StarWars.com has posted the second video in a new series that introduces us to the the characters of The High Republic through a series of short animations. The second character to be featured is Jedi Master Avar Kriss who features in Charles Soule's Light of the Jedi novel:

“Avar is the brightest, most noble example of Jedi-hood. She always tries to see the good in people and situations, and never puts herself first. She is invigorated about life on the frontier and the challenges it brings, and is an inspiration for those who work with her. She is compassionate, not dogmatic, and always ready to sacrifice herself over others. Avar Kriss is the best of the best.” - Star Wars Databank

Watch the video here.

StarWars.com has posted the first video in a new series that introduces us to the the characters of The High Republic through a series of short animations. The first character to be featured is Jedi  Knight Vernestra Rwoh who features in Justina Ireland's A Test of Courage book:

“Vernestra’s 16, so she's probably on the older end for middle-grade — most of middle grade characters tend to be between like 12, 13, 14. But Vernestra has a challenge, in that she is a full Jedi. She’s very young: most 16-year-olds in the Jedi Order are padawans still. She took her testing early, so she’s a bit of a prodigy. She doesn’t know anybody else who is as young as she is so she kind of sticks out, and that gives her her own set of of sort of challenges to deal with. So how is she a Jedi Knight in this order that is being led by amazing Jedi?” - Justina Ireland

Watch the video here.

StarWars.com has posted an exclusive excerpt from Claudia Gray's upcoming The High Republic YA novel Into the Dark:

"Jedi Orla Jareni, Cohmac Vitus, Reath Silas, and Dez Rydan are about to start a new mission. First, however, they must rendezvous with the ship and its crew that will provide transport — and they’re not at all what our heroes expect..."

Read the full excerpt here.

StarWars.com Charles Soule's debut Star Wars novel, and the first The High Republic novel, Light of the Jedi, has entered both the New York Times Best Sellers and Publishers Weekly Bestsellers list at #1 (Hardcover Fiction); while on USA Today Best-Selling Books it entered at #2.
Justina Ireland's middle-grade book, A Test of Courage, has entered the New York Times Best Sellers at #2 (Children's Middle-Grade Hardcover); #8 on Publishers Weekly (Children's Frontlist Fiction); and #82 on USA Today.
Also Cavan Scott's 8x8 children's storybook, The Great Jedi Rescue, reached #20 on Publishers Weekly (Children's Frontlist Fiction).

This story occurs approximately 200 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
The Jedi are at their height, protecting the galaxy as Republic pioneers push out into new territories. As the Frontier prepares for the dedication of majestic Starlight Beacon, Padawan Keeve Trennis faces the ultimate choice — will she complete her Jedi Trials or rescue the innocent from disaster?

This story occurs approximately 200 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
It is a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Repubic to the farthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate, and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm But even the brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation.
When a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears a ship to pieces, the flurry of shrapnel emerging from the disaster threatens an entire system. No sooner does the call for help go out than the Jedi race to the scene...more

This story occurs approximately 200 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
Vernestra Rwoh is a new Jedi Knight at age sixteen, but her first real assignment feels an awful lot like babysitting. She's been charged with supervising twelve-year old aspiring inventor Avon Starros on a cruiser headed to the dedication of a wondrous new space station called Starlight Beacon.
But soon into their journey, bombs go off aboard the cruiser. While the adult Jedi try to save the ship, Vernestra, Avon, Avon's droid J-6, a Jedi Padawan, and an ambassador's son make it to an escape shuttle, but communications are out and supplies are low. They decide to land on a nearby moon, which offers shelter but not much more. And unbeknownst to them, danger lurks in the forest...more

This story occurs approximately 200 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
Meet the noble and wise Jedi of the High Republic!
When a disaster strikes in hyperspace, putting the people of Hetzal Prime in grave danger, only the Jedi of the High Republic can save the day!

StarWars.com has posted an article "Inside The High Republic: Meet the Makers: Claudia Gray on Into the Dark" where they interview the author of this upcoming YA novel:

What can you talk about regarding how the book has evolved since the announcement?
"It’s not like there was an idea of the book before there was the collaboration or before there was the universe. It grew very organically out of that, like what are the different stories we need to tell in this universe? With this being a new cast of characters, and all the different starter books, we get to introduce our own people, their own situations, but it’s all part of this one big puzzle. And so I got to have a little side quest; I think the young adult novel could kind of count as that. It’s separate from a lot of the things that are going on, but there are also some setups for a lot of things that you’re going to see later. Is that vague enough?"

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has posted an article "Inside The High Republic: Meet the Ships and Vehicles" where they have a preview of the starships and vehicles that have been designed especially for this  new era in Star Wars storytelling:

The High Republic offered creators the rare opportunity to world build in the fashion of the Star Wars films. This meant looking at what already exists in Star Wars, and figuring out what would come before. "We all found a lot of inspiration in how the prequels opened up a more refined era of the galaxy, but by virtue of those films’ proximity to the originals, it had to start showing early signs of corruption. By moving further in time, away from that downfall, we’re able to see the Republic at its height in this storytelling," says Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group. "In the Core Worlds especially, that’s reflected in fashion and technology. A lot of the visual exploration in the High Republic is taking what we know, but idealizing it."

