The creative team behind Star Wars: The High Republic -- set in 232 BBY -- had its own virtual panel New York Comic Con 2020, where panelists discussed the future of Star Wars and the new characters that they had created. Charles Soule, who will kick off the transmedia series with his novel Light of the Jedi, unveiled some intriguing details about Burryaga, a Wookiee Jedi padawan with a very unusual weapon.
"As we have seen from Chewbacca and Wookiees that we've met in other storytelling, Wookiees are very, very, strong... and a standard lightsaber in the hand of a Wookiee would be like trying to fight with a toothpick," explained Soule. "So they need something that's a little bit more robust and so Burryaga has a gigantic sort of... two-handed lightsaber hilt that is made from materials that are meaningful to him. But it's not something that your average Jedi could probably use very effectively, even though they can be strong too."
"We had the opportunity in The High Republic to design all these really personal weapons for each person. That alone is kind of a Star Wars dream come true," added Soule. "That's Burryaga's but whenever we had the opportunity to do something cool for a Jedi's weapon we definitely did."
Charles Soule also revealed how Burryaga perceives the Force, which is intimately linked to his culture. Most Wookiees come from the planet Kashyyyk, which, before the Empire took over, was almost entirely covered in trees. "He sees himself as a small leaf on a great tree that's part of the great Force, that's part of the great world, that's all interconnected."