Star wars expanded universe book collection youtube. More star wars expanded universe characters may soon. But fans might be interested in a different future entirely the future of the now non canon expanded universe, which lives on in a new form in solo. Padmes predecessor on the throne of naboo, king veruna, has made the jump from legends to disney canon thanks to the star wars. A lot of random tie ins to scenes from the movies that can feel a bit forced.
Timothy zahn says we shouldnt assume that all star wars. Dozens of authors wrote hundreds of novels that explored the spaces around the films. Mar 02, 2020 star wars just nuked its entire expanded universe. The expanded universe is generally considered to have begun with alan dean foster s february 1978 star wars spinoff novel, splinter of the minds eye, although technically it began in october 1977 with the story the keepers world, in marvel comics pizzazz magazine. Dec 15, 2015 why disney blew up more than 30 years of star wars canon. May 24, 2018 the life and times of han solo, according to the new star wars canon. Nov 18, 2016 this list of the top 15 non canon star wars stories includes books that examine sith mythology, jedi training, ancient worlds and the murderous rampage of darth vader. When he created star wars, george lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. In april 2014 lucasfilm and disney publishing stated that the existing. Disney has been engaged in a secret war against the star wars expanded universe in order to sell more books, comics and toys.
Star wars is an american epic spaceopera media franchise, centered on a film series created. Star wars expanded universe stories to feature in episode. Star wars fans only had novels, comic books, and video games to keep them involved in the franchise. 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.
In 1991, zahns first chapter in the socalled thrawn trilogy of star wars expanded universe books, called heir to the empire, introduced an official continuation of the saga after the. The best books from the old star wars expanded universe. The expanded universe encompasses the huge array of star wars media that flourished in the decades postreturn of the jedi. The tiein novels are still being published, but theyre not part of the official canon. On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be star wars rebels. From the adventures of luke skywalker in december 1976 to the latest novel, this timeline tracks the month and year of every star wars novel excluding childrens and graphic novels published. Star wars author timothy zahn explains why hes against. Here are the best star wars books from the old cannon. As of april 25, 2014, the only previously published materials that are considered canon are the six star wars films and the star wars.
Dark force rising by timothy zahn, heir to the empire by timothy zahn, the last command by timothy zahn, sh. I think it gets built up quite heavily around most star wars subreddits and while it is good, i dont think its for everyone and distant 11 and 12 for the first aftermath book and heir to the jedi. The main vehicle for the galaxys expansion was the massive array of. The other side of that, though, was the removal of the expanded universe from canon. Demand for past tales of the expanded universe will keep them in print, presented under the new legends banner. This is a list of novels considered canon in the new continuity of star wars. The star wars expanded universe is my canon home facebook. Because disney is not satisfied with just making action figures, childrens shows, and video games, it wanted a whole new set of films, and it wanted those films to go into the direction of the star wars universe that george lucas himself, until now, had left well enough alone. Learn more about the distinction in the star wars canon books section below. The star wars expanded universe is dumb and should be forgotten. That has to be something of a blow to zahn, who pointed out to me late last year that the. Chewbacca, in which han is an imperial officer who spared and saved chewies life but that version of events is also now discarded from canon. Your guide to the entire star wars expanded universe.
Christopher cerasi stated, when it comes to absolute canon, the real story of star wars, you must turn to the films themselvesand only the films. For many years, timothy zahns version of what happened after return of the jedi was the version of what happened for star wars fans. The legendary star wars expanded universe turns a new page. When disney purchased lucasfilm, they rendered the old expanded universe noncanon. If so, i highly recommend reading books from the star wars the expanded universe. The ultimate fan debate over whats part of the star wars canon just became serious business at disneys lucasfilm. The star wars expanded universe is my canon facebook. Star wars canon novels a reading order justin beeson medium. The star wars expanded universe, called the eu for short, is the name used to denote the star wars books, comics, video games, and more that were part of the star wars canon prior to april 25, 2014. Spanning decades of novels, comics, video games, and more. All stories are presented here in in universe chronological order, as opposed to realworld release dates.
