My Concerns For Star Wars: The High Republic

As a fan of Knights Of The Old Republic you could probably guess what my reaction was to Disney de-canonising a good 90% of the Star Wars universe with that series included.

With that knowledge you could also make a good guess as to what my reaction was when they announced a multi publishing event called “The High Republic”.

I distinctly remember Janina Gavankar walking onto the stage at E3 2017 and saying something along the lines of “for the first time you can experience A Star Wars Story”. It’s clear that Disney is holding this franchise on a leash and are desperately scrubbing away the art that LucasArts, among others, left behind. Ever since then they’ve been trying to replicate the same concepts and expecting the same applause in response. Unfortunately for them, they can’t burn down my bookshelf or demolish the many LucasArts games I’ve played.

After reading the article titled “NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE”: A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION WITH THE CREATORS OF STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC” on the Star Wars website a few things went through my mind and I haven’t been able to properly word my opinion until now.

I saw that title and the feeling I got from the words “Nothing like this has ever been done before” was the same as when Disney demolished the Star Wars canon and when that presentation at E3 happened. I remember having the same feeling when I tried Disney+ and discovered that their “Disney Through The Years” list contained films that Disney didn’t make.

I felt dumbstruck, amazed and somehow not surprised all at once. A contradictory cocktail flowed through me as I released Disney’s attempts to take credit for a franchise they’ve somehow divided more than the Prequels ever did.

After finishing the penultimate main story in the Time Lord Victorious, a multimedia Doctor Who event, another worry came to my mind.

A proper review for that event will be coming soon but for now I’ll say that my main issue with it was the lack of a single voice. The BBC marketed it towards everyone due to the sheer amount of content that came out for it so I was left ask “who is this actually for?”. When a product is targeted towards everyone, in my eyes, it’s really targeted at no one. Sure fans will remain faithful and eat the event up but say in five years time someone wanted to read through this event. Just by looking at The High Republic’s marketing, how do they know where to start, if it’s meant for them and if not entirely which bits are and aren’t, and in which case which bits are mandatory reads.

When the Prequels were novelised around the time of their release there was a reason why the adult edition sold more, did better and were remembered in comparison to the young adult and children’s versions. Because the adult versions were marketed as the headlining editions to read. They had a clear target audience in mind and went for it, with additional editions made for alternative secondary audiences.

In comparison, The High Republic, much like the Time Lord Victorious event, has no headlining material. They haven’t prioritised a target audience and have just pushed their entire deck of cards forward hoping that someone, anyone, will pick up at least one of each book and say “that was awesome”.

I won’t lie when I say I’m still looking forward to seeing what this will be like but that’s because I already fit their demographic of being a Star Wars fan that loved The Old Republic series and saw the name and synopsis similarities.

Before anyone says “well then you’re the primary target audience” what grown ass man remembers Knights Of The Old Republic from when they were five and says “ah yes The High Republic children’s book please”.

I want to just say that I am genuinely excited to some of these entries because they’re by authors I love. With that being said, I love JJ Abrams’ work but he still helped make the laziest Star Wars film yet.

I’ll end this piece with a message. Take it or leave it.

A franchise such as Star Wars is hard to hate with such a wealth of joy behind it. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be criticised. Without criticism nothing can grow and be better. A company as big and as nostalgic as Disney should not be immune to such things and yet people treat critiquing them as if it were No Man’s Land. If you walk out you might step on a landmine or get shot. With that being said, it’s a times like this where I have to wonder that if we don’t cross that line companies like Disney will continue to believe they’re in charge of what us as the audience say about their products. At some point we need to tell them “no, we made you” and that by itself is the most powerful thing anyone can do on this planet.

I hope you understand where I come from when I say that and I hope that Disney are aware that the franchise they’re dealing with is a precious part of peoples lives and should be treated as such. That doesn’t mean risks shouldn’t be take, after all the Original Trilogy presented us with a treasure trove of twists and turns unlike any film before or after.

Also have a Happy New Year! Stay safe and all of that!

Kind Regards,

Scott DuksySnow Robertson