The Acolyte’s High Republic Setting

The High Republic started as a major publishing initiative cooked up by Lucasfilm. The company treated it as seriously as a new movie in the franchise, enlisting the help of many influential “Star Wars” authors to put the whole thing together. In an announcement trailer for the High Republic that debuted in 2020, the era is explained broadly with the following text:

“Hundreds of years before the Skywalker saga, the Galactic Republic is at its height, protected by the Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy.”

There are currently three different phases of the High Republic that have been published by Lucasfilm, with “Quest of the Jedi” diving the furthest back in the timeline, roughly 350 years before the events of the original films. “Light of the Jedi” kicked the whole thing off, taking place around 200 years before the events of the original trilogy. “Trials of the Jedi” falls roughly in this same timeline, give or take.

It is described as a “golden age” where there is, generally, much more peace in the galaxy. Naturally, threats emerge, with the Drengir and the Nihil serving that purpose in the first phase of High Republic storytelling. This all sprang from a simple question: What scares the Jedi? Even though we’re dealing with a different threat, that question still feels prevalent in what we’ve seen from “The Acolyte.”

This all goes back to “A New Hope,” when Obi-Wan Kenobi said, “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.” Lucasfilm went all-in on the initiative, bringing in concept artists and visual teams to bring this publishing initiative to life, not unlike the early stages of planning a blockbuster movie. Ian McKay, who designed Darth Maul for George Lucas, was even involved.