Lucasfilm has offered a new, official look at Yoda in a way we've never seen him before; young. Relatively speaking that is. Star Wars: The High Republic, a massive upcoming publishing initiative that was announced earlier this year, is coming our way in early 2021. It will tell a brand new story within a galaxy far, far away across multiple publishers, with a collection of stories in a variety of mediums. Now, we have our first look at young Yoda, who will factor into the events prominently.

The artwork, done by Grant Griffin, was revealed recently, showcasing Yoda roughly 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. That means Yoda is about 230 years younger, give or take a few years, than he was when we first met the Jedi legend in The Empire Strikes Back. The big takeaway from the images is that Yoda looks like he means business. The Jedi will be a big part of author Daniel José Older's Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic, which is arriving next year from IDW Publishing. Older will be depicting a version of Yoda who is "a journeyman out in the galaxy." Here is what Older had to say about it.

"While he's already a respected member of the Jedi Council at this point, we meet Yoda in IDW's The High Republic Adventures series doing what he loves best: looking out for the young folks, in this case, a group of Padawans traveling around the galaxy to learn the ways of the Jedi with a hands-on approach. The Force study abroad program, basically."

Because Star Wars: The High Republic is set so far back in the timeline, largely in uncharted territory, it will focus on mostly new characters. But Yoda, given that he was around 900 years old when he died, can help provide some connective material to the Skywalker saga. Troy Alders, Lucasfilm art director, had this to say about it.

"The goal was to update Yoda, but to be careful and be true to the Yoda that we all know and love. Also, to really make sure that the new look was believable, as this is really the first time that there has been an opportunity to update his look and his clothing. It felt like a daunting and enormous responsibility to embark on and get right."

Previously, some artwork for the event showcased what seemed to be a new baby Yoda as well. Baby Yoda, who does not yet have an official name, became a huge breakout character in The Mandalorian. So we are poised to learn much more about the mysterious Star Wars alien species in the future, it would seem.

Plot details for the High Republic's overall storyline remain guarded. The whole event will also kick off with something called "the Great Disaster." Other books include Claudia Grey's Into the Dark, Justin Ireland's A Test of Courage and Charles Soule'sLight of the Jedi, in addition to Marvel's Star Wars: The High Republic comic from Cavan Scott. Be sure to check out the art for yourself, which was debuted by StarWars.com.