Growing up as a Dungeons and Dragons player, I have come to really appreciate the need of many different storylines. In the 90’s we were all playing the Westend Games version of Star Wars the RPG, and maybe that is why in today’s world the canon debate really has not bothered me as much as it has others. When Disney announced it was going to buy Lucasfilm I have to say I was not totally shocked. They have had a partnership that has been strong for years, so it just made sense. Many of the other sites that I am a member of have experienced a huge number of comments and posts recently about canon in the Star Wars Universe. Many fans were really upset when Disney (Lucasfilm) published a new timeline that almost totally disregarded the current works under the now “Legends” library. We have to remember that from a creators standpoint, George Lucas has gone on record many times stating that the Expanded Universe was always separate from his versions of the movies, and also more or less fan fiction. However this fan fiction has played a huge role in many people’s lives, especially fans that truly love Star Wars.
The concepts of the EU explore the days of the Old Republic and go on past Star Wars: Return of the Jedi to explore what happened after the destruction of the second Death Star. The EU provided fans with the continuation of the stories and characters that they loved. I personally love the Darth Bane trilogy of books as well as all the stories about the Sith. James Luceno’s works are absolutely brilliant in my opinion. As of today the works that were written about the EU are now considered part of the “Legends” line. They are stories that “could of” happened in the Star Wars universe, just like our Greek legends of days past here on Earth. Disney rebranding the EU as Legends has upset many fans, but has also sparked a greater debate as well, to accept the new canon as reality or not. The new canon includes works like the popular Clone Wars animated series, the new Marvel line, Star Wars Rebels, and a new series of novels as well. All of which I think are pretty good from what I have seen and read thus far.
Am I ok with the Disney corporate changing the EU to a “Legends Series”? Yeah. To be honest I never really looked at it any other way. The EU expanded the Star Wars universe, and in many ways gave us great stories. It in no way diminished simply because it is marked as legend at all, but however we have to remember legends always have ways of resurfacing into any reality. Certain aspects of the Legends canon has already begun to rise up in current canon. The Clone Wars series referenced Darth Bane in season six although briefly, so time will tell what the future will bring. Fictional worlds such as Star Wars take us to great places, remove us from the world we live in today. They give us hope, make us cry, and laugh and cheer in the end. Canon is what you make of it, if you love the EU stories then love them, if you don’t, you don’t, that is your reality.
