It’s a strange, uncertain time for Star Wars. The sequel trilogy is done and dusted. The anthology films, like Rogue One and Solo, appear to be dead and buried and Disney chief Bob Iger has declared that the franchise’s near future lies on the small screen with The Mandalorian and the forthcoming (at some point…) Obi-Wan series.

That doesn’t mean there will never be another big screen Star Wars film, of course. Even accounting for the comparatively muted box office for The Rise of Skywalker, this is still a mega-franchise and one that both Disney and Lucasfilm have big plans for, with the next movie due in 2022. What it does need, however, is a change. A refresh. Something to give it a new look and feel, while still retaining elements of the past. A new era, perhaps?

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Welcome to The High Republic

Handily, that’s precisely what’s happening – in the books and comics at least. Lucasfilm has revealed the details of its long-teased Project Luminous, a codename for a cross-media publishing initiative that’s now formally titled Star Wars: The High Republic.

This book and comic series, launching in August, takes the saga back in time by some 200 years to a period of peace and prosperity in the galaxy. The Republic is at its height (you see what they did there?), the Jedi are in their pomp and the Sith are, uh, in hiding. But an event, imaginatively-named The Great Disaster, will change everything... 

The series follows various Jedi characters (including a Wookiee!), plus other Star Wars archetypes like smugglers and bounty hunters, as they deal with the threat posed by a deadly new enemy – a group of “Space Vikings” known as the Nihil.

“Star Wars: The High Republic features the Jedi as we’ve always wanted to see them,” Lucasfilm publishing creative director Michael Siglain explained in the rollout. “As true guardians of peace and justice. This is a hopeful, optimistic time, when the Jedi and the Galactic Republic are at their height. But of course, into this glorious new era something wicked this way comes.” 

Star Wars big boss Kathleen Kennedy also got in on the announcement, saying: "We are so excited to be opening up such a rich, fertile era for our authors to explore. We'll get to see the Jedi in their prime." 

Wars and rumors of wars

Sounds pretty cool, huh? But is this really just a publishing initiative? Rumors have abounded for some time now that the next Star Wars cinematic saga may also take place in the past – and specifically this hitherto unknown era. It all started on January 4th this year, when Jason Ward of MakingStarWars.net, tweeted:

“The next Star Wars film saga to be set during the High Republic era!” 

Now, fans are always coming up with rumors of dubious authenticity (remember when Revenge of the Sith was definitely going to reveal that Obi-Wan was actually Luke’s father?), but both Ward and MakingStarWars have a pretty good track record with this sort of thing. 

That the Star Wars comics in January suddenly started dropping in references to the High Republic era lent further credibility to it. In hindsight, that was likely teasing the new books and comics, but it does feel like this could be the start of something much larger. James Waugh, Lucasfilm’s VP of Franchise Content and Strategy says in the announcement video, “What if publishing was more of an incubation place?” That's an interestingly specific turn of phrase and leaves one obvious question: incubating what?

That said, Lucasfilm were quick to point out that, "This period on the Star Wars timeline will not overlap any of the filmed features or series currently planned for production," which rules out movies set in this period for the time being. 

What the trailer makes really clear is that Lucasfilm have gone all in on the project. As well as gathering their core group of creatives (Claudia Gray, Charles Soule, Cavan Scott, Daniel José Older and Justina Ireland), they've employed concept artists to fully flesh out this new period of Republic history, including Iain McCaig – the man who came up with the iconic look of Darth Maul. That's a lot of trouble to go to just for some spin-offs.

Unclear, the future is

The High Republic initiative will introduce a lot of new Star Wars lore at once, and even if there's no plan for a movie set in this era right now, it lays the groundwork for filmmakers to give it some consideration in future. Star Wars has always benefited from its richly detailed backstory and its sense of history. Doing it this way also gives the fans something new to get excited about. 

Matt Martin of LucasFilm’s Story Group has since confirmed on Twitter that the project was developed independently from the films, TV shows, games and other parts of the franchise. He did also, however, go out of his way to point out, “That’s not to say the era wouldn’t be available to storytellers in other mediums, but it was developed or [sic] publishing.”

The next Star Wars film has a release date of December 16, 2022. That's really not very long! We would expect a formal announcement of whatever the next movie is relatively soon, though a safe bet would be at this year's Star Wars Celebration in August. 

Of course there are numerous other options currently swirling around about what that might be: Rian Johnson's apparently still alive trilogy, whatever it is that Kevin Feige is working on, and the recently rumored project involving Sleight-director, J.D. Dillard. Where and when those movies are set is still a mystery. 

Regardless of what happens, exploring a new period of Star Wars lore is certainly an exciting thought. It’s a fresh start, a clean slate, though we wouldn’t be too surprised if a few familiar faces show up. After all, Yoda and Maz Kanata were both alive and kicking 200 years ago. And while the Jedi’s traditional enemies are deep in hiding at this point, one of the phrases written on a whiteboard in the High Republic trailer simply says “Sith Empire”. Intriguing...

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Star Wars has introduced many new characters since Disney took control of the franchise. As you’d expect, the really memorable ones have all been on film or TV - with one major exception. Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra is an archaeologist with an, er, flexible attitude when it comes to conventional morality.

Created by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca, Aphra was introduced in issue 3 of their Darth Vader comic, back in 2015. Accompanied by a pair of deadly droids – Triple Zero and Bee-Tee – she struck an immediate chord with readers and has since gone on to star in a solo book of her own. We caught up with Kieron to find out more about the character’s creation and why he thinks she has become such a fan favorite. 

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First off, how would you describe Doctor Aphra to those new to the character?

The galaxy far, far away’s premier rogue archeologist.

Was the character originally inspired by anyone, either in terms of character, or her look?

On the first trip to Lucasfilm, when we were pitching Darth Vader, we were taken on a tour. Vader is someone defined by his laconic nature. I also didn’t want to let the reader inside his head – I wanted us to watch him at a distance, and never quite be sure what he was going to do. Those two things in a comic create a problem – namely, I needed someone else to talk a bunch and do the necessary exposition. And, ideally, someone to be a comic foil to add some lighter notes. And I wanted to create a mirror version of the main Star Wars cast, with Darth as surrogate Luke. So I needed a Han-ish rogue-y figure, but I wanted to hit another archetype that was just as striking as the smuggler and… 

I was walking on this tour, chewing all this over and passed an Indiana Jones statue. I stood there and thought, “You know – ethically-inverted Indiana Jones. That’d be a lot of fun.”

I gave some notes to Salvador Larroca on her look, but left it wide open for him. The iconic look is 100% him.

Why did you choose to make her an archeologist?

Bar all of the above, I was aware that an archeologist would work really well with the clean new canon. It’s not as if the old ideas were off the table full-stop. They could be reintroduced as and when they served a plot – so an archeologist who goes about literally unearthing and exploring stuff could be a great tool for that.

Aphra was big right from the start, but how soon did you realize that the character had struck a chord with readers?

The first clue should have been the issue she debuted in going to however many kerzillion printings, but I didn’t take it for granted at any point in my run. Part of me still feels it’s almost sacrilegious adding a figure who’s stood alongside Luke, Leia, Han and everyone else. I get to do that? Man!

When we first meet Aphra, she ends up working for Vader. Tough boss! How would you describe her relationship with him?

Strained. Strained in a “she has been tied to a rack and is having her limbs stretched” way. One of the emotional throughlines of my run on Darth Vader was, “Is Vader going to kill Aphra?” Hell, not even “if” but “when.”  Yet at the same time, she is fascinated by the experience, and everything she learns. She knows the best way to avoid being killed is to keep on being useful, so she keeps on striving – and when that fails, she schemes, and tries to wiggle free from that force-grip. Metaphorically speaking, but I guess literally speaking a few times too.

Even knowing how utterly lethal he is, Aphra seems compelled to stick with him in those early issues. Does she have a death wish?

I think that’s one of the core compelling parts of the character – this mix of a death wish and an absolute desire to stay alive. That leads to one of the other compelling things about her – what will she do when her death wish gets her into trouble?

Aphra is the only non-film/TV Star Wars character to receive a dedicated solo book. Did putting her front-and-center change the way you thought about and wrote the character?

To return to an earlier question, I suspect that when I realized that she was the only non-film/TV character to have her own book was the moment when I realised what lightning in a bottle she was. And, yes, that did change it. She’s no longer Vader’s foil, but a lead. That meant that I had to build a cast around her in the same way I built one around Vader – and most of all, dig into her background, what made her the way she is and so on. And try and hit those pure Aphra beats as possible.

Most characters in Star Wars have clear allegiances, but Aphra happily swaps sides. Are there any moral lines that she won’t cross? Does the character ever surprise you in how far she'll go?

Your question is the absolute core question with Aphra. What won’t she do? What will she do? The best stuff with Aphra is always bouncing on that axis. A moment when she shows that she’s not that bad… and then a moment which shows her that she absolutely is. And there’s always the possibility that a thing she won’t do in one situation she will do in another. She keeps you guessing.

Aphra has since been written by numerous folk other than yourself. How does that feel? Is it strange watching other people play with your creation? 

Weirdly, it makes her more real. She has a life away from me, which means she isn’t just a figment of my own imagination. She’s off there, causing trouble. It’s a delight. She’s all grown up.

Aphra’s solo book is being relaunched this year with the new creative team of Alyssa Wong and Marika Cresta. Are you involved in this in any capacity? Is there anything you can say about it?

Just that I’m excited about it. That I don’t know anything at all adds to the appeal. It’s going to surprise me as much as you. I was co-writing the early part of Si Spurrier’s run, so I knew the direction he was taking it, but I only know Alyssa through her excellent work in prose, and I can’t wait to see what she brings to a comics ongoing generally and Aphra specifically. Marika’s a really strong action storyteller with that sort of charm to her characters which is really needed on a character like Aphra.

How does it feel to have a character that you created become such an integral part of the modern Star Wars universe? 

I’ll tell you what. I’m sitting here, and look up from the screen, and see a figure of Doctor Aphra, alongside Trip and Beetee. It feels weird. Delightfully weird.

Finally, what do you think makes a great Star Wars character?

I’m not someone who likes to generalize about fiction, but I often compared the process of writing Star Wars to playing the blues. It’s got a structure. You know how it goes. If you change that compelling heart, you end up with something that doesn’t feel like Star Wars. Part of that is characters who have a strong, pure iconic resonance – a really simple CORE, which you then build on. You can describe them in a sentence… but there’s a lot more to them in the execution, the fractal nature of personality. And that’s the kind of overthinking which led me to something like 'Rogue Archeologist.' 

 Doctor Aphra #1, by Alyssa Wong and Marika Cresta, will be published by Marvel Comics in April this year. You can catch up on Doctor Aphra with Marvel Unlimited.

• Our Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review

Star Wars is dead… long live Star Wars? The Skywalker saga may have ended with The Rise of Skywalker, but the galaxy lives on, with The Mandalorian and the upcoming Obi-Wan series on TV and a new Star Wars film arriving in 2022. 

But what will that movie be? At the moment, no one outside of Lucasfilm and Disney has a clue. We know that MCU mastermind Kevin Feige is down to produce something, that The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson may (or may not) still be developing a series of Star Wars films and that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss definitely aren’t, but until an announcement (strongly rumored to be early next year), we’re all in the dark.

Still, it’s fun to speculate. Here then are five directions the saga could potentially go in…

The Next Generation of Jedi

One of the open goals that The Rise of Skywalker misses is in picking up the loose threads from The Last Jedi. If you’ll recall, Episode 8 ends with the implication that the Force is growing once more, far away from the Skywalker bloodline. There may well be an entire new generation of Force-users waking up to their powers. Now that the war is over, someone needs to get them in line...

