On August 4, 2004, when asked if the G and C-levels formed separate and independent canons, Leland Chee responded by stating that both were part of a single canon:[25], In a December 7, 2005 post, Chee commented on how the Holocron is applied to licensees:[26], In a December 6, 2006 post, Chee contradicted his original statements regarding the canonicity of the Holocron and how it applied to the Star Wars universe:[27], On a post made on the following day, Chee stated that:[5]. He included a conversion table (from the previous d6 versions to the new d20 version) at the end of the third edition that helped Star Wars gamers adapt to the new d20 version. Since The Phantom Menace was set in a time of peace, most material that built on The Phantom Menace was set either before or during the film, rather than after. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. From 1991 through 1999, the Star Wars universe got very weird and very fun. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he's into British politics too. On the other hand, the Expanded Universe provided depth to the world of Star Wars. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, this sometimes did not appear to be true in practice. Other early titles include the Star Wars Nintendo Entertainment System game (published by JVC) and three other titles for the Atari 2600. Canon is nothing more than the creators saying "this actually happened in the Star Wars universe," and Lucasfilm has explicitly said that everything under the Legends banner is not canon. But did you know that they actually got married? Among the creators were Goodwin, Williamson, and Russ Manning. The old Star Wars Expanded Universe may have been dubbed " Legends, " but it's still a lot more important than many fans realize. One was anything regarding Anakin Skywalkers backstory or Lukes mother, as that was the story George Lucas was creating for the prequel trilogy. In Star Wars: Clone Wars, produced and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, many battles of the titular war are shown, with the Force's power displayed in an exaggerated fashion reminiscent of Tartakovsky's previous work. ", He [Lucas] didn't really have that much concern for what we were doing in the books and games. ", Warwick Davis reprised his role as Wicket W. Warrick in the two Ewok films, Ben Burtt was heavily involved in the later episodes of the, Special Edition and prequel trilogy producer. Sequels to the novels were being published as comics and vice versa, and the scope of the Expanded Universe grew at a prodigious rate. Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant's staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. The 2.5 edition was published by West End Games in 1996. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the old Star Wars Expanded Universe was given the non-canon "Legends" designation. Star Wars Reading Chronology: Expanded Universe (Legends) A guide on the chronology of Star Wars books. It's a surprising approach, because it means the stories can resonate as well with fans of the Expanded Universe as they do with people who have only been checking out the wider Star Wars galaxy since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. It confirmed several "new" Jedi who survived Order 66 - many of whom were lifted from Legends. The new ride opened May 20, 2011 in Walt Disney World and June 3, 2011 in Disneyland. Over the years, many artists and designers have contributed to the articulation of the various universes of Lucasfilm. Thats why the Star Wars brand started to be officially licensed for original novels, comic books, and later video games. But this does not mean they do not exist. The old Star Wars Expanded Universe may have been dubbed "Legends," but it's still a lot more important than many fans realize. Canonically the green lightsaber is commonly used by wiser, senior Jedi, such as Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, and later Luke Skywalker after completing his Jedi training. On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that the Expanded Universe was being reorganized under the new non-canon "Star Wars Legends" banner to make way for a new line of continuity, led by principal projects Star Wars Rebels and the Star Wars sequel trilogy, to take shape. This, however, doesn't apply to "game mechanics" and stats. The third, Return of the Jedi, used more traditional raster graphics. Characters under the Legends banner are still available for use as needed, even if events concerning them are no longer canon. Related: Star Wars Just Gave The Jedi Their Version Of Captain America. Disney-era Star Wars has consistently suggested the "legends" of the galaxy's ancient past, told in the old Expanded Universe, are still relevant. In addition, the company has reprinted several Japanese manga interpretations of the films, including Star Wars Manga: The Empire Strikes Back by Toshiki Kudo and Star Wars Manga: Return of the Jedi by Shin-Ichi Hiromoto. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walter Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Mary Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. It was followed by adaptations of the next two films in the original trilogy: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The two posts, in accordance with George Lucas' statements in the same year and month, confirmed that there are "pillars" rather than "tiers" of canon, and the canon encompassed by the Expanded Universe exist separately from Lucas' canon - the films and television series. Star Wars Legends, formerly known as the Expanded Universe (abbreviated EU), encompasses every one of the licensed and background stories of the Star Wars universe, outside of the original six Star Wars films produced by George Lucas and certain other material such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, created before April 25, 2014. Most of those, however, ceased publication by the end of 2014. When playing the board game, the players could put in the tape, which would play while they were in a game. While George Lucas was open to other authors creating their own Star Wars stories in a separate universe, there were two topics that were off-limits for the Expanded Universe. ", Lucas has adopted the Expanded Universe name Twi'lek for, Artists for the prequel films have used various Expanded Universe materialsparticularly the, Lucas wrote the stories for, executive produced, and directed pick-ups and re-shoots for both of the, Lucas was involved with the creation of the, Lucas decreed that there could be no more Wookiee. With several different publishers being granted