This body of work represents the original star wars expanded universe, which was rebranded as star wars legends and declared non canon to the franchise in april 2014. New movies and other stories arent based on these books, and will sometimes contradict them. This is a place to discuss any and all things about the books. Timothy zahn wrote his new canon backstory in the novel thrawn, lightly. A nobullshit beginners guide to star wars books simple. Dec 02, 2019 making sense of the books and comics in the new star wars canon is tough. Everything from legends lucasfilm made canon again. The expanded universe has been a part of star wars for almost as long as the movies have, starting with alan dean foster s novel splinter of the minds eye, which was published in. Regardless, the star wars expanded universe chronology celebrates the return of star wars to the big screen, and looks forward to the future of full canon storytelling. Heir to the empire, kicking off the enormous expanded universe publishing experiment. Now known as legends, the original expanded universe is full of amazing stories. If youre new to books, and want to learn more about where to start, feel free to ask the community. Apr 25, 2014 regarding the status of the expanded universe canon in relation to the official canon established by the films. Heres your guide to the star wars expanded universe, including tv, comics, books, and video games.
The clone wars television series and film, while the expanded universe is no longer. More star wars expanded universe characters may soon become canon. Why disney blew up more than 30 years of star wars canon. The issue of which aspects are canon was one of the most hotly debated topics among fans. That whole tier bs chee used to lie to you people because his boss howard roffman couldnt get lucas to agree to be the same universe.
Actually, every star wars films novelization remain canon where they align with what is seen on screen, as stated by del rey books source. Nov 18, 2015 the star wars expanded universe is dumb and should be forgotten. The chiss grand admiral thrawn is one of the most famous expanded universe characters, the main antagonist in timothy zahns thrawn trilogy. May 26, 2014 an explanation of the origin of canon and how i feel about the legends banner. The expanded universe has been a part of star wars for almost as long.
Continuity canon, tiein media like books and comics. The star wars universe is more than just a handful of blockbuster. Most of the material from the expanded universe including books, comics, and video games. I think this is as good a reason as any to finally bury the.
With the exception of the cgianimated the clone wars tv series, nonfilm material produced prior to april 2014 was collectively known as the star wars expanded universe eu. Now, as he continues to write star wars stories in the new disney canon, theres one thing he wishes the official sequel movie trilogy hadnt embraced so much. Star wars inspires a love that can border on obsession. This includes all film novelizations, novels, comics, young readers, reference books, roleplaying sourcebooks, and more. Jul 11, 2014 timothy zahn says we shouldnt assume that all star wars expanded universe books are noncanon.
Episode i the phantom menace, lucasfilm has divided its titles by fictional era with symbols designating such. Star wars really is the poster child for how this trope works. The sheer scale and complexity of star wars expanded universe made it. Creators of new star wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the expanded universe. How disney killed the most interesting thing about star wars. New canon the newly standardized star wars canon includes all the movie episodes, the clone wars and rebels tv shows, and new books since. The old expanded universe eu now known as legends encompassed all of the officially licensed stories from the star wars universe. Everything star wars has reintroduced from the old. The many reasons why lucasfilm decided to remove the expanded universe from star wars canon. The star wars website also details the role of canon, expanded universe or. Which novelizations of the star wars movies are considered canon. Theyre among the worst star wars books ive read including legends. Expanded universe legends in 1991, del rey books launched a new novel from author timothy zahn.
Lucasfilm later rebranded the expanded universe as star wars legends and declared it noncanonical to the franchise. When disney took over lucasfilm and star wars from george lucas in 2012, a lot of exciting times came for the star wars fandom with new films, as well as new books, comics, video games, and tv shows, all on the way. Oct 20, 2017 i wanted to keep track of my slow progress reading through all the star wars canon novels, but i couldnt find a good list. The eu began in 1978 with the release of splinter of the minds eye, and has spanned thousands of in universe years since then. Our guide to the star wars expanded universe in reading order.
The expanded universe as we knew it will soon be no more. This is the realtime chronological novel publishing timeline. Lando calrissians voicerecordings reference a series of eu books, the. Canon refers to an authoritative list of books that the lucas licensing editors. Disneys secret war against star wars expanded universe. It turned out that, like any other society, the yuuzhan vong has its downtrodden folks who dont. The resulting 19 books changed a lot about the star wars universe, from killing off major characters to establishing whole new government paradigms. The star wars expanded universe is dumb and should be. The star wars expanded universe wont be in the films. Star wars expanded universe no longer canon the mary sue. In other words, in what disney now calls legends, here are the best non canon stories we wish were still part of the continuity.
