The Star Wars Expanded Universe Is Dead

Well, it might not be dead, but the recent announcement from Disney and Lucasfilm has basically made every piece of the Star Wars Expanded Universe the red-headed step child of the franchise.  For those of you who don’t know, the Expanded Universe (or EU) is essentially all the extra-cannocal stuff that happens outside of the movies and a few select TV shows.  So pretty much every book, comic book, and video game under the “Star Wars” banner falls into that category.  So do some of the TV shows, such as the Christmas Special and cartoons such as Droids.

Essentially, the EU started way back in 1991 when the first original Star Wars novel, written by Timothy Zahn, called Heir To The Empire, was released.  In true Star Wars fashion, it was part of a trilogy of books that came to be known as the “Thrawn Trilogy” and focused on events 5 years after the end of Return of the Jedi.  I can remember reading these books as a teenager and being blown away by how awesome they were.  These books hit the New York Times Bestseller lists and really kicked off the Star Wars EU, which up to that point was really just a handful of Role Playing Games and comic books.

The big question after Disney acquired the rights to Star Wars was how the EU was going to fit into their plans for the sequels they planned to make.  After all, there were some pretty major things that happened over the course of the events that played out in the Expanded Universe (like Chewbacca dying, and whatnot).  Lots of Star Wars fans were interested in knowing if Episodes 7-9 were going to be based on the Thrawn novels.  Well, thanks to an official statement on StarWars.com, we have our answer:

For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, all aspects of Star Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected. Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.

“We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon,” said Kennedy. “We’re set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before.”

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.

On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be Star Wars Rebels. In print, the first new books to come from this creative collaboration include novels from Del Rey Books. First to be announced, John Jackson Miller is writing a novel that precedes the events of Star Wars Rebels and offers insight into a key character’s backstory, with input directly from executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman.

And this is just the beginning of a creatively aligned program of Star Wars storytelling created by the collaboration of incredibly talented people united by their love of that galaxy far, far away….

So basically, they’re just throwing out everything the EU has done up to this point.  I can’t say this is really a surprise, since the EU is a pretty convoluted place.  The idea that they want to give the filmmakers the freedom to tell stories the way they want to is a good one, since it will keep things fresh.  I think a big problem with Episodes 1-3 was that is was a lot of re-hashing.  Audiences want something new, and I think Disney aims to give that to them.

Notice how they said “elements” of the EU will still be used.  Basically it seems like they’re going to cherry pick popular things from the EU and incorporate them into the TV shows and movies they are making.  I honestly don’t have a problem with any of this since the Star Wars EU ranges from incredible to downright embarrassing.  Basically, they’re doing what J.J. Abrams did with Star Trek and wiping out the timeline to start fresh.

What do you think?  Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?  Personally, I think it’s a good thing.  Sometimes you have to clear away the clutter and start anew if you want to make something great again.  And frankly, I think after Episodes 1-3, Star Wars needs a reboot.  And this is the first step.

The nice people at Lucasfilm did take the time to put together this cool little video talking about and explaining the EU though.  It’s definitely worth checking out.

The post The Star Wars Expanded Universe Is Dead appeared first on MatthewKadish.com.