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has posted an article "Inside The High Republic: Meet the Makers: Justina Ireland on A Test of Courage" where they interview the author of this upcoming middle-grade book:

The High Republic is a brand-new era, and your middle-grade novel, A Test of Courage, will be one of the first introductions to it. What was it like writing that first novel and exploring and defining a whole new era of Star Wars?
"It was pretty amazing, honestly! Imagine getting a chance to create the characters you want to see and putting them in a galaxy full of space wizards and the like? One that you’ve spent your entire life dreaming about? Yeah, amazing is the perfect way to describe it but also falls so far from the actual depth of emotion involved. All I’m saying is that if there’s ever a Vernestra Rwoh Funko Pop!, I’ll be unbearable to live with."

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has posted an exclusive ink and lettering preview from the first issue of IDW Publishing's forthcoming The High Republic Adventures #1:

"In Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures, the Jedi have long maintained galactic peace... but the coming of a powerful new adversary called the Nihil threatens to end it all.
Beginning in February, you can experience the new IDW comic series Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures from writer Daniel José Older. The story that unfolds will feature a group of Master Yoda’s young Padawan trainees who must protect the Republic while learning the lessons that will one day lead them to become powerful Jedi in their own right.
Chek out the first few inked and lettered pages below then pick up a copy when Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #1 goes on sale in February 2021 with two cover variants by Tolibao and Yael Nathan."

View the full preview here.

The first 8 chapters of Charles Soules's upcoming novel The High Republic: Light of the Jedi will be posted online by publisher Penguin Random House.
Over the next 4 days two chapters will be published daily, chapters 1 & 2 are available now.

StarWars.com has posted an article "Inside The High Republic: Meet the villains" where they have a preview of the villains that will inhabit this new era in Star Wars storytelling:

What could possibly send chills down the spine of the galaxy’s protectors — during the peak of the Jedi Order — in Star Wars: The High Republic?
“One of the north stars for this initiative is to answer the question, ‘What scares the Jedi?’ Which is a really fun but extraordinarily challenging question to answer,” Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain tells StarWars.com. “All five authors, as well as the Story Group and Publishing teams, had thoughts on what would scare them — and why — but everyone agreed that had to be something new.”
And that “something new” would be frightening in any galaxy. Meet “the Drengir”: unsettling, amorphous beings, chock full of tentacles and teeth. In other words, pure Star Wars nightmare fuel...

Read the full article here.

Space has posted an exclusive excerpt from Justina Ireland's upcoming The High Republic middle-grade book A Test of Courage:

"This excerpt features our local baddies, the Nihil," Ireland told Space.com. "These are ruthless space pirates with no code of honor, their only belief is a sort of hedonistic do what you will, which predictably will lead them to run up against just about every bastion of order that exists in the galaxy. Here we get to spend time with a couple of Nihil, which is fun as long as you aren't on the receiving end of their mayhem."

Read the full excerpt here.

The Hollywood Reporter has posted an interview with Charles Soule (author of upcoming The High Republic: Light of the Jedi) as they discuss the origins of The High Republic, his first Star Wars novel, and what we can expect:

The High Republic is a huge story, multifaceted, meticulously built to give anyone who experiences it that real deal Star Wars we all love. We’ve had some of the legends of the franchise contribute to its design and visual storytelling — Iain McCaig, the Lucasfilm Art Department and more — and the intricate details of the world-building have been given the full support and power of the mighty engine that is the Lucasfilm Story Group. A lot of people who care very much about Star Wars have been involved — and we’ve swung for the fences.

Read the full interview here.

StarWars.com has posted an article "A Padawan faces the Jedi Trials in Marvel's Star Wars: The High Republic #1" where they have an exclusive preview of initial pencil drawing's from Marvel's upcoming first issue. There are also insights from writer Cavan Scott:

There’s something at once novel and familiar about the new era of Star Wars storytelling, a fact made immediately clear by the initial pages of the upcoming Marvel Star Wars: The High Republic comic series. “You’ll see things you never expected in a Star Wars story,” says writer Cavan Scott.
Scott was part of the core team of authors who gathered at Skywalker Ranch in 2018 to help forge a path for the interwoven tales that the project would encompass. “I came up with the character of Keeve Trennis in our first Project Luminous summit,” Scott says. “Now to see her coming to life through Ario [Anindito] and Mark [Morales’] art is wonderful.”

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has an article "Inside Star Wars: The High Republic: Meet Yoda" where we get a first look at a legendary Jedi Master as we’ve never seen him before:

“For 800 years have I trained Jedi.”
Yoda lived a long, legendary life. But we’ve only known him through his final act — in the last days of the Republic and Jedi Order, and during the training of Luke Skywalker. In Star Wars: The High Republic, we’ll encounter the Jedi Master centuries prior, and StarWars.com is thrilled to offer a first look...

