, but it's never done to the extent of being a 'retread'... Each of the movie soundtracks is still very different overall.

I thought the music for Solo was great. R1 less so. But Williams isn’t essential IMO.

Granted, like or hate the writing and directing, Star Wars music is universally great. Even the music from the Mandalorian is catchy and fitting of the setting.

But John Williams is just a fixture, but not necessary. For instance, the music from the LOTR and Hobbit movies is excellent.

 insaniak wrote:
Ah. So nothing was 'promised'... you just assumed, and then were disappointed when those assumptions weren't met.

I mean, the pretty obvious implication was that the Jedi were going to come back, and the "Dark times" were over, until the sequel trilogy gakked on it all, by being afraid of doing something new so just reset the clock to a New Hope again, say what you like about the Prequels, but at least they did something different to "Deathstar esk thing" to stop.

I’m pretty sure I read that IX was the last Williams scored one anyway.

Yes, he announced before they started work on IX that it would be his last Star Wars movie.

LINK



Avar is the brightest, most noble example of Jedi-hood. She always tries to see the good in people and situations, and never puts herself first. She is invigorated about life on the frontier and the challenges it brings, and is an inspiration for those who work with her. She is compassionate, not dogmatic, and always ready to sacrifice herself over others. Avar Kriss is the best of the best.



Loden is a Twi’lek Jedi Master, and is considered to be one of the best teachers in the Jedi Order. Strong and wise, with a good sense of humor, Loden looks at every moment as a learning experience, always trying to better himself and those around him, especially his Padawans.



Keeve is a young firebrand Jedi, believed to have a great future ahead of her, if only she would believe it herself. Quick-witted and more impulsive than she should be, Keeve has only been a Jedi Knight for a few weeks and is a little starstruck around Avar, knowing many of the great things Kriss has done in the past. She is determined to prove herself to Avar and the other legendary Jedi stationed on Starlight Beacon, but first she must learn to trust in herself as much as she trusts the Force.



Stellan is an optimistic and well-respected Jedi Master. Stellan came up through the Order with Avar Kriss, and although they are often on different assignments for the Jedi or the Republic, when the two work together they are a powerhouse team of two noble heroes in action. Strong in the Force and a natural teacher, Stellan is currently stationed at one of the Jedi Temple outposts on the distant planet of Caragon-Viner.



Vern is a newly-minted Jedi Knight. Vernestra, Mirialan, was Padawan to Stellan Gios. She works hard and is devoted to the Jedi Order, more so than most others her age. At sixteen she is one of the youngest Knights in a generation. She struggles to fit in with the adults while also setting a good example for the younger Jedi.

How long do ya'll figure before the useal suspects on the internet accuse Avar of being a Mary sue? 5 minutes? 6?

I guess they are gonna have to care first lol.

BrianDavion wrote:
How long do ya'll figure before the useal suspects on the internet accuse Avar of being a Mary sue? 5 minutes? 6?

I was going to accuse her of being a new wave 80's musician.

Or the neckbeards complaining about the crossguards on a lightsaber, again. Which in this case, are actually completely useful being made completely of solid handle material.. It seems like the largest fear of any lightsaber wielder is having your hands slip too far up the handle into the blade.

Crossguards on lightsabers would actually function inversely.

And lets not even get started on the insanely dangerous nature of a double-blade, and the small fraction of the overall length that always makes up the handle. Seems like the first thing I would end up doing while holding it with my good hand is go to grip it with my off hand, but end up passing my hand right through one of the blades because my hands are too far apart.

BrianDavion wrote:
How long do ya'll figure before the useal suspects on the internet accuse Avar of being a Mary sue? 5 minutes? 6?

The usual youtube garbage started showing up in my recommended list after about 4 days. (Recommended because I'll listen to Star Wars music on youtube for purposes of procuring background audio for our RPG nights and the Mighty Algorithm lumps liking and hating something in the same broad 'feels strongly about' category.)

Which is a lot of up and how to do over a character who clearly has a target on her back to give Keeve her call to action, but whatever.

Looking forward to seeing how they try to make this Twi'Lek jedi mentor distinct from Shado Vao.

I love the white and gold design for the jedi robes, it's a nice new take on the basic brown ones we see normally.

I never got into reading any of the new SW books as the stories always seemed to be desparately trying to sew together the jumbled mess that was the sequel trilogy rather than telling a good story. With a clean slate I am interested to see how this is all handled.

It definitely sells it as a different era for the jedi themselves, though I'd prefer they had more varied and personal colors rather than the more uniform white and gold palette they're doing here.

Posts after Manchu's showing the jedi character roster and before mine: 7


Posts preemptively complaining about disgruntled star wars fans: 3

Posts discussing the images: 2

Posts accurately explaining the lack of disgruntled star wars fans complaints: 1

Posts from disgruntled star wars fans complaining: 0

I’m late on this one but as an update, High Republic is now slotted for launch in 2021 ... rather than next month.

