We’ve been mixed on The Acolyte so far, but it’s undeniably cool to finally experience another fresh Star Wars era with a distinct style and an entirely different set of heroes and villains. Of course, this also means plenty of new spaceships and vehicles are being introduced to the ever-growing Star Wars canon, and we’ve collected the most striking High Republic ships we’ve seen so far in this article.
The High Republic era comes right after the time of the Old Republic in the current Star Wars canon, and lasted around four centuries, with its final moments happening around 100 years before the invasion of Naboo (The Phantom Menace). As a direct result, the ship and vehicle designs seen in this time period land closer to the prequels’ aesthetics than anything else we’ve seen depicted in movies, TV shows, comic books, or video games that take place during the more traditional Imperial and New Republic eras.
A multimedia initiative, mostly developed through books and comics in its beginnings, kickstarted the High Republic era, and now shows like Young Jedi Adventures and The Acolyte are making sure that mainstream audiences and more casual Star Wars fans are exposed to it. On top of those works, Lucasfilm Games and Quantic Dream are working on Star Wars Eclipse, a very ambitious video game that is still a ways off.
Need more Star Wars? Then you’ll enjoy our round-up of the best Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows. If you want to swing a lightsaber, the best Star Wars games will make a Jedi (or Sith) out of you. Want a ‘real’ one? Whether you follow the path of Light or Dark, maybe it’s time to get one of the best lightsabers out there.
Longbeam cruiser
The Longbeam cruiser was extensively used by the Galactic Republic during the High Republic era, as it was a multi-purpose craft used for combat, rescue missions and transport. The armaments included two turrets and missile-based weaponry. Due to the presence of heavy weapons, civilian use was heavily restricted, so the Longbeams were mostly limited to official Republic matters.
These iconic spaceships played a pivotal role during the Great Hyperspace Disaster, serving the Jedi and the Republic’s rescue forces as the backbone of the operation to rescue the inhabitants of the Hetzal system from the debris that threatened the planets.
Keeping the tradition of recycling unused designs going, the Longbeam was born from rejected (but striking) designs for the MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 heavy bombersused by the Resistance fighters in The Last Jedi.
Jedi Vector
Jedi Vectors might be the most iconic High Republic-era spaceship design we’ve had so far, at least according to fans who’ve been paying attention to the comics and books released. Unsurprisingly, this ship also made its live-action debut during The Acolyte’s first episode, when two Jedi come looking for Osha Aniseya.
Much like the Delta-7 light interceptor and other Jedi starfighters, these ships were built specifically for Force-sensitive individuals, as their extremely high speeds and notable maneuverability demanded extreme concentration from the pilots. Even more shocking is the Vectors’ weapon systems had to be activated by using a lightsaber as a key, which encouraged deadly force to only be used when other options had been exhausted.
The nimble Vectors were armed with two laser cannons and a tractor beam. Variations of the base ship and cockpit also allowed for two pilots; this version of the Vector was commonly used by Jedi Masters and their Padawans. The design came from an unused (but approved) mosquito-like starfighter design for Revenge of the Sith.
The Nihil fleet
The Nihil marauders are the High Republic era’s main threat to Galactic stability. For the most part, they can be described as anarchistic pirate-like gangs that were grouped together by the Evereni Ro family and originated from the fragmented remnants of the Path of the Open Hand, a cult that hated the Jedi because it believed “no one should use the Force” at all.
The Nihil fleet consisted of various types of starships and included far larger battleships and warships. According to the size and main purpose of the spacecrafts, the ships were divided into three classes: Stormships, Cloudships, and Strikeships. The unrefined ships used by the Nihil, which in many cases were scavenged and then upgraded and changed to fit new purposes, had one main thing in common: the use of Path engines to gain access to ‘Paths’ that were believed to be inaccessible but provided faster hyperspace travels to those brave and smart enough to travel through them. These engines were installed alongside regular hyperdrives and allowed the raiders to constantly launch quick and unpredictable attacks.
By and large, the main concept behind the Nihil marauders gave the artists a very large amount of freedom to explore different designs that looked ‘messier’ and more chaotic than usual, but also allowed unused designs from The Force Awakens to gain a second life as pirate and scavenger ships that belonged to an entirely different era of the galaxy far, far away.
The Gaze Electric
The Gaze Electric was a flagship used by the aforementioned Ro family and was initially built to serve as a temple for the Path of the Open Hand. In fact, the original cult departed their homeworld of Dalna on it. Marda Ro later took over it and created the Nihil faction.
Big High Republic-era baddie Marchion Rosaw it as a “palace and fortress” once he inherited it from Asgar Ro. For the most part, the massive ship was manned by droids and handpicked personnel, as Marchion didn’t trust most of the Nihil after the Trymant IV disaster. This decision would be walked back at least one more time as the politics of the faction evolved.
In many ways, the Gaze Electric will remind diehard Star Wars fans of some of the Mon Calamari frigates and cruisers, and you wouldn’t be too far off if you assumed that. In fact, the ship’s basic design borrows a lot from the MC30C frigate as seen in Return of the Jedi concept art. Meanwhile, the interiors were requested to be based on the interior of the U.S.S. Cygnus as seen in the 1979 sci-fi movie The Black Hole.
Polan-717 Jedi transport
We don’t know much about the Polan-717 Jedi transport yet, as this new space shuttle has been introduced for the first time in The Acolyte, but its presence has been major so far. It’s been used by Master Sol and the other Jedi during the mission to find both Osha and Mae Aniseya and to uncover the identity of the mysterious Sith master pulling the strings.
As far as we can tell, it’s a large transport ship used mainly by the Jedi to execute larger missions that require more than two people. Likewise, it’s equipped to contain prisoners until they’re safely transported back to Coruscant or another post. Perhaps more striking is its ability to detach from an external hyperdrive to gain more agility and reach higher sublight speeds, much like the late-Republic-era Jedi starfighters.
Some previews of The Acolyte have shown Jedi Master Sol chasing another ship across what seems to be an asteroid or debris field of sorts, so it appears the Polan-717 shuttle might see some action in the show.
Exile II
Spoilers ahead for The Acolyte episode 5: ‘Night’
Much like Polan-717, the Exile II has barely been fleshed out by the official materials yet, but its presence in The Acolyte as Mae and Qimir’s means of transport hasn’t gone unnoticed. Its sleek, blade-ish design reminds us of other Sith-owned ships, like Darth Maul’s iconic Scimitar as seen almost a century later in the Star Wars timeline.
After Mae and Osha swap places and Qimir leaves Khofar with the latter, chances are good that Mae won’t be piloting the Exile II again anytime soon, but we haven’t seen the last of it. As The Acolyte approaches its season 1 conclusion, we’re likely to learn and see more of this dark starship and its owners.
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