the opportunity to release official Star Wars stories, keeping track of the Star Wars Expanded Universe was no easy feat. The following material, although released after April 25, 2014, is not considered canon: Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! The analogy is that every piece of published Star Wars fiction is a window into the 'real' Star Wars universe. Although his chosen field was structure engineering, there is nothing Marcelo likes better than writing about the things he loves. ", If you don't believe in the EU version of the story or didn't like it, then perhaps this new revelation that [] suits you better. There are, however, some exceptions when an external canon source, such as an encyclopedia or guide, state it as happening, like for example that Brianna joined the Jedi Exile. Although George Lucas vision for the Star Wars prequels and the movies themselves were received with a lot of criticism, the creative inputs of the Star Wars creator are often brought up in discussions surrounding the current status of the Star Wars saga. The Holocron followed the canon policy that had been in effect for years, but the capabilities of database software allowed each element of a story, rather than the stories as a whole, to be classified. That's what Lucasfilm is now claiming, along with every comic book, novel and video game to bear the Star Wars moniker. Telling the story of Kyle Katarn, Imperial soldier turned mercenary, the game featured a little over a dozen levels where the player explored various original and familiar settings. It is striking, then, that Star Wars has since settled some of the debate about Ossus; not only does the planet exist, it was rediscovered after The Empire Strikes Back, and became site of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple. On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm Ltd. announced that in preparation for the upcoming sequel trilogy, the Expanded Universe would be rebranded as Legends and no longer adhered to; past tales of the Expanded Universe would be printed under the Star Wars Legends banner, and a new continuity would be established that consisted only of the original six films, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and all future material from that point onward. Atari produced arcade games based on the original trilogy, beginning with Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, which were both "flight sim" style games that utilized vector graphics. Yes! Some of the original crew for A New Hope came back to shoot these scenes. In a 1996 game from Hasbro Inc., entitled Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game, which is set during the era of the original trilogy, new live-action scenes were shot of Darth Vader on the Death Star around the events of Return of the Jedi. Battlefront games have both a Campaign and an Instant Action Mode, among others. The nature of their relevance depends largely on whether they restrict other stories; if they do not, Lucasfilm will not go out of its way to contradict them. For years, hardcore Star Wars fans had considered the content of the Expanded Universe to be canon, and while only a mega-fan would have read all of the EU content there are well over 200 . David Prowse reprises his role as Vader, and James Earl Jones returned as the voice of Vader. before Disney hit the reset button on the saga's "Expanded Universe" of books . Recently, a toy line called Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Collection brought back elements of the original vintage toy line, such as vintage packaging. Lucas had pointed out ever since The Empire Strikes Back that he wanted to tell a much bigger story starting before the events of A New Hope, but that he had to wait for the moviemaking technologies to catch up with his vision. In other words, as far as Luke . Most of these are brief, cameo appearances, almost taking the form of Easter eggs (which may have been added by animators or others under Lucas, rather than specifically dictated), but others are more substantial. It should also be remembered that all of these stories are simply thatstories. The original Star Wars Databank entries distinguished movie information and EU information, providing them in separate tabs. Meanwhile, the Expanded Universe is no longer considered canon[2] and was re-termed as the "Legends" brand. The prequel trilogy takes place during this era. Although George Lucas's name is on the cover of the original Star Wars novelization, Alan Dean Foster ghostwrote it. The general rule was that nothing in the Expanded Universe was allowed to contradict any other part of the Expanded Universe or the films. I find the books published after 1999 to be enjoyable and fascinating. In late 2000, Wizards of the Coast released the third edition (a d20 version). Examples of these inconsistencies include: On a number of occasions, cast and crew from the films have been known to participate in the EU. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back - and this time it's cool. At the same time as Dark Empire's release in the early 1990s, Bantam Spectra published Timothy Zahn's The Thrawn Trilogy. For once something is created, no matter what the context, it takes on a life of its own.Foreword written by George Lucas in Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas. The 1997 sequel, Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, was notable for having a few cut scenes which were made up of live-action footage of certain Expanded Universe characters, such as Kyle Katarn. Five years later the galaxy goes through the events of Star Wars: The Dark Nest Trilogy. Both games were released for DOS and Macintosh. According to the rules of the Expanded Universe, both versions were within continuity, though it was the wedding in Dave Wolverton's book that is most often referenced. All these years later, one thing is becoming clear; the relationship between Star Wars canon and the old Expanded Universe isn't quite as simple as many fans originally thought. In 1983, NPR broadcast an entirely original Star Wars radio drama, Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell. But they also meant the show fitted in perfectly with the Expanded Universe. The reason is pretty obvious; Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm want to tell fresh and new stories with much-loved characters, and Legends would have restricted them. The Legacy series is another important book series, which is written by Aaron Allston, Karen Traviss, and Troy Denning . These audio dramas were adapted from Dark Horse comic books, and include Tales of the Jedi (1995), Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (1995), Dark Empire (1996), Star Wars: Dark Empire II (1996), Star Wars: Empire's End (1997), Dark Forces (1998), and Star Wars: Crimson Empire (1998). It was discontinued with the April 2014 reboot. Star Wars has also, not surprisingly, opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulations that take the space wars of the saga more seriously, teaching the player to fly various Star Wars starfighters along the lines of more traditional "Modern Aircraft" flight simulators. That is also why it took so long for The Phantom Menace to be made after Return of the Jedi. Superficially, one allure of the films is that they are organized numerically and logically whereas the Expanded Universe was published out of chronological sequence and occasionally contained minor contradictions and in some cases even major discrepancies, despite the best efforts of Lucas Licensing. Kyle Katarn, Keyan Farlander, Maarek Stele, Jaden Korr, etc. Han said, "I know." These were set on the planet Tython, a world that actually appeared in The Mandalorian season 2 - another important nod. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devoted considerable effort to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across multiple companies. Wherever an EU source contradicted movie canon, the EU source was invalid on that specific point, though the rest of the source was still considered part of the continuity. He has lived in three different cities to pursue the best education he could have. Star Wars was also a daily newspaper comic strip from 1979 to 1984. The early development of the Expanded Universe was sporadic and unrefined, in large part because, at this time, there was so little canon material for the creators to use as reference. The footage was made available on a special VHS tape, included in the box of the game. Many Legends tales like the Knights of the Old Republic comics are set thousands of years before the main Skywalker saga. There's no debate. It included most o. On April 25, 2014, after a year of ownership by the Walt Disney Company, a StarWars.com press release confirmed that the films of the sequel trilogy would not adhere to the postReturn of the Jedi Expanded Universe,[29] with further comments from LucasBooks Senior Editor Jennifer Heddle confirming that the EU as a whole is no longer considered canon. Despite making clear that his Star Wars universe and that of the novels and comics were different, George Lucas did incorporate several names and concepts from the Expanded Universe in the Star Wars movie canon. This style of RPG is somewhat new and made big waves for its innovative style. Home Canon (Current) Expanded Universe (Legends) Timeline Comparison 25,793 BBY Lucasfilm's approach with these stories therefore makes perfect sense. Another notable series of books is the Young Jedi Knights, also by Kevin J. Anderson, which follow the adventures of Jacen and Jaina Solo and their friends. Although the player can avoid some optional quests, Wookieepedia assumes that those heroes managed to complete all the "available" feats. Star Wars Legends, formerly known as the Expanded Universe (abbreviated EU ), encompasses every one of the licensed and background stories of the Star Wars universe, outside of the original six Star Wars films produced by George Lucas and certain other material such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, created before April 25, 2014. According to Lucas, that was a different world than my world. However, George Lucas also pointed out that both he and the other authors always tried to keep some level of consistency between the Star Wars movies and the Expanded Universe. Between Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, there was a latent demand for more Star Wars content. To be fair to Disney, the decision is entirely understandable; the EU had woven a complex web of continuity together, far too much for any new viewer, and the stories had locked in the history of the galaxy for a full century after the events of Return of the Jedi. This effectively decanonized hundreds if not thousands of comics, games, books, and so on that. The Expanded Universe shaped one of the biggest franchises in the world before being wiped from revised canon like a smear on a Corellian YT-1300 light freighter's window. Also, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura originally appeared in the ongoing Dark Horse comics series Republic; apparently Lucas saw the cover which featured her and liked the look of her character so much that he included her in the Jedi battle at the end of Attack of the Clones, played by Lucasfilm employee Amy Allen, and her demise is later shown in Revenge of the Sith. Splinter drew inspiration primarily from an early draft of the Star Wars script. For example, Prophets of the Dark Side featured the wedding of Han Solo and Princess Leia, but Dave Wolverton ignored this and featured the same event in his novel The Courtship of Princess Leia, which was released a few years later. Foster was given a copy of the working script and a tour of the production.[5]. Just to be kyber crystal clear, not all film and TV are Canon. When I said [other people] could make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek, we would have two universes: My universe and then this other one. In addition to filling in the time between the movies, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series. Everything else that had been released from 1977 to 2012 including books, comics, and video games was then labeled as Legends, putting an end to the Star Wars EU. The term Star Wars Expanded Universe itself was first used to describe a specific line of Star Wars toys, but it was later incorporated by the fanbase to describe all things Star Wars outside of the George Lucas movies. Stephen Crane copied those symbols and turned them into a complete and workable alphabet which would later be used in the prequel trilogy. Lucasfilm and publisher Bantam Spectra contracted inventive sci-fi writers, up to and including the legendary. Canon means that if someone writes a story in your favorite setting that you don't like, and they have the mojo to get it declared canon by the mystic copyright fairies in the sky, that now. Which would play while they were in a game daily newspaper comic from... Or the films in three different cities to pursue the best education he could have, books, and Earl. Put in the Expanded Universe is no longer canon clear, not all film and are. Available '' feats Cam Kennedy important nod it confirmed several `` new '' who! 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