New shows for Disney+ weren’t the only big announcement at Star Wars Celebration 2022. Between Thursday’s The High Republic: For Light and Life and Friday’s Marvel Star Wars Comics panels, Star Wars comics fans got a lot of great information on the newest runs coming to Marvel comics. Missed the announcements? We got you covered!
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The High Republic
The highly anticipated Phase II of The High Republic will be here soon. Quest for the Jedi will be set 150 years before the events of Phase I. The era was said to be very different from what fans are used to. A lack of a strong galactic communications system makes more for a wild west feel. In fact, congoers were introduced to the Communications Team as essentially that Pony Express of the Star Wars universe. Even the position of the chancellor will be different with not one but two reigning over the galaxy.
To kick off such a new and exciting time in the Star Wars, Marvel will continue to the primary The High Republic run much as we saw in Phase I. The series will once again be written by Cavan Scott with Ario Anindtio providing art. The duo has had extensive work together and balanced their styles so perfectly that their work is some of the best in Star Wars comics. Phase II of The High Republic will feature any other duo of Jedi. Writer Scott didn’t give up much of anything by the way of plot but urged congoers to pay special attention to the hooded figure on the comic’s cover.
Scott also mentioned during The High Republic: For Light and Life panel that in Phase II, there will be a clear focus on how the Jedi relate to other people and not just those inside of the Jedi Temple. With that little nugget of information, it could very well mean that this new duo will have a lot of self-discovery as appears to be the theme for the Jedi during this period.
Star Wars: The High Republic #1 (2022) will arrive sometime in October 2022.
The Blade
Joining Cavan Scott and Ario Aninditio in Phase II of High Republic comics will be the great Charles Soule who will be joined by Marco Castiello for The Blade. Charles is no stranger to writing dark, gritty, and compelling Star Wars comic stories through his work on Darth Vader and Eye of Storm. This time, his series will focus on Porter Engle, the Blade of Bardotta.
Fans may remember Porter Engle as the Jedi cook who had multiple appearances in Phase I. As an Ikkrukkian, Porter Engle has a long life span making him a perfect character to bridge the gap between Phase I and Phase II. Writer Soule expressed that this is not going to be the humble cook that many have come to love. The Blade will explore a younger Porter Engle before he became the legend he is today. Soule added that Porter Engle will be a gunslinger Jedi but didn’t elaborate on what that actually meant. Even more interesting is this story will establish the first instance of someone taking the Barash Vow, a separation from the Jedi Order similar to Yoda and Obi-Wan after Revenge of the Sith.
Star Wars: The Blade #1 will be released sometime in November 2022.
The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian had perhaps the biggest hype during the entirety of Star Wars Celebration. The season 3 teasers that were dropped absolutely blew the roof of the convention center. February 2023 can’t get here fast enough. To hold you over during this long wait, look no further than Star Wars: The Mandalorian #1. The series that will be a comic adaptation of the first season will be written by Rodney Barnes who will be joined by artist George Jeanty.
The eight-issue run was announced last year but the Marvel Comics panel at Star Wars Celebration gave congoers a sneak peek at some of the artwork pages by George Jeanty, Karl Story, and Rachelle Rosenberg.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian #1 will be released in July 2022 with Star Wars: The Mandalorian #2 following in August 2022.
Yoda
In one of the biggest surprises in comic announcements, Yoda will be getting his own solo comic series. The 10-issue limited series will have various writers and artists covering different arcs of Yoda’s life. Writer Cavan Scott and artist Nico Leon will tackle Yoda’s life during the High Republic era. Writer Jody Houser with artist Luke Ross as well as writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Alessandro Miracolo will have stories set in the prequel era with three issues a piece for the duos. Scott and Leon will then round out the series with a tenth issue.
The overarching story will place Yoda in a position where he remembers his own training while attempting to train Luke Skywalker. By the time we see Yoda in the Original Trilogy, he is a much more defeated Yoda than we see in the Prequels and certainly in the High Republic era. Star Wars: Yoda will explore Yoda getting back his own basics so he can train the one who can help him atone for his own mistakes. The artwork shown at the Marvel Comics panel showed shades of Frank Miller and showed familiar faces that point to this being one of the most interesting projects for Star Wars comics.
Star Wars: Yoda #1 will be released this fall sometime in October 2022.
There was a plethora of other sneak peeks at the Marvel Star Wars Comics panels for the future but these four were certainly the biggest. If you are wondering what’s next for the more current runs of Marvel comics like Bounty Hunters, Doctor Aphra, Darth Vader, Han Solo & Chewbacca, and Star Wars, head over to our Twitter page where we showed both artwork and details shared about each comic runs latest issues.
