How do you feel about the big Star Wars announcement?

'Star Wars' nukes its entire Expanded Universe

Pretty sad news for those of us who grew up reading the EU books.

This makes me question the cheer I was feeling towards Disney buying the rights to Star Wars. They're seriously going to tell me that crap like The Phantom Menace and The Clone Wars should be canon but the fantastic EU series by Timothy Zahn(Heir to the Empire), the X-Wing series, the Boba Fett Bounty Hunter novels, the Han Solo trilogy, and countless other great stories shouldn't?

Obviously this doesn't mean that the books are going anywhere. They're been a cash cow for Lucasfilm and they'll continue to be for Disney but still...extremely lame. What say you, OT?

Honestly? Good. The amount of content in the expanded universe is probably a thousand times the content in the movies. It would be difficult for them to add more to the Star Wars universe while keeping it consistent with the ridiculous content of the expanded universe. Furthermore, most of the expanded universe's tone fit a lot more with Lucas' prequel universe, which was a huge degradation of the SW universe IMO. Most of it is simply sounds like bad fan fiction. Take a look at Boba Fett's "expanded Universe" character : he's a joke. They take all the tiniest characters from the movie and give them the most ridiculous lore imaginable. Boba Fett's character was a lot better just being the minor character he was in the original trilogy.

I agree that it would be difficult and that's probably the reason they did it: Why read any of the great fiction when we can just make things up from scratch? **** those authors that put serious time and thought(most of them, anyway)into what they wrote and how it would fit into the Star Wars universe. As for the Boba Fett stuff, I'll agree that the later stuff(New Jedi Order and Legacy of the Force cameos) was pretty weak but the early stuff in the Han Solo trilogy and the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy? Those were great.

It's a tough sell trying to say it all sounded like fan fiction. Maybe a good 20% of it was fluff and PR shit, but the rest of it was quality fiction.

It's a good move

I hope you die.

The eu is too unwieldy

I'll just say I disagree. It's all silly fan fiction to me.

"Though no one in recorded history had ever escaped from the Sarlacc, Fett was able to escape, though not unscathed."

It's completely ridiculous IMO, absolutely not up to stuff with the films and undeserving of being canon. This is stuff I'd write about my favorite characters when I'm 12 years old. It's just redundant lore capitalizing on the Star Wars franchise. I want the new movies to have the creative freedom to do what they want, rather than be choked by stupid SW universe lore that I never knew about nor will ever care to know about. If they were going to include a lot of the silly expanded universe stuff, they wouldn't be able to cherry pick what's canon or not from the expanded universe, so it makes much more sense to ignore them altogether in the context of the movies.

I guess it had to be done, they can still use the good story lines from those books. As long as whatever we get in the movies is great I'm up for it.

Yeah. They can still use the stuff from the books but shouldn't feel beholden to them.

It's not canon, but that doesn't mean it still can't be enjoyed for what it is. It's the right decision and we all saw it coming.

I suggest you stop reading Wookieepedia. It's a good tool to get the broad brush strokes of things that happened but it doesn't reference the books that actually showed how he got out of the Sarlacc. Fett, in the EU lore, was pulled out because he had set up an arrangement with Dengar and another bounty hunter to watch his back. So while I agree that what you quoted sounds ridiculous, it doesn't do what actually happened any justice. The Mandalorian Armor explains it better than I ever could.

How do you know that if you've never even read any of them? If you haven't experienced any of the EU fiction then you are in no place to call any of it stupid.

There's so much content in the Star Wars universe I think it'd be ludicrous to expect anything new to adhere to already established additions to that universe that have taken place to it over the years. Every comic or book or RPG campaign or video game or spin-off. Does it matter that the Star Wars Christmas Special or Ewok Adventures aren't cannon? Why should this matter?

I mean, what would it take to keep everything cannon? Probably an army of pizza face adult nerd children would have to scrutinize every script, and then they'd start arguing like a bunch of nerds over what happened in this piece of the expanded universe and how it should all fit together and then everything would be stuck in development limbo.

