Star Wars: The High Republic has been delayed until 2021, but that doesn’t mean fans are left without any news about the upcoming novels and comics. StarWars.com has been teasing pieces of information about the series for months and now it has been revealed that fan favorite Jedi, Yoda, will be a part of the publishing epic.
Yoda will be a prominent character in the upcoming Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic series by Daniel José Older, which will be coming in 2021 from IDW Publishing. It was revealed in Return of the Jedi that Yoda is about 900 years old and in The Empire Strikes Back he says that he has been training Jedi for 800 years. With Star Wars: The High Republic takes place about 200 years before the start of the Skywalker Saga in The Phantom Menace the Jedi Master will be roughly 700 years old at the time.
Even with Star Wars: The High Republic taking place centuries earlier than any other Star Wars story, the fan favorite Jedi Master will still be an important part of the Jedi Council. Star Wars: The High Republic is set during the golden age of the Jedi, so Yoda will not be worrying about the mysterious Sith or hiding out on a swamp planet. It will be fantastic for fans to see Yoda as a Jedi while they are in their prime and training Jedi as he has for many centuries.
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“The High Republic Yoda is a journeyman out in the galaxy.” Older told StarWars.com. “While he’s already a respected member of the Jedi Council at this point, we meet Yoda in IDW’s The High Republic Adventures series doing what he loves best: looking out for the young folks – in this case, a group of Padawans traveling around the galaxy to learn the ways of the Jedi with a hands-on approach,” Older continues. “The Force study abroad program, basically.”
YODA’S NEW LOOK IN STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC ADVENTURES COMICS
“It felt like a daunting and enormous responsibility to embark on and get right.” said Troy Adlers, Lucasfilm art director.
Yoda’s physical appearance is not going to be drastically different with the Jedi Master being only 700 instead of 900 years old. He looks a bit younger than in The Phantom Menace, but Adlers wanted to consult the first person tasked with creating a younger look for Yoda.
“Right away, concept artist Iain McCaig felt like the go-to artist to help us start to explore this new look for Yoda,” Alders recalled, “so we called him up and started to talk about what directions to explore.”
McCaig was not the only artist consulted for Yoda’s look in Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic series, Disney Publishing illustration manager Jeff R. Thomas and Star Wars: Dark Legends artist Grant Griffin were also important contributors in deciding Yoda’s final look. Griffin’s concept art below shows both of Yoda’s new outfits and his slightly younger look.
In the concept art above Yoda is sporting the Star Wars: The High Republic style lightsaber holster. The “mission outfit” above is inspired by the architecture of the Jedi Temple and features a more layered tunic and cloak which fits the era.
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Yoda will also be featured in an entirely new kind of outfit, the “temple attire” has an elegance to it that fits the Jedi golden age. With the beautiful gold and white tunic and cloak, Yoda looks every bit the noble Jedi Master and Jedi Council member that fans know him to be. Especially given that this is when the Jedi were at their best, keeping peace within the galaxy and exploring unknown worlds.
While Star Wars: The High Republic will be introducing a new roster of Jedi having Yoda continue to be a part of the Star Wars story is something fans will undoubtedly love. While Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic series does not yet have a release date, Charles Soule’s novel Light of the Jedi and Justina Ireland’s middle-grade novel A Test of Courage are set to be released January 5, 2021. Claudia Gray’s young adult novel Into the Dark has a release date of February 2, 2021. The other comic series, coming from Marvel, Star Wars: The High Republic does not yet have a release date either.
Are you excited to see Yoda’s earlier adventures? Are you looking forward to the Star Wars: The High Republic series? Which High Republic book or comic series are you most excited for? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media.
Source: StarWars.com
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