Star Wars: Supreme Republican author Justina Ireland on the new Jedi and the world

On February 24, Lucasfilm and Disney are introducing a new Star Wars era. Dubbed "The High Republic," the publishing process included adult, medieval, J, and comic stories. It happened 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, the Pax Romana era in which the Jedi were at the forefront of their game, and the one event that distracted them in every way, Top Books is designed to feel like a cinema event in their own right.

Lucasfilm and Disney authorize five authors – Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray, Daniel José Older, Charles Soule, and Justina Ireland – to collaborate with the Lucasfilm Story Group and a team of artists to brainstorm the new world, and to produce canonized stories, for the first time in years (and arguably). has been released in movie trilogies. The first two letters from the creative brain trust, Soule & # 39; s Star Wars: The Supreme Republic: Jedi Light and Ireland Star Wars: The Supreme Republic: A Test of Terror, are expected to use Star Wars Celebration in August and hit shelves on the tail end of summer.

Although Lucasfilm kept anything like a robber under wrap, Polygon had the opportunity to settle down with Ireland, known for such books as A Troubled Nation and Star Wars: The Resistance Episode, to get a great idea of ​​the High Republic program, and what fans should expect from it Liver Testing. The book finds a young Jedi named Vernestra Rwoh escorting the ambassador's son through a forest moon and fighting to survive. But around the galaxy, a great story takes place – as he does. Ireland walked us through the concept of The High Republic, and that a leap not included in the Star Wars timeline meant his creative freedom.

(Vol. Note: This conversation has been edited and allowed to be explained.)

Polygon: The High Republic's mission is to create something new in the Star Wars universe. What does that mean for you when you started?

Justina Ireland: You always want to take it as big as you can, don't you? It's as big as possible. And I think if you're talking about something like the already massive Star Wars, you have to ask, What did we not see? What did we not talk about? And so it's been really exciting for me to look at the past and the history of the things we've seen films, which we know is lore now. We had the Expanded Universe, and a lot of that has gone away and people are upset about that, but I think it's nice to have a chance to say, OK, this is a new world, how do we define this time? And have something self-absorbed in modern canon. So, we have no conflicting issues.

I always have a desire to keep up with what has happened before doing things like this in the modern era. So for me Star Wars history is pretty much my jam. A complete Venn diagram of all the things I want.

The first signs of Star Wars have come to the difficulty of connecting to the original trilogy, and I have to think there are lessons to be learned from that. How did you and your team go about writing a prequel? Do the high stories of the Republic feel isolated and fenced off while feeding the history we know?

Working with a group of other writers who are all very familiar with the tragedy that the prequel brings was also wonderful. But this is completely separate, completely private. We don't follow the same Skywalker we've been following for so many years. We tell a whole new story. So I think to be able to break new ground, and participate in parts of the galaxy that have never been seen by fans and fans before, and to be able to do that with a book club – it's very exciting.

I think readers of Star Wars books tend to be a bit … excited about new things. I think there are some fanatics, out of fandom, and I think they go in and out movies over books, so I'm hoping they'll cross the books and hang out with us for a while. But I think doing this as a book is really fun because there's no budget in the books, right? You can make it bananas the way you want to, and you don't have to try to go back your way into CGI. You can just write great sets.

So I think whenever you start going to tell stories in an already tight fandom, and people have strong opinions about it, you always like, How do I do this? But of course the fun part of being a designer is to say, Well, let's see how people react to this. Sometimes that's too bad and you're like, Yes, that was a bad decision.

But I think people will be really pleased with what they see, because we don't really see this Jedi as awesome. We have heard so much about them that they are attractive, especially inside A New Hope, but even in the prequels, episodes 1 to 3, it's kind of … a little jerky, isn't it? They're the people on the way down. So it will be interesting to see something we have never seen before.

Photo: Disney Lucasfilm Press

The Jedi are in a happy place in the Prequel Trilogy because they are seen as cute and smart, but you are right, and they are their worst enemies. So what does it mean for the Jedi to be awesome during The High Republic?

I think a lot of what we've seen compares to Camelot, whether that's the Camelot of King Arthur mythology or the Camelot of 1960. These are both very interesting times to consider because even at Camelot there were problems. Although we talk a lot about Camelot and John F. Kennedy, that was also the rise of the human rights movement, where people are like, "We've gone through a lot of country." There are more people than everyone else. Even in King Arthur's Camera, he still has very unpleasant layers of action. So I think, even in something that has taken time for peace and stability, there will always be those fraternities who do not appreciate that it is because of inequality, or if it is due to a little speculation, whatever happens.

