Star Wars: China Is Getting An Exclusive High Republic Release

China is getting an exclusive Star Wars story set during the twilight of The High Republic era. Lucasfilm and Tencent first announced its partnership in 2019, hiring the popular Chinese internet writer known by the pseudonym His Majesty the King, known for their popular Xianxia (a genre of Chinese fantasy) novels, to write a web-novel set in the Star Wars universe but with the trapping and tropes of traditional Chinese adventure fiction. New details have surfaced, confirming that the story’s English title is Star Wars; The Vow of Silver Dawn. The tale is a coming of age story about a young Jedi padawan named Sean. A video released on the Chinese social media platform Weibo implies that Sean’s loyalty is torn between what the Jedi Council wants and his own personal goals.

“Sean is a character with a secret. His origins have always been shrouded in mystery,” James Waugh, Lucasfilm’s vice president of franchise content and strategy says in the short video. “He ends up being very much torn between his duty to the Jedi Council, to his Master, and to his own interests.”

The story is set during the late High Republic era, around 50 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It takes place in a new sector of the Star Wars galaxy but is fully part of the Star Wars canon. “This is a story that needs to fit within our overall canonicity,” Waugh says. “These characters are thriving Star Wars characters that could show up again and populate other media.”

There are currently no plans to translate The Vow of Silver Dawn into English. Its release is part of Lucasfilm’s effort to spark interest in Star Wars in China, which is a huge international market where Star Wars films have traditionally received tepid responses.

Star Wars: The High Republic kicks off 2021 with its first wave of releases. The initiative is a multi-platform publishing project with books and comics for all ages, introducing new heroes, new worlds to explore, and new threats to the Star Wars universe. It begins on January 5th with the releases of adult novel Light of the Jedi, young adult novel A Test of Courage, and middle-grade novel The Great Jedi Rescue. The next day, January 6th, Marvel Comics will release the first issue of its Star Wars: The High Republic comic book series.

How do you feel about the exclusive release of Star Wars: The Vow of Silver Dawn in China? Let us know in the comments.