When disney acquired lucasfilm and swept aside the old star wars expanded universe to create its own canon, there was plenty of outrage at the loss of such a swath of materialsranging from the. Some fans believed the force awakens lacked originality or that the last jedi. Expanded universe werden im starwarskontext alle lizenzierten. Get a sneak peek of characters, costumes, and creatures from the upcoming and muchtalked about new movie, star wars. While its cultural impact wouldnt have ever gone away entirely, the world that became known as the expanded universe let people explore the galaxy far. This is especially true if they include mara jade, who is one of the best expanded universe characters. He lives in brooklyn with his wife and son and about a metric ton of star wars stuff.
The light spacetrooper is one of the many legends characters of the galactic. How book and comic adaptations expanded and changed the. The star wars books that should have been made instead of. What characters in the star wars expanded universe are 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. Star wars legends, formerly known as the expanded universe abbreviated eu. For characters belonging to the canon continuity, see. The thrawn trilogy of books of which this is the first are far and away the best star wars novels.
Here are the best star wars books and book series ever written for the series, both new and old. 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. The star wars expanded universe is worse commentary. 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. Dark force rising by timothy zahn, heir to the empire by timothy zahn, the last command by timothy zahn, sh. After disney bought lucasfilm and got the ball rolling on new star wars movies, they wiped clean the entire expanded universe of narratively. With the old character encyclopedia, the book was broken up into the six movies of the star wars saga, the clone wars, and the expanded universe. This time, thea tackles a subject close to her heart. In a 1998 star wars insider poll of fans favorite star wars characters, mara was the only expanded universe character to break the top 20. Covers the movies, the booksclassic and newthe comics, the tv specials, the. Star wars is an american epic spaceopera media franchise, centered on a film series. The star wars universe is more than just a handful of blockbuster films and. A guide to all the new star wars books in the expanded universe. The exact chronology of the events described in this article is currently unknown.
His previous books include the servants of the empire quartet and the youngadult spacefantasy series the jupiter pirates. This is a timeline for novels, young adult books, and ebooks in the expanded universelegends. Episode i the phantom menace, lucasfilm has divided its titles by fictional era with symbols designating such. May the fourth be with you as we explore my collection of star wars expanded universe novels. Oct 02, 2015 the expanded universe is a collection of star wars fiction compiled over the last 30 years. A star wars story contains a lot of easter eggs and references for the serious star wars fan, but a pair of expanded universe characters that we. One of the most controversial decisions of disneyera star wars was wiping away the decades of nonmovie expanded universe content to start a brand new, stripped back canon. Star wars has been expanded to media other than the original films. Fortytwo years and nine mainline movies after star wars debuted, the skywalker saga has come to a close. Hes an original trilogy character that was pretty instrumental in the fall of the empire since he actually destroyed the death star rather than workout daddyissues during the battle of endor. If so, i highly recommend reading books from the star wars the expanded universe.
Here is a brief history of the star wars expanded universe. Kanan was a 2015 comic book series published by marvel comics. 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. For clarification im using star wars characters that dont show up in the disney canon continuity. Dec 17, 2015 would you like to experience more adventures featuring characters from star wars. So to make things a little easier for you to remember, heres a list of the 20 most powerful star wars characters. Its actual language is quite a bit softer, temporizing that the eu is not being discarded, just changed.
Xwings are actually somewhat slower and less maneuverable than tie fighters, but there are a few reasons why the canyon trick can work. The premise of all the comic books, novels, games, and other spinoff works is. Lucasfilm later rebranded the expanded universe as star wars legends and declared it noncanonical to the franchise. In 1991, zahns heir to the empire was released, and quickly became a. The first set to be comsidered part of the expanded universe was the 101 tie collection, released in 2004. Discover all the variations between the original trilogy and its book and comic counterparts.
Star wars was a bloated, cheesy mess long before rian johnsons new film came along. Its the first star wars book to ever utilize input from the lucasfilm story group. If it was published before 2014, then its not canon. Vitiate was the most powerful sith of the old republic and he is possibly the most terrifying villain in all of star wars. Expanded universe changes star wars wiki guide ign. While the star wars franchise celebrates 40 years today, many credit its lasting success to the work of the novelists, comic book creators and tabletop and video game makers who kept it alive when there were no movies or cartoons to be seen. Archie goodwin, al williamson, and carlos garzon were responsible for adapting the movie. It was the third ongoing series and fifth overall set in the rebooted star wars expanded universe. Expanded universe fiction includes material from books, comics, tv specials and series, radio dramas.
The star wars books that should have been made instead of the. Expanded universe is a star wars subtheme of sets which come the star wars canon that existed before the 2014 reboot. A star wars story, star wars rebels, and star wars. The expanded universe is a collection of star wars fiction compiled over the last 30 years. Originally appearing in our fourth quarterly almanac, where to start with the star wars expanded universe is the latest in our ongoing series of essays detailing where one can start with any number of sffpopgeekery topics. While goodwin was working on the marvel ongoing star wars series already, wiliamson and garzon started on this title with this adaption. Considered to varying degrees part of the official canon of the shared universe for example, the name coruscant, the planet from which most governments in the. Disneys newlook star wars universe comes paired with a collection of. For more than two decades, star wars further explored that famous galaxy far, far away outside of the movies through the expanded universe, a.