If you want a thread you make it, jerk.

As I said, the eu is too expansive and unwieldy to be beholden to. For creativitys sake, let the new films soar

So you're telling me Dark Vader wasn't Luke's father?

@airshocker: I don't visit here often enough anymore to put my usual quality and attention to a thread

But what we're saying now is that Jar Jar Binks is canon! That's absurd and every Star Wars fan boy should take up arms and...do something about it!

I've tried reading into it a few times - it doesn't take me long to find things I don't like and stop. What I read seemed more intended for young teenagers. They typically like to stretch the possibilities of the SW universe in ways the movies couldn't do without seeming silly. My point is that in the movie: it's supposed to be his demise. Anything even resembling retcon makes me wince.

I will not be baited by your ignorance.

Jar jar is a black spot in my heart and memory

Are you talking about the YA fiction specifically? Because there's a lot of that branded under Star Wars and it all blows. If you want my essential list, here it is:

• The Han Solo Trilogy: The Paradise Snare by A. C. Crispin (10 years before Star Wars: A New Hope [Episode IV])
• The Han Solo Trilogy: The Hutt Gambit by A. C. Crispin (4-5 years before Star Wars: A New Hope)
• The Han Solo Trilogy: Rebel Dawn by A. C. Crispin (0-3 years before Star Wars: A New Hope)
• Han Solo at Stars' End by Brian Daley (2 years before Star Wars: A New Hope)
• Han Solo's Revenge by Brian Daley (2 years before Star Wars: A New Hope)
• Han Solo and the Lost Legacy by Brian Daley (2 years before Star Wars: A New Hope)
• Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster (2 years after Star Wars: A New Hope)
• Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry (6 months after The Empire Strikes Back)
• The Bounty Hunter Wars: The Mandalorian Armor by K. W. Jeter (during Return of the Jedi)
• The Bounty Hunter Wars: Slave Ship by K. W. Jeter (during Return of the Jedi)
• The Bounty Hunter Wars: Hard Merchandise by K. W. Jeter (during Return of the Jedi)
• The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers (just after Return of the Jedi)
• Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover (about 1 year after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: Rogue Squadron by Michael Stackpole (2.5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble by Michael Stackpole (3 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: The Krytos Trap by Michael Stackpole (3 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: The Bacta War by Michael Stackpole (3.5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: Wraith Squadron by Aaron Allston (3.5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: Iron Fist by Aaron Allston (3.5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: Solo Command by Aaron Allston (3.5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton (4 years after Return of the Jedi)
• Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning (4.5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• Heir to the Empire, book 1 of the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn (5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• Dark Force Rising, book 2 of the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn (5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Last Command, book 3 of the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn (5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: Isard's Revenge by Michael Stackpole (5.5 years after Return of the Jedi )
• The Jedi Academy Trilogy: Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson (7 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Jedi Academy Trilogy: Dark Apprentice by Kevin J. Anderson (7 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Jedi Academy Trilogy: Champions of the Force by Kevin J. Anderson (7 years after Return of the Jedi)
• I, Jedi by Michael Stackpole (7 years after Return of the Jedi)
• Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly (8 years after Return of the Jedi)
• Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson (8.5 years after Return of the Jedi)
• Planet of Twilight by Barbara Hambly (9 years after Return of the Jedi)
• X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston (9 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Crystal Star by Vonda McIntyre (10 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Black Fleet Crisis: Before the Storm by Michael P. Kube-McDowell (12 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Black Fleet Crisis: Shield of Lies by Michael P. Kube-McDowell (12 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Black Fleet Crisis: Tyrant's Test by Michael P. Kube-McDowell (12 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Corellian Trilogy: Ambush at Corellia by Roger McBride Allen (14 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Corellian Trilogy: Assault at Selonia by Roger McBride Allen (14 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Corellian Trilogy: Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger McBride Allen (14 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Hand of Thrawn: Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn (15 years after Return of the Jedi)
• The Hand of Thrawn: Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn (15 years after Return of the Jedi)

Everything else, before and after, is pretty much shit.

That's no moon. That's a melon.

Jar jar isn't absurd

Midichlorians are absurd

Those are absurd too, but Jar Jar is worse.

The thread is in need of a poll

No, I'm not talking about anything specific. I'm talking about Star Wars books you'd find in a middle school library. I'm not going to argue that all the EU sucks. I'm sure there is plenty of EU stuff that is fantastic. Unfortunately, there is so much EU of varying quality - that's why I think it's necessary to forget about canon in context of the new SW movies. I mean : if it were up to me, I'd file the prequels under "EU" as well.

Jar Jar played a dumb minor character for one movie. Him being canon hardly matters at all.

Midichorians turned the magic and wonder of the force into dumb biology bullshit. The movies and EU have to use midichorians for all future projects.

Midichlorians are far worse.

Air join the side of good

Two movies, actually.

It is science fiction. There was eventually going to come a point where the Force had to be described.

Star Wars isn't considered traditional sci-fi. It is more akin to a fantasy (in space). Nothing was described in Star Wars movies up til that point - most of the details are all from the EU.

I don't think there ever had to a point where it had to be described. I'm willing to stake my life on that belief

I am on the side of good...just not too good. Which is why I use a yellow lightsaber crystal.

He's only on screen for like one minute in episode 2, and he isn't annoying like in the first film.

Star Wars is science fantasy. The force was cooler when it was a mystery to everyone.

Describing stuff is the first step to ruin

Oh jj gave some talk about a mystery box.

Someone be a dear and post an embed of it

The problem is that the expanded universe has become so big, so complex that it would be crazy to try to tie everything to it.

It seems like the obvious move, to be honest. I thought everybody would be expecting this to be the case?

don't say that dude.

He'll live.

Honestly, as a huge Star Wars fan I am glad they are doing it this way. I agree with the above posters, the EU is too hit and miss to be crafted into a truly epic movie. It also encompasses too much overall, and would be impossible to properly cover. By making the movies adaptations of the books they take too many risks, they have to pack in so much information and please so many hardcore fans of the novels, all while JJ tries to put his creative spin on it. It would be a complete and total mess, I for one am happy the EU is being re-written to give everyone more freedom.

Sorry to hear that. Don't get me wrong I'm not well read on the expanded universe of Star Wars, but I could imagine how pissed I would be if say the Silmarillion (aka the bible of LOTRs) was suddenly declared have no bearing on the trilogy.

The good news is fans can decide that the movies Disney comes out with are only relevant in some alternative universe, but then again that makes them all the more difficult to look forward to.

Stay classy.

Agreed.

It had become bloated beyond belief. It would only confuse the average movie goer.

I don't think that's a good comparison. The Silmarillion was written by one guy, who was also the same author of the trilogy. By contrast the Star Wars EU was written by a shitload of different writers and Star Wars isn't their creation.

One is like the "bible" of the universe laid out by the original creator. The other is essentially fan fiction written by whoever wants to take a stab at it.

I couldn't care less. Never got into Star Wars other than watching the movies. I always liked Star Trek more.

Pre-prequel EU I can understand, that was hit-and-miss... but the X-Wing series and the Yuuzhan Vong War? You can't be fucking kidding me. Instead of putting in the effort to maintain the established continuity, they just throw it out and start "fresh". Yeah, good way to keep fans around. Now I'm legitimately thinking of not seeing the new Star Wars films. The EU has been a part of my life ever since I first got into Star Wars in 1997/1998... I couldn't imagine the feeling of betrayal people who have been with it for 35 years are feeling right now.

Never read much of the EU. But since this news, I have been intrigued to read some graphic novels of the EU.