The High Republic: Interview with the Luminous Five. Collage by Fabio Fiori.
Books & Comics

The High Republic: Interview with the Luminous Five

The authors of The High Republic reflected on what Star Wars means to them and gave early insights into what to expect in Phase II.

At the end of a long day, in a quiet conference room at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022, I had the extreme pleasure of interviewing the Luminous Five: Cavan Scott, Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel José Older, and Charles Soule. Fresh off The High Republic panel mere hours earlier, the group was in high spirits as day one of the convention drew to a close.

Top of mind for everyone was Phase II of The High Republic coming this Fall, particularly all the new offerings revealed during the panel. Claudia Gray shared her excitement for her debut in the world of Star Wars comics with her upcoming Dark Horse series, Quest of the Jedi. Gray said, “It’s really exciting to me because one of the fundamental things that I wanted from The High Republic was to do a lot of different things that I haven’t gotten to do for Star Wars before. Mike [Siglain, Creative Director of Lucasfilm Publishing] can attest that I had many, many, many, many ideas for graphic novels over the years. So I’m excited finally to really get to dig in and do this.”

Another eagerly anticipated comic book offering is The Blade by Charles Soule (with its jaw-dropping cover art by Giuseppe Camuncoli). Soule described the Porter Engle backstory as more of an unveiling versus an origin story, “It’s the other side of the coin to the Porter Engle we see in Phase I. You see him as almost like a superhero Jedi, and he really is not that at all. He is somebody who is incredibly skilled but has a lot of things that have happened in his past that have led him to where he is.” Soule also shared his excitement for diving into the lore of The High Republic, “This story is me taking the Jedi martial art, the lightsaber, as far in my imagination as it can possibly go, and I can’t wait.” Neither can we Charles, neither can we.

Author of all trades Cavan Scott shared his enthusiasm for Path of Vengeance, his first foray into Star Wars YA: “This was a way of challenging myself. Telling stories for different audiences in different mediums keeps it fresh; it keeps it alive. Star Wars at its heart is a YA story, so I was following that tradition. It was something I definitely wanted to do, and Phase II has given me that chance.” Scott mentioned his desire to write “one of everything” in The High Republic—let’s hope he achieves his goal and has a middle grade novel in the works!

Since its inception, collaboration has been at the heart of The High Republic. Justina Ireland’s upcoming co-write with Tessa Gratton, middle grade novel Path of Deceit, highlights this fact as the real life best friends partnered on a Star Wars book for the first time: “Tessa has always been my support and hopefully vice versa, so it’s really nice to be able to tell a story together. I love her storytelling, and she compliments my storytelling in a lot of ways … it’s nice to have somebody that softens your rough spots.” Ireland admitted she has gotten really used to working collaboratively. “We’ve gotten spoiled [laughs],” she joked. “I don’t want to write by myself anymore; it’s too hard!”

The characters Daniel José Older crafted in his IDW comic series, The High Republic Adventures, have become some of the most loved by fans due to their tenacity and friendship. Older’s handling of these characters in his other Phase I works, the middle grade book Race to Crashpoint Tower and fan favorite YA novel Midnight Horizon, further cemented this group of Padawans in the hearts of readers. Was creating characters with such pure love and friendship a conscious effort on Older’s part? “I just have a very pure heart!” Older joked. “The friendships that coalesced were not planned, I just hoped it would work out, and that meant building these moments in the midst of all the action and adventure. Sometimes that becomes more apparent when newcomers come, and they’re welcomed into the fold … it becomes a big sleepover party so there’s a mix of having a plan and also just flowing with whatever happens.”

The High Republic returns in Fall 2022 with offerings for readers of all tastes, expanding the galaxy as new authors and characters join the fold. Special thanks to Disney Publishing Worldwide for the opportunity to interview the original five authors of The High Republic. For Light and Life!

Jason Munoz

Jason Munoz

Jason Munoz is the author of This Dad Reads book review blog. He's a husband, father of two and passionate about all things pop culture, especially Star Wars.