Ever since the first Star Wars movie, the franchise has been expanded with all sorts of different spin-off material. The very first novel was released in 1976, and since then, there have been countless more. These adventures have not just been exclusive to the world of books either, as so many video games and comics have also taken the franchise to whole new locales. But, after Disney purchased Star Wars in 2012, all of it was deemed non-canon and branded as Star Wars Legends.
The decision to brand it as Star Wars Legends proved extremely controversial with the fanbase, as they had spent years growing attached to these stories and characters. Many have fond memories of fighting through the galaxy as Starkiller in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, they spent hours reading about events like the Yuuzhan Vong or The Old Republic, and games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic are still considered some of the best the franchise has to offer. However, Disney’s decision may have been exactly what the franchise needed, even if it came at the expense of some stellar stories.
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The Star Wars Expanded Universe Was a Bit of a Mess
The Star Wars Expanded Universe may have had a lot of great stories and games, yet it was also a bit of a mess. For starters, it was filled to the brim with continuity errors and conflicting storylines. One of the most notable comes with the multiple different thefts of the Death Star plans. There was no single theft, but actually dozens of different versions with their own thieves and stories. This may be one of the most important parts of Star Wars, so having that many stories of the same thing just made things a bit confusing.
On top of that, there were stories and characters introduced that could have had major ramifications for the universe if they were still canon. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed introduced Darth Vader’s secret apprentice Starkiller, who wields extremely powerful force abilities. That may have made for a fun duology, but said powers were incredibly overpowered, making him an unstoppable force within the galaxy. Additionally, the story those games tell could be very lore-breaking at times, with the entire rebellion allegedly being created by Darth Vader himself.
Those are just some of the many examples of a messy Expanded Universe continuity. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was hardly the only game to cause some lore issues, the novels were filled with conflicting stories and events, and events like the Yuuzhan Vong War were famously not well-liked by the fanbase. There may have been some fun stories within, but it was not entirely clear just what was going on within the galaxy far, far away.
This New Era of Star Wars Feels Much More Cohesive
When Disney bought Lucasfilm, it chose to change that by deeming the Expanded Universe as non-canon. This gave the studio a clean slate to tell the stories it wanted to tell within the galaxy. The sequel trilogy may have been controversial, but it was not forced to abide by all of those conflicting stories and instead got to forge its own trail. Additionally, there is now a true canon version of the Death Star plans theft thanks to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The creation of the Lucasfilm Story Group means that all future novels, video games, and comics actually fit cohesively into this franchise’s massive timeline.
There have been a few continuity issues still, but not as many as there were during the Expanded Universe. Along with that, video games have been able to tell new stories that actually feel like they could work within this universe. Cal Kestis’ existence does not seem to be lore-breaking, multiplayer games like Star Wars Squadrons and Star Wars: Battlefront 2 actually have a place on the timeline, and even Ubisoft has gotten to make its own mark on the canon with Star Wars Outlaws. These stories can now both be their own thing and make their mark on a canon that actually makes sense.
While it is nice to see a more cohesive timeline, some fans do miss the stories and characters from the Expanded Universe. Luckily, Lucasfilm has been slowly folding some of those elements in, like Grand Admiral Thrawn. It remains to be seen just how much of it will make the cut, but it is a great way to let those stories live on in a new form. And if fans hate this new direction, those older stories still exist for their reading and gaming pleasure.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise originally created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy of movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other media like comics, video games, tv shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.