Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures from Dark Horse wraps up this week with issues 6, 7, and 8 arriving on Wednesday, June 28th, and StarWars.com caught up with writer Daniel José Older to offer a first look at its final installments.
StarWars.com: The High Republic Adventures has been really fun, with an almost ’80s Amblin vibe, as Sav goes off on this big adventure that’s thrilling but dangerous. What were your influences and inspiration for the story?
Daniel José Older: Thank you! I do love The Goonies and the fun pirate adventure part of that was definitely on my mind, but I was also very aware that this was a story from the side of the pirates, and to that end, Peaky Blinders ended up being a big inspiration. I love the sense of community and family in that show, and the way characters on the wrong side of the law struggle with all the impossible shades of gray their existence demands. It’s the notion that, as messy as these folks are, there’s still a code in play and there are still much worse folks out there to contend with.
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Issue 6
StarWars.com: Sav has been a great surrogate for young readers — she’s a Padawan, but is really seeing the galaxy for the first time. Was that your intention?
Daniel José Older: Oh, definitely! She’s both wide-eyed and very savvy (no pun intended) all at the same time, and that particular coming-of-age crossroads can be very fun and very dangerous at the same time. She finds a wild bunch to fall in with — good-hearted outlaws who know how to let her be exactly who she is, and that’s the saving grace of this whole adventure. But it comes with a hundred more problems, of course.
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Issue 7
StarWars.com: How did you pick who would be in her ragtag crew? Seeing Therm Scissorpunch and Dexter Jettster together isn’t something anyone could’ve predicted.
Daniel José Older: That part was somehow always in the cards for this run, at least in my head. I’ve always loved Therm, and of course Dex is Dex, what more needs be said? Seemed like such a natural fit to have them in a crew together. The tricky part came when I realized I’d stacked this run with so many fun, chaotic characters — both legacy and some new ones — and I wanted to make sure I gave them all each at least a moment to shine. Fortunately, that worked out even better than I expected!
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Issue 8
StarWars.com: As the series comes to an end, what do you hope fans young and old have taken away from it?
Daniel José Older: The thing that surprised me most about Sav’s journey during this run was how emotional and personal it ended up being. I set out to write a swashbuckling tale of pirate mayhem, and I definitely did that. But it turned out I was also writing the story of a young person fighting against the current to be exactly who she is and discovering allies and villains in the most unexpected places along the way. Sav knows she’s not able to fully spread her wings at the beginning of this story, and that’s what propels her forward into Maz’s crew and ultimately back to the source of her problems. Ultimately, this is a story about finding your family and, in doing so, finding yourself.
Take the link to read more pages from each issue.