:(

This is a big bummer. I think SW fans and people generally are probably pretty eager to escape to a better world at this point, or should I say, a more civilized age.

Well, I rec’d the first novel in the post upon its debut and started reading it.

And then put it down, feeling mildly disappointed.

And then never picked it back up in about a month since.

High Republic sucks, I’m sorry to say.

I know there are folks out there of a certain, shall we say, ideological bent who are really canning High Republic as Woke Garbage. I can kinda sorta see that point but it’s not really the problem.

I mean, you could do a book that goes out of its way to be Non-Problematic(TM)(C)(R) and, ya know, still have engaging characters and an interesting plot.

Unfortunately, the first High Republic novel doesn’t have those things. At all.

But I suppose it’s hardly a phenomenon considering there has been essentially no interest in discussing High Republic here in contrast to the dozens of pages discussing The Mandalorian and other SW topics.

 Scrabb wrote:
Posts after Manchu's showing the jedi character roster and before mine: 7


Posts preemptively complaining about disgruntled star wars fans: 3

Posts discussing the images: 2

Posts accurately explaining the lack of disgruntled star wars fans complaints: 1

Posts from disgruntled star wars fans complaining: 0

Let me correct this.

The comic sucks.

I haven’t read the comic myself, but I will say we’ve been unable to keep the thing in stock. Ordered as much as they would send us and it still sold out right away.

First novel is a scene setter. We see faith in the Republic at an all time high, with centralised plans in motion to include as much of the galaxy as they can.

Jedi gonna Jedi, and each feels like a distinct person. And we also see a greater range of powers and abilities being wielded together.

The baddies are a bit....odd. At least at first as they don’t really feel like a credible threat - especially as the first bit is all a genuine accident.

As for the comic? Need to grab issue 2 off Amazon.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Addendum question is probably a thread unto itself. And so it shall be.

I’m not sure the High Republic ever had a chance. The time it dropped...it might as well have been another Terminator sequel for all the fan base cared. Good? Bad? Who cares any more?

I don't think the timing is the problem.

It's the medium. If it had been a video game or solely comics/graphic novels or a TV series? It likely would have been a Smash Hit.

But reading? Like, actual books?

What is this, the 80s?!

As someone who just finished reading the first Alphabet Squadron book (in dead tree format) I cant say as I have a problem with the format but actually getting hold of the material has been another issue. My preorder of the first book has still not been delivered!

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I’m not sure the High Republic ever had a chance. The time it dropped...it might as well have been another Terminator sequel for all the fan base cared. Good? Bad? Who cares any more?

Sadly, I agree its format, not timing. SW as a book franchise is always going to be third tier (at best). Especially this long after burning the EU audience and walking away.
Right now, there aren't any pop culture links to this time period or the characters in it, so nothing to drive book sales.

In essence, its 'Christopher Tolkien presents Unpublished Tales of Middle Earth.' You've got to be a pretty die hard fan already to dive in (or merely curious), but neither is going to drive it to the NY Times Bestseller list.

....uh, I’m not a huge fan of LotR yet still somehow have all the lost tales, Children of Hurin and Fall of Gondolin. I’ve read tons of stupid tie-in books, like the prequel to ID4 2, or prequels to video games I’ve never played. And even as a fan of The Mandalorian, I still can’t find the interest to pick up The High Republic. Perhaps it’s just me, but Star Wars feels deader than ever (in print).

Voss, you have a great point. Disney’s handling of SW print media has been aslmost a case study in killin GM a fan base.

Absolutely not lumping those who haven’t enjoyed it together. But looking at the Amazon reviews?

A large number are complaining it’s “woke” and a SJW “agenda”.

I have read it. I happened to enjoy it. Even ran a “read along with” thread on this very forum.

And there’s precisely two thirds of fifty percent of bugger all “woke” or “SJW” about it. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Nowt. Nothing.

Now, the one star reviews saying they didn’t enjoy the prose or the story? Those I can believe have indeed read it. And so I default to respecting a view even if I don’t share it.

Take away here? You’ll need your BS filters set to “Waaaa” when considering what all others have to say, regardless of what the opinion is. Because it seems there are those determined to entirely invent an idiot culture war over what is, ultimately, a pulp SciFi story. Yes. Including my own opinion I just opined.

If you’ve got a free ebook subscription or even a local library for us Old Grognards, read it for yourself. Find out what you think. And if you find yourself enjoying it, buy a copy.

 Kanluwen wrote:
I don't think the timing is the problem.

It's the medium. If it had been a video game or solely comics/graphic novels or a TV series? It likely would have been a Smash Hit.

But reading? Like, actual books?

What is this, the 80s?!

People still read books.

While I was interested in checking this out, the initial marketing made it sound like the ongoing storyline was going to be split between various types of media. Doctor Who has been doing something like that lately, and for someone not interested in collecting comics or audio dramas, it's really off-putting. If that's not actually the case, then I might have to come back and grab a copy.

At the moment? Too early to tell.

