Star Wars: The High Republic Shorts Series Launches

This month, Lucasfilm launched the first phase of Star Wars: The High Republic, a new era of Star Wars storytelling set centuries before the Skywalker saga. To support the publishing initiative, Lucasfilm launched a series of animated shorts to help fans get to know The High Republic's heroes. Characters of Star Wars: The High Republic follow Star Wars: Forces of Destiny and Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures as the latest Star Wars digital shorts series. Each episode spotlights a different High Republic character starting with Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh. You can see the first episode of Characters of Star Wars: The High Republic below.

"The High Republic is a unique and fresh era of Star Wars storytelling with all new characters and a unique visual aesthetic, so we couldn't help but want to see our new heroes and villains jump out of the page and into animation," Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group told StarWars.com. "We were trying to find a look for these videos that could appeal to a broad range of fans, from kids to adults, and I think what Eastham Studios came up with is really special."

The High Republic begins with three novels and a comic book series: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, YA novel A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland, middle-grade novel The Great Jedi Rescue by Cavan Scott, and Marvel Comics' Star Wars: The High Republic series. IDW Publishing will launch its all-ages Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures series in February.

During a launch event featuring the project's creators, Lucasfilm announced its second wave of titles. It includes new novels for every reading demographic, a new original graphic novel, and a new manga series. You can find information about all of the known Star Wars: The High Republic projects here.

Star Wars: The High Republic's story takes place during a time of peace and prosperity for the Galactic Republic and a time when the Jedi Order was at its height. That peace is prosperity is threatened by a disaster that reveals a previously unknown threat, the Nihil. As the Jedi and the Republic expand their reach into the Outer Rim through the new Starlight Beacon space station, they must confront the Nihil and other unknown threats to the Republic and the Force.

Future installments of Characters of Star Wars: The High Republic will appear on the Star Wars YouTube channel.