I didn't really want to comment on the comic or book, mostly because I think that the same problems would occur outside of a video game character, who primarily functions as an avatar for the player.
If they wanted to I don't think it would be to hard to push him back into either the Clone Wars era, or depending on how the new trilogy ends they push him forward into a New New Jedi Order.
IDK, I think many of us were saddened when we learned Disney killed off the SWEU, however that doesn't mean Disney couldn't revive some characters and stories from it for a new trilogy. Yea, Kyle Katarn would be a good story, but for me and my friends, the loss of Han Solo, would be less of a sore note with a Dash Rendar series. No body said it had to follow the previous storylines or fall in line with anything From Luke's era. I'd love a trilogy of just Dash and his quest, but whatever they do, it's gonna feel like a formula. If Rian Johnson does his trilogy, I wonder if its gonna be a ripoff of Guardians of the galaxy..that's the part they will have to work at not being. I can see most ideas thrown around remind me of that movie. We need something a bit different. Too bad the Thrawn Trilogy is out the window. I still want a Dash Rendar Trilogy tho. There's so much that could be done with his character, and ship.
That really should have been expected the moment Disney bought the franchise and announced they were doing new movies.
Can I ask a serious question, no snark implied-what did the fan base expect? GL was the fandom's punching bag for years, with the PT routinely taking body shots for its failings, both real and imagined. George Lucas had a pretty loose connection with the EU anyway, and so I never labored under the assumption that any EU character would make it in to a film in any significant capacity. It may have been canon, but if Lucas had decided to shoot a sequel trilogy, Mara Jade, Thrawn and the like would probably not have appeared in any of the films, for good or for ill. And, even if they did, the reaction would be similar to Thrawn in "Rebels"-some would like it, and others would bash it to the point that you would think someone had tried to burn Zahn's collective works after killing him. And Lucas would deal with the same mud slinging as in the PT. So, tell me? What would be different that fans wouldn't complain about with Lucas? Instead of Lucas, there is now the monolithic "evil" of Disney to bash. Nothing's changed.
Not necessarily, even with the kids storyline blown by TFA, there were plenty of ideas and characters that could be used. While yes, the overall storyline is gone to much of the EU lore, there's always things that could be licensed or purchased from the EU and made into another trilogy. Dash Rendar, the clone emperor, knights of the old republic, Kyle katarn, or even Mara Jade. Nothing in the new series says she still couldn't show up. So there's much that could be plucked and reworked. It was never a foregone conclusion at least for me.. Disney even with its calculations and timidity with the source material and their obsession with formulaism, sometimes they tend to get creative. So it's possible. Likely, probably not, but possible yes.
And there is still nothing that says they can't show up in some capacity. Not to worry, they'll be griping over that too.
According to Pablo Hidalgo, the idea to ignore the EU in future stories started before LucasFilm was acquired by Disney. It wasn't Disney's idea to wipe it, they just went with LucasFilm's suggestion. Lucas' potential sequel stories were also going to ignore the EU You can see this in Clone Wars aswell, that series ignored a lot of PT era EU stories. Although it did borrow ideas from the EU, like Rebels and other new canon stories are now. Oh god please no, that was one of the dumbest stories in the EU
I don't mind borrowing but there are ideas that are appropriately discarded. Also, as stated above, Lucas generally ignored the EU, and wasn't aware of how things go, pretty much allowing others to "play in the sandbox" as it were. If Lucas had written the ST there would be no Thrawn, no Jade, no Vong, etc. Um, the Emperor's son would like a word with you
I have a confession... I still love the Phantom Menace. Yes, I said it. The pod race, the Naboo fighters. The droid control ships and fighters. Qui Gon Jin, and obi wan..Darth Maul. Darth Sidious, the first time we learned of Palpatine's Sith name. Some failings yes. Midichlorins, jar jar, the flying mosquito Italian slave owner, the acting and casting of Queen Amidala with Natalie Portman, when Kiera Knightley would have made a much better lead, rather then the decoy. Better actress and yes, imho more attractive. Despite that, I still get to see Kiera Knightley. In that cool queen outfit. The movie has the duel of the fates fight, yes, yes we're supposed to hate it by now, but I still get chills hearing its high tones during the battle. Anakin, the boy wonder. I would have expected as much, him being the chosen. It's clone wars where the story gets too bogged down in politics and advancing thru pointless bar fight and city case scenes. Lucas was a lot older when he went and adapted his story in the prequels. The interplay was important for his telling of how the political system worked. Short skits, in between as in gundam, the Senate votes, there's cheers, boos, and it's a few seconds, back to main storyline. Introducing Jango Fett could have started sooner then that whole banter. Plus, they should have cast a different Anakin, someone with great chemistry with Kiera Knightley. Just gonna type it one more time... Kiera Knightley.
I'm fine with Kira Knightley not being Amidala, since if she was she probably wouldn't have been Elizabeth in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Either way, it wouldn't really have changed to much if she was Amidala, since pretty much all of the problem were with Lucas and not Natalie Portman. Portman was a great actress who did the best she could with the scripts and director she got stuck with.
"Rian Johnson Excited to Tell Star Wars Story with ‘No Limitations’ in New Trilogy" http://entertainmentime.info/rian-johnson-excited-tell-star-wars-story-no-limitations-new-trilogy/
The only real problem with Padme Amidala is that fans would not allow her to have both strengths and weaknesses. As a female character, she was either expected to be a damsel-in-distress, the girlfriend, or the kickass Mary Sue. Nothing in between. Padme was a victim of the fans' unwillingness to allow her to be a complex character. They wanted her to be a cliche. And Lucas did not oblige.
I'd say Padme was mostly a victim of Lucas having no idea what to do with her after TPM beyond "fall in love, get pregnant and die." Blaming the fans for her sudden and drastic decrease in agency is just silly.
No, not at all. Padme was generally a favorite of the fans I knew at the time, right after Qui-Gon Jinn. Despite general ill will towards AOTC, most fans I have spoke to acknowledge that Padme has some of the best scenes in that film, next to Obi-Wan. Fans are not responsible for Lucas wholesale cutting out her entire arc in ROTS.
I don't care one way or another whether a director is a fan of the property or not. And I absolutely don't get why this is becoming such a hangup in the genre fiction fan community. I just want the production to be handled by a director who is highly competent and skilled in visual storytelling. In fact, I would lean more in the direction of having an excellent director who is not a fan, so there is more objectivity in actually making a good movie and not ending up with two and a half hours of fanservice-y call-backs and Easter eggs. Kor
I would agree that as well, but guess what? I see Abrams bashed all over the place, both in Star Wars and in Star Trek circles, for "being a fan" in one case and "not being a fan" in the other case. Personally, give me someone like Nick Meyer who was completely outside the know on Star Trek until he had to make TWOK. That worked out for him once
Hmmph! Here I thought JJ Abrams just sucked all around as a director, and his ideas are mostly unoriginal. But throw in whether he's a fan or not, and suddenly his craptastic work has either an excuse or a cause! Wow...That's kinda funny and sad at the same time. How nice!