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has posted an exclusive excerpt from Justina Ireland's upcoming middle grade novel Star Wars: The High Republic: A Test of Courage:

Coming January 5, 2021, Ireland’s A Test of Courage is one of the tentpole releases in the Star Wars: The High Republic publishing epic, which will take readers back to the peak of the Jedi Order, centuries prior to the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The novel follows a ragtag group of young adventurers — newly-minted teen Jedi Vernestra Rwoh, a young Padawan, audacious tech-kid Avon Starros, and the son of an ambassador – after a galaxy-wide disaster leaves them stranded on a jungle moon.

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has posted an article "Inside Star Wars: The High Republic: Meet the Jedi Knights and Masters (Part 2)" where we are introduced to some of the key characters from this forthcoming era:

Star Wars: The High Republic, Lucasfilm’s multi-platform, cross-publisher epic launching in January 2021, will introduce the world to Sskeer: a tough Jedi Master that doesn’t quite fit the mold. As such, he sounds very, very fun.
“Sskeer plays a major role in the Marvel Comics ongoing and is an absolute joy to write,” says Cavan Scott, one of the writers behind The High Republic. “He’s a gruff, opinionated Trandoshan who has been around the block more times than he cares to remember. Loyal, but brutally honest, you can always be sure Sskeer will tell you exactly what’s on his mind…or so Avar Kriss and his fellow Jedi think. That’s all about to change. This is a Jedi Master with a secret that is tearing him apart.” Still, The High Republic is set at a time when the Jedi are at their peak. And none exemplify that more than Avar Kriss.”

Read the full article here.

Michael Siglain, Lucasfilm Publishing Creative Director, has announced that due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the launch of Star Wars: The High Republic publishing program has been put back to the beginning of 2021.
This means that the US release dates for the first batch of books have been moved thus:

• 5th January, 2021 (from 25th August, 2020)
  Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, hardback novel from Del Rey
• 5th January, 2021 (from 8th September, 2020)
  A Test of Courage by Justine Ireland, children's book from Disney-Lucasfilm Press
• 2nd February, 2021 (from 6th October, 2020)
  Into the Dark by Claudia Gray, YA novel from Disney-Lucasfilm Press

StarWars.com has posted an article "Inside Star Wars: The High Republic: Meet the Jedi Knights and Masters" where we are introduced to some of the key characters from this forthcoming era:

"Readers will see a very wide variety of Jedi in this era," says Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain. "This is a hopeful, optimistic time, when the Jedi are good and noble, and we want to reflect that in their characters while still giving them enough depth and dimension so that their individual personalities and idiosyncrasies shine through. The Jedi Knights of the High Republic are both aspirational and inspirational. In short, they’re the good guys."

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has posted an article "A Roundtable Discussion with the creators of The High Republic":

"What we did at this first round at the Ranch was have everyone — the authors, Story Group, the publishing team –talk about stories. We spent a couple days just saying, “What do we like about the franchise? What do we love about the franchise? What do we want to see in storytelling? What do we want to see in publishing? What do we read, what do we like, what do we watch?” And then everyone started to pitch different ideas and stories, and we went around and around, and all of those pitches were viewed internally. Everyone dug all of them, and it was decided, “All right, we want to go with this one,” which was one that Cav had come up with, but this is, no offense to you, Cav, this is no longer your story." - Lucasfilm Creative Director of Publishing Michael Siglain.

Read the full article here.

StarWars.com has posted an article "5 Things We Learned About The High Republic" where the creative team behind this new initiative discuss their reasoning in creating The High Republic era:

During a special retreat to the palatial grounds of Skywalker Ranch about 18 months ago, the five authors and members of Lucasfilm’s publishing and story group met to hatch the idea that would become Project Luminous, or Star Wars: The High Republic. The team knew they wanted to explore a story featuring the Jedi as we’d never seen them before, but it was [Cavan] Scott who asked the question that sparked off the original storytelling idea: “What scares the Jedi?” It was the “Eureka!” moment that set the tone for what was to come, says Lucasfilm Creative Director of Publishing Michael Siglain.

Read the full article here.

Lucasfilm has unveiled a new era in Star Wars storytelling: The High Republic. Formerly known by the codename "Project Luminous”, it will involve publishers Del Rey, Disney-Lucasfilm Press, Marvel and IDW Publishing in telling all new stories in a new era on the timeline that will not conflict with any new planned films or TV series. According to Lucasfilm this will give 'creators and partners a vast amount of room to tell Star Wars stories with new adventures and original characters.'
The High Republic is a period set about two hundred years before The Phantom Menace when 'the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order are at their zenith' and will feature original stories by Star Wars story-telling stalwarts including Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule. The first books will debut at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in August 2020.
Lucasfilm also announced the first The High Republic titles which should be available from August:

• Into the Dark by Claudia Gray (Young Adult novel, Disney Lucasfilm Press);
• A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland (Middle Grade novel, Disney Lucasfilm Press);
• The High Republic Adventures by Daniel José Older (IDW Publishing comic book series);
• The High Republic by Cavan Scott (Marvel comic book series);
• Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule (Adult novel, Del Rey).

There was also an announcement trailer video created by Lucasfilm: