Entertainment Inside Celebrity Karaoke Club star Scarlett Moffatt's house

© Lucas Films Star Wars: The High Republic series will feature "very powerful" and "truly frightening" villains as Light of the Jedi writer Charles Soule teases novel.

Star Wars: The High Republic is getting ever closer and we've been given some very exciting teasers so far, like the fact that the series will feature a younger version of Yoda and that a "galaxy-wide disaster" will occur.

Writer Charles Soule, who is kicking off the new novel and comic book series with his book Star Wars: Light of the Jedi, has revealed that the series will feature "very powerful" villains unlike any we've seen in the franchise before – and they're going to be terrifying.

I'm A Celebrity's Joe Swash says it will be a "different show" filming in the UK

"I don't know how it's going to come across."Former I'm a Celebrity winner Joe Swash has admitted it will be a "different show" this year as it films in the UK for the first time.

"The High Republic is a huge story, multifaceted, meticulously built to give anyone who experiences it that real deal Star Wars we all love," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

© Lucas Films Star Wars, The High Republic

Related: Star Wars: The High Republic – why it's the best thing to happen to the series

"We haven't talked about the Nihil – the main villains of the piece, who are a group of anarchic marauders with some unique abilities that make them very powerful and very dangerous in this era.

"I wanted to paint them as truly frightening – the villains we're used to seeing in Star Wars at least have some sort of loyalty to an ideology or code... the Nihil do not, except perhaps to do whatever they want whenever they want, and to destroy anyone or anything that opposes that goal.

Ant McPartlin admits he never asked Holly Willoughby about her I'm a Celebrity stint

I'm a Celebrity's Ant McPartlin admits he never asked Holly Willoughby about her time on the show during This Morning appearance

"They have a deep and detailed history that will be explored throughout the initiative – the Nihil and what they get up to is one of the coolest parts of the whole thing."

How the Nihil will measure up to the Sith remains to be seen but it certainly sounds like they're going to be keeping the Jedi on their toes.

© Century / Amazon.co.uk Light of the Jedi (Star Wars: The High Republic)

£16.00

PRE-ORDER NOW

Soule, who also writes Star Wars comic books, promised that the scale of The High Republic is "wild" and that it's "an epic, from start to finish", adding that fans can expect tight and exhilarating storytelling from the series.

"A lot of the teases and such that have been released so far are focused on the character designs or the state of the galaxy," he said, "but I can tell you that we've all spent most of our time on the story itself.

"Light of the Jedi, Into the Dark, Test of Courage, the Marvel and IDW comic series... they're really what The High Republic is. It's an amazing new time period for Star Wars, but it's the story that will get fans hooked."

Scarlett Moffatt defends her outfit changes during 30th birthday party

Scarlett Moffatt explained her three outfit changes following her 30th birthday party with boyfriend Scott Dobinson

The High Republic is set 200 years before the Skywalker Saga and depicts a peaceful era where the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic are at the height of their power.

© Lucas Films Star Wars, The High Republic

Related: Star Wars reveals how it will bridge Skywalker Saga to High Republic material

The story will be told across several published mediums, including comic books and novels, and won't overlap with movies and TV series that are currently in production.

Star Wars: Light of the Jedi will be released on January 5, 2021.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the entire Skywalker Saga are available on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K now, as well as on Disney+, while Rise of Skywalker is also on Sky Cinema Premiere and NOW TV.

Digital Spy has launched its first-ever digital magazine with exclusive features, interviews, and videos. Access this edition with a 1-month free trial, only on Apple News+.

Interested in Digital Spy's weekly newsletter? Sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.

Gallery: The best TV shows of 2020 (so far) (TechRadar)