It will be interesting to see the Jedi confident in their role in the galaxy and confident in the way they know they are doing the right thing. There is that moment (inside The Phantom Menace) when Qui-Gon leaves Shmi enslaved and takes on Anakan and everyone else's kind … how can you be a good Jedi, morally right force in the galaxy if you're willing to turn a blind eye to something like that? And those are some of the questions that I think most of us want to talk about in our storytelling – what does it mean to be good? What does it mean to do the right thing? How do you do that and rate that according to your vows and, in turn, cost more. Books give us more freedom to do that narration, we get more quotations on the page and then we'll get to the screen moment. Looking forward I like to think of questions and ask myself and the actors I work with.

The top Republic has its origins in the dumping line from A New Hope where Obi-Wan looks at Jedi history. Is the Supreme Republic built on the same history? Shall we hear where the Jedi came from?

I always think back and include small details when telling stories. Our daily conversations always reflect the past. Like I live in Maryland, so you can't drive down the highway without seeing the historic marker. And it's like "Here this day, some general you never heard of with his Confederate troops fighting the Union troops," and it's like, Oops, this thing happened here, but now it's just Arby.

Time is an amorphous type in the Star Wars galaxy. You can make a timeline, but it's always newsworthy and (time) is always a form of hand-drawn. And we had conversations like, “What do you think would have happened 100 years before, or 200 years ago? What is local history? One of the beautiful things about it Clone Wars (TV series) that you have done most of those buildings of unprecedented galleries and gave you a little history. There was a lot of money made from what was originally dismissed as a children's cartoon and ended up being like a huge piece of canon.

(Thinking of a Star Wars timeline) is similar to Ghostbusters, delivering a different fandom. As long as you don't cross rivers, everything is probably okay. And then when you cross rivers, you have to explain that. So everyone will know as they create their own stories. We work very closely together. We talked daily about news.

Photo: Disney Lucasfilm Press

Speaking of when, when Liver examination occur in relation to other books? Charles & # 39; The light of the Republic sounds like a basic text that gets things out.

It's kind of the same time. I think Charles's book covers longer than my own. I can tell you, at the time of the book, my story is like a few weeks. But until story time came, it happened in concert with Charles & # 39; s book. Everyone is sort of wary of the event. We don't know what that is. So I think it's done for everyone a little bit.

Your previous Star Wars book The spark of opposition

I think that, in the long run, there is this way of understanding this story of the Story Like the police on the road to telling stories, but to me, that's not true. They remain the same as an encyclopedia, such as, "This is what it will be told." I always called them my pocket Yodas. They'll tell you, "Okay, if you want to use this, that's how it's defined" and I, never had a problem with that. I like to have someone by my side when it comes time for a story. You have your editor, but then to have an extra group of people who want to see you succeed, and I want to see you tell something that has to do with world-building, for me, as a writer, is where I want to be, especially when I'm writing a franchise job.

Photo: Disney Lucasfilm Press

Because A Liver examination, we came up with our own characters. Everything is made from scratch. I created both characters Lando's luck and The spark of opposition, but it was the first time that all the characters on my page were the characters I brought with me. Some of them are characters you'll see in other media where other creators on the initiative come up with them. But I can also say: OK, who is it I want to think about? Who are the people in the galaxy who should care? OK, with someone, I said, how was their trip to the galaxy? What will they encounter? What questions and challenges will they have?

At YA, we always talk (in context) of where we enter the world, or in this case, the galaxy. But in the middle class, we always want to ask the question: Where do I fit in with my family? And so it is Liver examination), I really wanted to tell a story about an adopted family, and what it means to be one such wonderful, great galaxy, and to be a child. Be a normal kid trying to make your life and fun things can happen that you aren't ready for just because you want to be a baby. So Liver examination it's about mid-level storytelling, and bringing it to the Star Wars library.

What are the stats in your book if you haven't written a new Star Wars movie?

If you are a student and pick up a book, you never know who will do it until the end of the book. Get out, people can die. That will happen. Because we do not have to be valuable, we must not save anyone, we do not have to be a fragment of character. We can contain all the arc reviews in that book. So I think readers will feel that as they take these donations and see someone they love start this story they probably don't. Suddenly it's like, "Oh, crap, what do I do now? Like I have to deal with this." For me as a reader, when I know what the odds are, that no one will make it to the next episode in the TV show or the next chapter in the book, I tend to hold on to my favorites And I hope that this helps the students like to build a deeper connection, really get to know these characters and give them a chance.

Tell us more about Vernestra Rwoh, the main character in your book with The High Republic. How old is he, thinking he should be working on a middle school degree?

Vernestra & # 39; s 16, so he may be in his late teens – most middle-aged characters tend to be between the ages of 12, 13, 14. But Vernestra has the challenge of being a complete Jedi. Too young: most 16-year-olds in the Jedi Order are still ponies. He took his exam early, so he's crazy. He doesn't know anyone else how small he is as young as he is sticking out, and that gives him his own set of challenges to face. So how are you a Jedi Knight in this awesome Jedi-led program? In his own time, of course they have the spoils of the previous Jedi, so he has that reference. So how do you get into that space where he has to act like a very old, but young, intelligent adult? It's that attraction of his. Like what does it mean to be a Jedi?

Photo: Math Patches / Polygon

What have you done with the artists to develop this world? That side sounded different.

We've gone back and forth with the most artists. So we just got back in an email with (Disney Publishing & # 39; s) Mike Siglain, who is our team coach. He would ask us to make just a few character sketches – exactly like what you can make art notes on book covers.

So we had to do that with our characters, but we also had to do that with the aesthetics of the time period. One of the things everyone at the top of the Republic likes to talk about is that all ships and everything in Star Wars is sinking and getting old and broken, because that's what happens when you have been in the military for 30 years. You don't get a chance to fix things! And of course, one of the things we talked about was what would become our aesthetics. And we've started talking about that golden age as the & # 39; s of the 50s and 60s and about the shiny satellite space lines. If this is a time of great peace, then we will meet the Republic and the founders and the people who are full of the world and who are creating cool new things.

That's one of the most exciting things to be able to design. If you look at the (Jedi), they are not wearing the monk's robes we see in Episode 1, they are dressed in fun clothes, cream color, excluding dirt! They just happen to be their favorite people. And so I think that was interesting to know, This is what we know about Star Wars, let's change that up a bit. As students come to the books and read different, different contributions, they will find different pieces of those worlds. So Liver examination it is located at a distance from the galaxy. Most of the other books are a little closer to the inside of the inside fence and what we now know is the outer line, and you will see sections of the galaxy and tell stories that have never been seen before.

How did you get started playing with the villains you made for the High Republic world?

Villains have always been in the genre, such as the First Order or Empire, so that helps them in great storytelling. It's really hard to have issues like this when the math is, you know, liberty liberals, isn't it? I'm sad today, but the galaxy is in danger!

Image: Lucasfilm Ltd./Marvel Comics

But with the Nihilans, who are these Pirates Space, robbers, and kind of violent activists in different parts of the galaxy, you get the chance to add a few stories to the story. Sometimes the point of the story is simply to survive. Or sometimes the point of the story is: How will this one character react to this tight-knit event? Obviously the Nihils are bad. Pirates – Pirates are wrong. Even the Pirates of the Caribbean is no big deal. So what does that mean? How bad are they? They’re going to be the worst. These are irrelevant characters. And their motto is "if you can take it with you, we can take it from you."

And so I think you'll see the times … it's not really this war on the dark side of the forest compared to the aforementioned darkness, it is literally survivable, and it is literally "How do we survive in a world where people Will come out and hit the fuck? ”That lends you a variety of stories. Students will hear that. There will be those discussions of what it means to be a Jedi, and what the bright side is, what the power is, and how does one connect to that in the broadest sense of the galaxy, but at the end of the day, it will be like, "These are bad people, and we need to fight them, and we need to fight them because he is bad. People will get to see some of the funniest moments of "oh shit" with these characters.

Do you have a favorite Star Wars side you've been looking forward to getting into Liver examination? Looking for the right space battles, lightning wars, droid panic attacks …

Everything's pretty cold, brother. It's Star Wars. It's such a big deal! Someone is like, "Do you want to be able to shoot lasers or have a magic plasma sword?" I'm like, "Yeah, both of you." Nothing about the inanimate Star Wars. Even things you never like, are still in space!

For example: podracks. I remember when it came out for Episode 1, everyone was pretty upset about the podracing situations. They're like, "What's the point of that?" It's just so cool. It's the stuff of crazy kids. It doesn't look like they should work based on what we know about physics and science, do they? But it's just fun. And I think there's something to say that shit is cool. You get concept art, and they're like, "Which do you want?" And I like to say, “I don't care. Everything is cool. ”As if there were no bad answers. It's like going to Mexican food. There are no bad answers at a Mexican restaurant. Star Wars is like a fandom cuisine of Mexican food, which is also one of my favorite foods, so I think if you like Chinese food it might be a plus. Or burgers. The only bad taste is the one that gives you food poisoning, but it's like "It gave me food poisoning, but it was a really good burger." I liked it. There is nothing wrong. I wish it was because it will make my life easier.

Do podracing exist in the Supreme Republic?

I hope so. You should! But, no, spoiler, no podracing (in my book). Now I have a purpose for the next book.

You see Liver examination as the first of a series following Vernestra?

I know nothing but that I'm always ready to write the next Star Wars book. I'm ready. I have a plan that I will delete in another Star Wars book. Well, there are a few things I enjoy as much as writing Star Wars books.

Star Wars: The Hight Republic: A Test of Terror is now available pre order.