The life and times of han solo, according to the new star. In 2012, disney bought lucasfilm, adding another wrench to the works. It is derived from and includes most official star wars books, comic books. While the above worlds have been given big roles in the new canon, its actually safe to assume that any world mentioned in the old eu is still part of the new canon, unless a new star wars. The ultimate guide to reading the star wars books reedsy. The status of the expanded universe books, games and comics within the star wars canon has long been something of a. The death of a certain character was too much for them to bear. Star wars author timothy zahn tells expanded universe. Jan 29, 2018 more star wars expanded universe characters may soon become canon. Jun 26, 2017 with a new trilogy, we have ourselves a new canon. Understanding the star wars universe will be easier than ever now. This spinoff material is licensed and moderated by lucasfilm, though during his involvement with the franchise george lucas reserved the right to both draw from and contradict it in his own works. May 07, 2014 star wars expanded universe no longer canon. A nobullshit beginners guide to star wars books i know far too much about star wars.
These works spin out of george lucas original stories, the rest are written by other. Jan 16, 2012 with thirtytwo brand new pages and many more fully updated pages featuring stunning images with a new fresh look, star wars. What movies, comics, cartoons, and tiein novels tell us about the legendary smuggler. The one reason the star wars expanded universe is no. Its the darkest star wars story ever written, but it serves a positive. 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 viiix will not tell the same story told in the postreturn of the jedi expanded universe. And, as with the books, some great stories have been lost. Chewbacca and han solos first encounter was also detailed in the old expanded universe in the 2000 comic book star wars. Lucasfilm has just issued a statement saying that the entire expanded universe is no longer official canon. Someone whos just dipping their toe into the galaxy of star wars media will. Star wars legends, formerly known as the expanded universe abbreviated. Star wars fans only had novels, comic books, and video games to keep them involved in. The franchise as a whole publishing company for the books fans of the expanded universe consider just about everything in the expanded universe canon in some way. Hes written a number of other books for the expanded universe.
Simple star wars book list timeline of star wars novels. The 10 best stories in the star wars expanded universe. This body of work represents the original star wars expanded universe, which was rebranded as star wars legends and declared noncanon to the franchise in april 2014. Debunking expanded universe myths disney star wars is dumb.
They were always secondclass citizens in star wars canon. And so, so much of this is in relation to the expanded universe aka the eu, which is basically the official ubergeek term for star wars books and comics. Time will tell how these new tales will be integrated into the timeline, or. These books are part of the original star wars expanded universe, and follow an internally consistent timeline. They can go past the expanded universe stories and ignore them.
The new star wars canon has existed for four years now, but we still. Science adventures 1999 were authored by jude watson and. Solo demonstrates that the star wars expanded universe. Star wars has been expanded to media other than the original films. This may sound like a pretty brutal decision, but it was unavoidable. This body of work represents the original star wars expanded universe, which. The star wars website also details the role of canon, expanded universe or eu sources, and how they fit into overall star wars continuity. The expanded universe has been a part of star wars for almost as long as the movies have, starting with alan dean fosters novel splinter of the minds eye, which was published in 1978 and was. See this article in wookieepedia for how it all works. So it is possible that disney will bring more legends material into canon indeed, disney has introduced grand admrial thrawn into canon. They either included everything being published, or left off the. The thrawn trilogy is part of the star wars expanded universe, which, as we learned above, means its no longer canon. The expanded visual dictionary reveals indepth details on every aspect of the movie from the young anakin skywalker and the podracing on tatooine, to the droidekas and battle droids that attack naboo.
May the fourth be with you as we explore my collection of star wars expanded universe novels. A brief history of the star wars expanded universe slash film. On april 25th, 2014, it was announced that the expanded universe of star wars is no longer considered canon. On april 25, 2014, lucasfilm officially revised and solidified the canon, stating that all previously released expanded universe works would be rebranded under the new star wars legends banner and considered non canon, in order to ensure a flowing timeline with the release of the star wars sequel trilogy. So disney has decided that theyre going to nuke most of the previously established star wars canon. This policy has been further refined and fleshed out over the years.