At the New York Comic Con on Saturday, the creators behind The High Republic did a panel looking forward to phase 2 of the massive publishing initiative. They shared new details and images for a lot of projects coming out in the next several months, and one of those is heading to a familiar location.
Tessa Gratton’s middle-grade novel, Quest for Planet X, is coming in April 2023, and it will take us to Batuu. We don’t know much about what the story will be about – aside from the fact that both the title and a major theme of this phase suggest a period of exploration and expansion – but it’ll take place, at least in part, on this notable planet.
Batuu is the planet on which Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland is set, and the planet was created for that purpose. Since then, there has been a lot of stories set there, spanning a variety of eras in the Star Wars universe, mostly through books and comics. It has actually been referenced several times so far in The High Republic, so it’s no surprise to see us finally heading there.
Of course, even if it hadn’t been mentioned, it still wouldn’t be a surprise to see us heading there, because it has been included in plenty of other material. It probably sounds like I’m cynical about it, but I’m not really; I think it’s cool to include places we’re familiar with if it makes sense for the story, and while it feels a little funny, it does make sense. I think it particularly makes sense to do it in The High Republic era, and that’s because there are relatively few familiar faces and locations to use from the Star Wars we’ve come to know. That’s actually one of the era’s biggest strengths, but it’s always fun to get small connections where appropriate.
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