We’ve one novel, and two issues of a 6 part comic book.

We don’t currently know if one can just read the comics or novels or what have you and be able to tell what’s going on.

It’s neither format nor timing.

The book simply isn’t good. The ideas are lackluster, the characters are flat, the plot is boring.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Absolutely not lumping those who haven’t enjoyed it together. But looking at the Amazon reviews?

A large number are complaining it’s “woke” and a SJW “agenda”.

I have read it. I happened to enjoy it. Even ran a “read along with” thread on this very forum.

And there’s precisely two thirds of fifty percent of bugger all “woke” or “SJW” about it. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Nowt. Nothing.

Well, there was a little bit. But since it was bit about cross-species dating that could be read as social commentary on our own society (like the white/black black/white aliens on Star Trek the Original Series) it felt very outdated, literally generations behind on social issues.

If you’ve got a free ebook subscription or even a local library for us Old Grognards, read it for yourself. Find out what you think. And if you find yourself enjoying it, buy a copy.

Truthfully, the sample chapters on amazon were enough for me. It didn't pull me in or hook me in any way. It mostly left me questioning the physics, as a shotgun blast of light-speed impacts on a solar system doesn't leave time for a rescue force to show up from literally anywhere else and try to stop said impacts.

BobtheInquisitor wrote:I’m not sure the High Republic ever had a chance. The time it dropped...it might as well have been another Terminator sequel for all the fan base cared. Good? Bad? Who cares any more?

Kanluwen wrote:I don't think the timing is the problem.

It's the medium. If it had been a video game or solely comics/graphic novels or a TV series? It likely would have been a Smash Hit.

But reading? Like, actual books?

What is this, the 80s?!

Voss wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I’m not sure the High Republic ever had a chance. The time it dropped...it might as well have been another Terminator sequel for all the fan base cared. Good? Bad? Who cares any more?

Sadly, I agree its format, not timing. SW as a book franchise is always going to be third tier (at best). Especially this long after burning the EU audience and walking away.
Right now, there aren't any pop culture links to this time period or the characters in it, so nothing to drive book sales.

In essence, its 'Christopher Tolkien presents Unpublished Tales of Middle Earth.' You've got to be a pretty die hard fan already to dive in (or merely curious), but neither is going to drive it to the NY Times Bestseller list.

I see a lot of people pointing to poor sales as proof of whatever pet theory you have about Disney, Lucasfilm, or 'Wokeness' in general. I find the arguments somewhat disingenuous in the face of the fact that, by all present metrics, these first books have actually sold rather well.

If you want to lament that Lucasfilm (or Disney, if you believe they're wearing the skins of Lucasfilm employees like suits or something) abandoned their fans, lament that they've done so in search of more money, rather than in spite of more money.

More to the point I'd love to argue the merits of the books themselves, I honestly find it odd that for all the people complaining adamantly that they read it and found it bad for any number of reasons, precious few of them seem to bring up the Great Disaster that the first part of the book so painstakingly lays out - you'd think the fact that it's a direct reference to the Holdo Maneuver would have had certain sections of the fanbase up in arms.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you, Manchu. I reached part 2 and the pace of the action changed, I took it as an opportunity to take a break and haven't picked the book back up again, but I mainly think that's because I'm distracted by other stuff (been catching up with a number of podcasts and a certain Marvel show on Disney+) and I like what I've heard in Part 2 so far than what I've heard in Part 1 (I rather like the subplot about Jedi tracking down some kidnapped homesteaders - I was surprised how refreshing it was just to see Jedi trying their best just to save a few innocent people) but it hasn't gripped me the way the Alphabet Squadron books have, for example.

Being first out the gate, it also has the job of setting the galactic stage. And that’s not easy, especially as there’s no Big Bad until quite late on.

There is quite a lot to enjoy. I’m particularly taken with the apparent lack of cynicism in the Republic Government. They have lofty ideals. When they say We Are The Republic, it’s not yet a mealy mouthed statement, but one they genuinely mean.

There’s a vision behind what they’re doing. A recognition that the Core is all comfy, but the Outer Rim needs more help. A certain frontier feel.

Much of the book is setting the wider scene, the playground in which the other tales will take place.

I’m probably repeating myself, but I’m also impressed with how it explores different Jedi’s connection to The Force. It’s shown to be a personal thing, and from that each has their own strengths.

I look forward to the comic completing, as it’s adding the much needed visual element that I’ve come to expect from Star Wars. That expectation mainly stems from having read a few Old EU novels alongside the Guide To series.

If you’ve read it and didn’t enjoy it, I’m not gonna gain say you. There’s no point. But if you’re on the fence, get it read

 Kanluwen wrote:
I don't think the timing is the problem.

It's the medium. If it had been a video game or solely comics/graphic novels or a TV series? It likely would have been a Smash Hit.

But reading? Like, actual books?

What is this, the 80s?!

Books are still rather a good medium to get through with folk, but if the book has some baggage eh. There also is a comic, it is gak.