Star wars author timothy zahn explains why hes against. What are the top 10 star wars characters from the expanded. How disney killed the most interesting thing about star wars. This is an incomplete list of characters from the star wars expanded universe, now rebranded star wars legends. A star wars story contains a lot of easter eggs and references for the serious star wars fan, but a pair of expanded universe characters that we expected to see in the film ended up on the. Fans of the star wars expanded universe the spinoff novels and comic books that were pushed out of canon last year might have found star wars. Keep in mind, however, that the almighty overlords at the house of mouse has declared most of the expanded universe to be noncanonical, leaving only the movies, cartoons, and comics as official lore, so this list will stick. How the abandoned star wars expanded universe inspired. Dec 23, 2015 fans of the star wars expanded universe the spinoff novels and comic books that were pushed out of canon last year might have found star wars. A profile of the greatest character in the star wars.
Why those star wars expanded universe characters were cut. The best books from the old star wars expanded universe. The accompanying works were declared noncanon to the star wars franchise by lucasfilm in 2014 this list applies only to characters who completely appear in legends media, and who therefore do not exist in the canon continuity. This subtheme currently contains thirteen sets, one of the smallest that a star wars subtheme contains. This includes all film novelizations, novels, comics, young readers, reference books, roleplaying sourcebooks, and more. The last jedi and has written or cowritten more than forty novels, short stories, and other works set in the galaxy far, far away. These three novels were some of the last published in.
For many years, timothy zahns version of what happened after return of the jedi was the version of what happened for star wars fans. Where to start with the star wars expanded universe. Such derivative works have been produced concurrently with, between, and after the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, as. It removed the entirety of the expanded universe from canon. All stories are presented here in inuniverse chronological order, as opposed to realworld release dates.
Since then disney has released the star wars rebels animated series and the book is now separated into a continuous timeline starting from episode i, ii, then to the clone wars, iii, rebels, ivvi. With the star wars expanded universe having grown so large and encompassing, its also a great way to explain many of the discrepancies and continuityerrors that occur from time to time within the body of lore comprised by the books, comics, films, cartoons, video games and more. How book and comic adaptations expanded and changed the star wars films, part 1 yoda was blue. The expanded universe is a term that encompasses any and all star wars stories. The star wars expanded universe loves this in general. Star wars expanded universe book collection youtube. The legendary star wars expanded universe turns a new page. Corey and razors edge, martha wells, scoundrels, timothy zahn. A definitive legends clone wars timeline was never established by lucasfilm. This list applies only to characters who completely appear in legends media, and who therefore do not exist in the canon continuity.
As a result, the company made a swift and decisive move that guts what star wars meant for many fans. On april 25, 2014, lucasfilm and disney released a statement that would change the star wars franchise and expanded universe forever. An easy way to spot a canon novel is to look at the publication date. All told, the star wars expanded universe eu that zahns books kicked off contained roughly 270 novels, in addition to numerous comic books, video games, and other tieins, before disney decided. Jul 10, 2017 where to start with the star wars expanded universe by thea james.
Where to start with the star wars expanded universe by thea james originally appearing in our fourth quarterly almanac, where to start with the star wars expanded universe is the latest in our ongoing series of essays detailing where one can start with any number of sffpopgeekery topics. Abrams to make the force awakens fit in with all the new jedi order novels, or gareth edwards to honour the labyrinthine and contradictory original story of. Of course, it would have been ridiculous to have expected j. However, after the disney acquisition, the expanded universe books became known instead as legends, and a new, official canon that ensured the continuity of the star wars universe was established. A new dawn was a groundbreaking novel for a handful of reasons. It is not for comics or short stories in legends continuity. The ultimate guide to star wars legends books youtini. But the press release announcing the decision is an iron fist in a velvet glovethe corporate parent cracking down on. May 15, 2015 with the old character encyclopedia, the book was broken up into the six movies of the star wars saga, the clone wars, and the expanded universe. If a book has xwing in the title and even occasionally if it doesnt, expect there to be at least one of some sort. If youre thinking about picking up a star wars book, forget all those new ones on the shelf, and pick up this classic masterpiece. The new star wars canon has existed for four years now, but we still remember the old days. May 05, 2016 may the fourth be with you as we explore my collection of star wars expanded universe novels.
A guide to all the new star wars books in the expanded. 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. Learn about star wars characters, planets, ships, vehicles, droids, and more in the official star wars databank at. The 25 best female characters features from a new hope and the force awakens to the outer limits of the expanded universe, celebrate the best female star wars characters. A profile of the greatest character in the star wars expanded. Just like the adaptation for a new hope, the empire strikes back comic was released as part of the ongoing star wars marvel series as issues 3944. 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.
The old star wars expanded universe was home to some beloved charactersmara jade, grand admiral thrawn, quinlan vos, the list goes on. There are a plethora of fans who have had issues with the new trilogy of films, starting with the force awakens. Jul 31, 2018 for many years, timothy zahns version of what happened after return of the jedi was the version of what happened for star wars fans. Would you like to experience more adventures featuring characters from star wars. Many fans had speculated that the expanded universe that is, the books, comics, video games, and other mediums that had developed from the rich worlds and characters of george lucass movies would be used as source material for the upcoming star wars. The ultimate guide to reading the star wars books reedsy. Feb 09, 2016 for more than two decades, star wars further explored that famous galaxy far, far away outside of the movies through the expanded universe, a. The series was originally meant to be a fiveissue limited one, but following the successful premiere of spark of rebellion, a decision was made to expand its run. The accompanying works were declared noncanon to the star wars franchise by lucasfilm in 2014. The rise of skywalker is set to close out a 40year saga, which will then allow disney to usher in a new wave of stories in a galaxy far, far away. But no other character stands as a testament to the sheer.
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