The next live-action Disney+ Star Wars show is almost upon us, with the first two episodes of The Acolyte hitting the service on Tuesday, June 4.
This series introduces Jedi Master Sol (Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae) as he investigates crimes and comes into conflict with a former Padawan. It’s set around 100 years before The Phantom Menace–the waning days of an era known as the High Republic. Tech from this era appeared in 2023 game Jedi: Survivor and Disney Parks’ defunct Galactic Starcruiser hotel, while upcoming game Eclipse will take place sometime in this age.
The Acolyte will be our first time seeing the High Republic in live-action, but Star Wars books and comics have been exploring this period for years. It kicked off with the 2021 novel Light of the Jedi, which introduced nasty space pirates the Nihil and took place 200 years prior to the Skywalker Saga.
The publishing side is divided into three chunks: Phase 1 kicks off the Nihil’s campaign against the Galactic Republic and the Jedi, Phase 2 jumps back 150 years to reveal the Nihil’s origins and the early days of the Republic’s expansion into the galaxy’s outer reaches, and Phase 3 picks up from where Phase 1 left off.
So there’s a massive time jump between the literature and the show, but some Star Wars species are pretty long-lived (like Yoda and Yaddle) and we know of one major book character who’ll appear in The Acolyte (and it isn’t Yoda or Yaddle).
We can expect references to the bloody galactic conflict seen in the books and comics, so let’s run through some of that era’s major players and events.The following contains spoilers for the High Republic up to 2023 novel The Eye of Darkness.
A Jedi with a lightwhip
Space pirates
The Nihil are an anarchistic group of Outer Rim marauders bent on kicking the Galactic Republic in the teeth and slaughtering as many Jedi as possible. They’re led by the calculating Marchion Ro, a member of the nomadic Evereni species who claims the title Eye of the Nihil.
After numerous major attacks on the Republic, Ro erects a technological barrier that cuts off multiple sectors of the galaxy and establishes the Occlusion Zone. Civilians in this region are terrorized by the Nihil and Jedi are forced to keep a low profile to avoid becoming victims of the Nihil’s deadly biological weapons.
This group starts out as the Path of the Open Hand, a cult that believes using the Force is an abuse and causes destruction throughout the galaxy. After an intense conflict with the Jedi in the Phase 2 books, Marchion Ro’s ancestor seizes control of the group and warps it further into the Nihil.
Force Eaters
Marchion Ro has a major advantage over his Jedi adversaries–horrifying creatures known as Nameless, Levelers, or Force Eaters. The third one is the most descriptive, since they preyed on Force sensitives like Jedi.
In close proximity, these beings cause intense fear, hallucinations, loss of Force connection and ultimately reduce their victims to lifeless husks that crumble into dust. So things always feel pretty intense when these guys show up.
Their origins and method of controlling them are revealed in the Phase 2 novels Path of Deceit and Path of Destruction. An explorer discovers them on Planet X, a strange world in the galaxy’s uncharted Wild Space region. He presents one of the creatures to the Path of the Open Hand as a gift, giving that group (and the Nihil they became) an excellent way to torture and murder Jedi.
The Hero of Hetzal
The early High Republic novels and comics introduce loads of characters, but Jedi Master Avar Kriss feels the closest we have to a main hero in Phases 1 and 3. She leads the Jedi in saving the Hetzal system from disaster, emerging as a symbol of hope for the galaxy in Light of the Jedi.
Avar has a particularly cool relationship with the Force, interpreting the energy field as a symphony. It gives her the ability to hear the voices of other Force sensitives like music and connect them all, which can result in spectacular displays of collective power.
After Marchion Ro establishes the Occlusion Zone, Avar is among the Jedi trapped in Nihil space. She adopts guerilla tactics to survive and help civilians, becoming a bit more grizzled and badass in the process.
Spicing things up further, there’s a heap of romantic tension between Avar and fellow Jedi Elzar Mann. We know from the prequel trilogy that the Jedi don’t like such attachments, but it’s fun to see them grappling with their feelings.
Carnivorous plants
The Drengir are the other major antagonist force in Phase 1, mostly appearing in Marvel Comics’ High Republic series. These carnivorous plant-like species draw on the dark side for their power, and start gobbling up people around the galaxy.
Avar leads a group of Jedi in defeating the Drengir, trapping the Great Progenitor (basically their queen) in stasis. It’s ultimately revealed that the Nihil seeded the Drengir around the galaxy to distract the Jedi, dividing their numbers while the pirates launched a major assault on the Republic.
Sometime long before the High Republic, the Drengir also allied themselves with fellow dark side wielders the Sith. The comics only allude to this, but the Sith betrayed the Drengir and placed them in stasis. They’re accidentally awoken in the early High Republic stories. Whoops.
Jumping in
If you want to get caught up on the High Republic in the most efficient way possible, these are the books to read.
Phase 1 (200 years before The Phantom Menace)
Light of the JediThe Rising StormThe Fallen Star
Phase 2 (150 years before Light of the Jedi)
Path of Deceit Path of Vengeance
Phase 3 (picks up after The Fallen Star)
The Eye of DarknessTemptation of the Force (comes out June 11)Trials of the Jedi (due out spring 2025)
These novels won’t cover everything since this era’s storytelling is dispersed through adult novels, young adult novels, middle-grade novels and multiple comic series, but the ones listed include the main thrust of the Republic-Nihil conflict and the origins of the Nameless.
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