Imagine an X-Men type film, where a group of charismatic tutors must help troubled young initiates avoid the perils of the Dark Side. Rey would be involved in some capacity for sure, but you could also include Maz Kanata (not a Jedi, but very much in-tune with the Force) and new characters in the vein of The Force Awakens’ Lor San Tekka, trying to guide this gifted - but also extremely dangerous - new generation into the future. Hell, even Force Ghost Luke could show up, if we can pull Mark Hamill away from Twitter.

The Syndicate Wars

One of the most fascinating aspects of Solo - a film that absolutely nobody wanted, but which managed to be fun enough to retroactively justify its existence - was its exploration of the galaxy's various criminal organizations. By the end of the movie Crimson Dawn (led by Maul, no less) is a fearsome force in the galaxy and Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) is in deeper than ever before. 

It's hard to imagine we'll be seeing a Solo 2 any time soon based on its box office, but there's plenty of mileage in following his ex. Game of Thrones may have finished, but Emilia Clarke is still a big name and could easily carry a film exploring the galaxy's shadier nooks and crannies as Qi'ra tries desperately to escape her past, dodge her saber-wielding boss and make a new life for herself. Team her up with Donald Glover's universally-loved Lando Calrissian and you have everything you need for a fun, exciting Star Wars film that’s mostly detached from the familiar bigger picture of the Empire and the Rebellion.

Knights of the Old Republic

The Knights of the Old Republic video games have become a beloved Star Wars era in their own right, every bit as cherished as the films. Set some 4000 years before the events of A New Hope, they explore the raging conflict between the Jedi and the Sith, both at the height of their powers. 

Sound overly familiar? It’s really not. KOTOR stands out thanks to its shades of grey and rich, complex characterization. Revan, in particular, is a fascinating character - truly embodying both the dark side and the light in a way that Anakin never quite managed. The era also has the benefit of being sufficiently distant from current canon that you could do pretty much anything, while still feeling like Star Wars.

Of all of these suggestions, this is the one that may actually be in development right now... Back in May, Buzzfeed reported that Altered Carbon screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis has penned a script for a potential Knights of the Old Republic film. We’re keeping all our lightsabers crossed…

Into the Unknown

Did you watch the Star Wars animated series Rebels? If you didn't, you missed out on some of the best - and most adventurous - Star Wars storytelling of the last few years. Spoilers for the fate of protagonist Ezra Bridger ahead...

Set a few years before A New Hope, the series follows the young Jedi as he joins a growing rebel cell. Now, we all know that by the time of A New Hope, Obi-Wan is the only (known) surviving Jedi, so there was always a heavy question mark hanging over his eventual fate. As it happens, Ezra survives the series, fleeing into the Unknown Regions, albeit chased by the wicked Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Something that Star Wars has sometimes suffered with is its tendency to smallness. Everyone and everything is connected. A film set in a brand new area of the galaxy, though, offers the chance to start again. The Unknown Regions are, well, unknown. There's no Empire or Rebellion here, so you wouldn't have to rely on the backstory of Rebels. Instead, this would be the story of a single Jedi, truly lost and alone, forced to rely on his wits and his lightsaber to survive. 

Poe Dameron: Sith Hunter

Honestly, who doesn't love Poe Dameron? Of all the characters introduced in the sequels, he's the one that most embodies the adventure serial vibes of the original trilogy. Somewhere between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, he's a hugely appealing lead. And, of course, it doesn't hurt that Oscar Isaac is easy on the eye.

But what does he do next? In The Last Jedi Poe is being positioned as a leader of the Resistance, but it's hard to imagine him settling down and becoming a senator in a new New Republic. Instead, we can see him living for the thrill of adventure, venturing out on missions for the new order, possibly tracking down the remainder of Palpatine's Final Order, like a futuristic nazi hunter.

He wouldn’t have to be alone, either. The Rise of Skywalker sets him up with a perfect companion in the form of Zorii Bliss, plus there would be plenty of room for his other co-stars to show up. This would be a great chance to explore the new status quo, while telling a rattling adventure yarn.

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