Star Wars‘ new The High Republic line is a time when the Jedi Order and Republic are both at the peak of their strength, and the light side of the Force reigns unchallenged. However, The High Republic is also, inevitably, a story of slow tragedy, as Star Wars fans know the 200-year span of this era ends at the doorstep of Darth Sidious’ rise to power, and the Jedi/Republic’s collapse.
With that fated slide into the dark side already on the table, readers of The High Republic have been keeping a careful eye on the various characters of the Jedi ensemble we’ve met in the series. Theories are out there about which characters could go from being seemingly friendly and incorruptible examples of Jedi to some of the biggest threats the order faced.
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Writer Daniel José Older is responsible for telling some of the most pivotal stories in Star Wars The High Republic. When he sat down with the ComicBook Nation podcast it was clear that Older knows there are big twists ahead – but he wouldn’t say a word about it.
“Nothing, because that would be spoilers,” is what Older was willing to offer when asked how the dark side will manifest in the Jedi of The High Republic.
Older did explain that “That’s one of the cool things: We talked a lot throughout this initiative, especially during the launch of it, about how different Jedi understand the Force. Because we had this amazing opportunity to really see different Jedi dealing with the Force in different ways. Because it was initially a time of peace when we met them; now it’s a time of war. And now we get to and have to understand and see the Jedi – all those different versions of the Force that they understand – also are manifested through trauma. So I think we see them all dealing with the trauma of war in very weird ways – including the padawans. Because the padawans are also in the war and on the front lines and dealing with it in very real ways. So that’s manifested through the Force.”
However, before fans of Star Wars The High Republic star thinking that the only “dark side” these Jedi have to worry about are some metaphorical emotions: Older makes it clear that there indeed are some big character turns that fans should be on the lookout for:
“What I think is cool is there are definitely dark side moments and teases throughout the initiative in different ways. And I think that’s always on people’s minds – correctly,” he explained. “[But] what’s also cool is there’s also this whole range of emotions that are, yes, a pathway to the dark side, but also in their own right just hard to deal with.”
Indeed, with the desperate needs of Skywalker Saga Jedi set aside, and a much bigger of Force powers now being drawn, The High Republic can truly surprise fans with how it gets its characters into those dark places…
Star Wars: The High Republic novels, comics, and audiobooks are all available for sale.
