It’s no secret that numerous television series and movies have seen delays due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but it’s not just film and TV that have been impacted by the health crisis. Several book releases have also been pushed back due to the inability to hold book tours, as well as closures and delays wreaking havoc on retail and the online marketplace.
Keeping all that in mind, it’s no great surprise that Lucasfilm has announced a new, later launch date for its Star Wars: The High Republic initiative, an upcoming collection of books and comics set in the Star Wars universe 200 years before the films, exploring a time when the Jedi were spreading peace and justice throughout the galaxy. There’s been speculation that new Star Wars movies — like the one Taika Waititi is directing — will also be set during this period, although we don’t know that for sure just yet.
All of books and comics were supposed to start coming out this August. Now, the first two stories in The High Republic — Justina Ireland’s middle grade novel Star Wars: The High Republic: A Test of Courage and Charles Soule’s adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: The Light of the Jedi — are now scheduled to arrive on January 5, 2021. Claudia Gray’s young adult novel, Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark, will follow on February 2, 2021. And the rest of the releases will see new dates announced at a later time.
Although these stories would certainly have added some entertainment to people’s lives while they’re in quarantine, the decision to delay the launch makes sense, especially Lucasfilm Publishing wants to roll out this stuff with a level of fanfare that’s just not possible when no one can go to bookstores. “Given these unprecedented times, we have made the decision to move the launch of Star Wars: The High Republic to January 2021 to ensure that the launch is as grand and epic as it deserves to be,” Michael Siglain, creative director of Lucasfilm Publishing wrote in a press release.
Even if it’s a bit disappointing that we’ll have to wait a little longer to get our hands on these stories, it’ll be interesting to see what Lucasfilm has planned for when they finally arrive. It sounds like we can expect some excitement next January…and after this year, we’ll definitely need it.
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