The Star Wars franchise is well-known for its iconic villains. The original trilogy introduced Darth Vader, one of the most beloved antagonists ever to grace the silver screen. Even the prequels found some fun in Count Dooku and General Grievous as they slowly turned Anakin into the aforementioned dark lord. Off the big screen, Star Wars novels invented countless wild threats, many of which could have wiped out the universe if left unchecked. One of the most threatening examples from the Legends continuity was the Yuuzhan Vong, a race of mighty conquerors who very nearly took over the New Republic by sheer force.
Disney did a weird shuffle with the Star Wars continuity when they bought the property. They removed most of the extraneous material from the official timeline, but they’ve been slowly bringing a lot of it back. They simply reincorporate some elements, but they also occasionally just invent a new version of the same idea that better fits their new direction. Countless fans became enraged when their favorite novel characters vanished from the canon story, but most of those concepts would never make it onto the screen. As Disney runs out of ideas, they’re happy to mine some big names from the old lore.
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Who are the Yuuzhan Vong?
The Yuuzhan Vong are a race of warlike humanoids who came from a place beyond the known galaxy. They’re religious zealots who rigorously worship a pantheon of gods that only they seem to know about. In their mysterious early history, they lived in symbiotic harmony with their living home planet, Yuuzhan’tar. Yuuzhan’tar found itself caught in the crossfire between two warring planets of droids, building a hatred of machines in the Yuuzhan Vong. In time, the Yuuzhan Vong learned to construct living weapons, creating organic technology that would allow them to compete. They conquered both neighboring planets before enacting a crusade to wipe out advanced machines on every other planet in their galaxy. This eventually culminated in a civil war that killed a considerable percentage of the Yuuzhan Vong and destroyed Yuuzhan’tar. Without their home planet, the Yuuzhan Vong lost connection with the Force, eventually becoming deadened to the inherent connection between all living things. Their never-ending violence and slavish devotion to their deities erased most of the livable territory in their home galaxy, eventually forcing them to seek a new home. After an extremely long voyage across the void, they stumbled into the galaxy far, far away.
The Yuuzhan Vong expressed bizarre beliefs and traditions throughout their attempts to take over every galaxy. Their bodies were uniquely susceptible to physical pain, but instead of viewing that sensitivity as a weakness, they began to worship suffering to the point of sadomasochism. Their weapons, armor, and technology were all living organisms, granting them tremendous capability in all forms of combat. They even grafted organs from fallen foes into their own bodies, removing their body parts to replace them with ostensibly stronger ones. The Yuuzhan Vong used subterfuge and infiltration tactics, gradually invading the Outer Rim Territories as they worked their way inward toward Coruscant. Their invasion was almost successful, claiming a tremendous amount of territory and even facing the reformed Jedi Order. Finally, the Galactic Republic won a legendary battle against the Yuuzhan Vong and the last seed of their living planet. After their defeat, the Yuuzhan Vong retreated in exile to a faraway planet, where they would live in harmony with nature and try to find a new peaceful direction for their culture.
Where did the Yuuzhan Vong appear?
Of course, the Yuuzhan Vong were entirely relegated to the Star Wars Legends continuity. They represent a story arc across comics, novels, and audiobooks. Their first official appearance came in the 1999 comic Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #1, continued to pop up throughout that series, and made a bigger splash in the novels. Fans looking for their most notable run would probably be most at home with the Star Wars: Invasion series, which was written by Tom Taylor and began in 2009.
How could the Yuuzhan Vong return to Star Wars?
The Yuuzhan Vong launched their invasion against the New Republic in the Legends continuity. A similar but notably different New Republic came to be in the recent sequel trilogy, presenting at least some opportunity to see the Yuuzhan Vong strike again. The hard part is that Star Wars is currently very scared to push forward into the future of their timeline, opting instead to explore the years between trilogies. If they were going to throw together a new trilogy, it would likely be too difficult to resist throwing another Sith into the villain role. That’s assuming they won’t just use Sidious, Vader, or one of the pre-established names again. The Yuuzhan Vong seem like they could easily carry a trilogy, but if they do make it onto the screen, they’re far more likely to appear in a series. Perhaps there’s a stellar animated series to be made out of Invasion.
The Yuuzhan Vong are one of the most threatening races in the Star Wars franchise, but the vast majority of fans don’t know that they exist. That’s unfortunate, but it’s also a call to action. Just because they aren’t canon doesn’t mean they aren’t compelling. The Legends comics and books are still out there and still full of fun ideas like these monstrous anti-tech sadomasochists.
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