Star Wars: The High Republic Writer on Whether the Pandemic Has Changed the Direction of the Series

Does the pandemic touch Star Wars' galaxy far, far away? No, not in the literal sense. There's no COVID-19 equivalent traveling through that fictional universe, but the real-world anxieties that the storytellers working in that universe experience could affect its tone. The High Republic is all about people living at apparently the peak of their civilization suddenly forced to deal with darker times. The Nihil are on the attack, the Drengir are spreading, and the mysterious Marchion Ro has released forgotten horrors. Daniel José Older's new YA novel Midnight Horizon hones in on this by following two young Jedi Padawans forced to grow up fast.

Older appeared on the Comic Book Nation podcast to talk about Midnight Horizon and, more broadly, The High Republic. He says nothing specifically changed due to the pandemic. However, stories may resonate differently now due to how things have changed in the past two years.

"That is, quite honestly, just the way it played it," Older says. "We didn't change anything. I think while we were all writing it became more poignant, so it's possible on the micro level that things subconsciously, or consciously, as we were going, but the truth is kids, unfortunately, are always going through really, really hard things. I think what's happened now is that collectively, on a global scale, it is a very difficult time, particularly for young people, whereas before the pandemic it was just very specific segments of society that were going through regular horrible times. Now it's been redistributed, unevenly of course, because of an uneven distribution system cacross the board."

But Older says, to a degree, this is the way he always works. After all, coming of age under extreme circumstances is pretty typical of sci-fi YA.

"I always think about that in terms of my audience," he says. "I'm always writing to the kid that's going through. And I'm always aware that the kid that's going through it isn't defined by going through. Kids that are going through it also have joy and fall in love and have everyday things going on and deal with lots of worldly problems. Both are true and that's one balance I really wanted to strike going into this and every time I write young adult fiction is let the kids be kids but also have the kids have to grow up to some level because ultimately that's what every YA is about, is about stepping into adulthood actively, somehow, and sometimes feeling like you're forced to do it, but then actively taking the step to do it so that you can win. That's what's always going on. We see that across the board for all the characters, and that's really what I set out to do."

Midnight Horizon is on sale now. The High Republic's second phase, "Quest of the Jedi," begins in October.