Lucasfilm announces a new direction for the Star Wars EU

[The Laughing Vulcan]

If someone presented you with a Star Wars movie set after New Jedi Order, Legacy and Fate, would you even recognise it as Star Wars? The EU by that point had so changed the nature of the universe from what the movies had presented that it wasn't the same thing any more. Besides, the movie are family movies, whereas the EU had grown up with the fans that had fallen in love with the movies 40 years ago, and these were adult novels. The minute you introduce a universe with the Vong, then you get Star Wars crossed with Alien and Predator, and you're chasing an R-rated movie.

When it came to buying the EU, I stuck it through to the end of the NJO, although I read some of Fate and Legacy from my library, but of those sixty or so books, so very few of them felt like they were part of the movie-verse.

The Thrawn trilogy certainly, those earlier Lando Calrissian and Han Solo Adventures, A.C Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy, a couple of the standalones like The Truce at Bakura, and the Courtship of Princess Leia, but the further into the future they took the story, the less like the movies they felt, while the inter-prequel trilogy books never felt as part of the movie-verse for me, except maybe Labyrinth of Evil. I'm not saying they weren't good books, although when it comes to the X-Wing books... Yeesh!

I am confused as to why this is a shock to some people. It's hard enough to write a movie in the first place, having to write a movie that is consistent with a hundred or so novels of continuity, a novel series which itself isn't necessarily internally consistent when it comes to the pre-prequel EU and the post-prequel EU, would probably kill a writer. Star Wars are family movies, and Disney make family movies, which is why the EU has to go. It'll be nice to have a few Easter Eggs for fans though.

 

[BillJ]

If the books stayed as their own universe, then the real star wars would survive.

Oh joy, another decade of people complaining about what's "real" in a fictional universe.

 

[Gov Kodos]

But the real question is, are the Ewok Adventure films still canon?

They're the only ones to remain canon. Ewoks are perfect for Disney toys.

 

[Mr Light]

My only complaint is that I wish they did one final apocalyptic storyline that killed off Luke or something. They never got to tell their "series finale". I had assumed that "Crucible" was the first chapter in this final story, rather than the ending itself.

I guess I'm in the minority but I loved Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi. Aside from a few time wasting books I thought they were really good stories that managed to blend the methods of the OT and the PT.

I guess the final book of Fate of the Jedi works as a pretty good series finale, and we can consider Crucible to be the epilogue.

But they never showed us the Celestials they kept building up to

 

[Campe]

Sigh.

Just like with JJTrek, it has to be asked. Does the creation of a new canon automatically make your books go away? No. They're still going to be sitting on your bookshelf. You can still read them. You can still enjoy them. I understand the EU has it's fans but personally, I gave up on it sometime during NJO. After killing off Chewbacca, I started to lose interest and then finally just decided my money was better spent elsewhere. Nonetheless, I respected those working on the EU wanting to do things their way.

There is a tremendous amount of baggage around the EU. Characters have lived and died and changed in ways that are unviable to a writer trying to tell an accessible story to the mass audience. Sorry, but these movies aren't only designed for people who have read the tens of thousands of pages of EU fiction. They're designed for the mass public. If Episode VII were to pick up 35 years after Jedi with Luke having been married, having a kid and then losing his wife, not to mention Han and Leia having three kids and two of them dying, much of the film would be spent getting the general audience up to speed. Because most people don't care what happens in the books.

I'm sorry if it comes off as me pissing in someone's cereal, but this is the truth of the world we live in when it comes to expanded universes in fiction. They can be ignored or usurped at any point. But it doesn't mean you can't enjoy then still. And it doesn't mean you can't enjoy the new films. How many retellings of Sherlock Holmes have we had? Or the Merlin stories? Or Shakespeare?

 

[Booji]

So basically, everything the EU ever did set after ROTJ is no longer in canon, and probably everything before ROTJ, too.

Hallelujah.

The EU has always been shite. Ever since the announcement of the new movies, this is what I was hoping and waiting for. Good on Disney for sweeping aside the cream of the crap. (I wouldn't mind if they disavowed Episodes I-III though.)

Agreed! The bad far outweighed the good in the EU. I'm hoping this reboot will help straighten things out. I'd really like to be able to pick up a Star Wars book and enjoy it again.

 

[PsychoPere]

So "Crucible" was the final Star Wars novel then? I thought it was the first book in a new nine book series.

No, it was always a one-off book, presented as "the last hurrah" for Luke, Leia, and Han, to finally be the "passing of the torch" that the NJO should have been.

There were, however, plans for a Jaina-centric trilogy and a new Paul Kemp novel - plans that were put on hold as soon as the Disney purchase was announced. It seems likely that those novels will not proceed now. On the Jaina front, at least, that might be a good thing, as Christie Golden was set to write...

I just hope Troy Denning won't have as much involvement as he had in the last one.

It's sad that Denning's last good SW novel was Star by Star, back in 2001. I hope that this new direction will also be used to bring in some new blood.

I very much enjoyed the EU and nobody is burning the books I have. I'll enjoy both continuities.

Exactly!


And now that I've read the story blurbs for the four novels that were announced, I'm very curious to read each one.

 

[dansigal]

I'm curious to find out what Kirk55555 thought would happen to the EU when new movies were announced?

To be fair to him, I don't think he's complaining at all that the EU will not be incorporated into the new movies, I think his gripe is that it sounds like they will not be producing any more EU novels. Sounds like he would have been perfectly happy if they said the EU novels aren't canon, won't be part of the new movies, but will continue to be produced. Of all his complaints, I think that's a legitimate one. At least legitimate to the point where there has been an actual decision made and that decision affects what would he would have preferred happening. It really would be like if Paramount and Pocket announced that they weren't doing any more Prime timeline Trek novels. A lot of this board would NOT be happy.

Where he goes off the rails is when he calls them a-holes for their decisions and takes off the table even the possibility that he might enjoy the new movies/shows/novels/characters/timeline that will come of this decision.

 

[sojourner]

^I think you underestimate Kirk55555.

 

[PsychoPere]

kirk's gripe is anything and everything that doesn't correspond to the infinitesimally precise demands that he has. It's his MO nearly every single time he posts.

 

[kirk55555]

I'm curious to find out what Kirk55555 thought would happen to the EU when new movies were announced?

To be fair to him, I don't think he's complaining at all that the EU will not be incorporated into the new movies, I think his gripe is that it sounds like they will not be producing any more EU novels. Sounds like he would have been perfectly happy if they said the EU novels aren't canon, won't be part of the new movies, but will continue to be produced. Of all his complaints, I think that's a legitimate one. At least legitimate to the point where there has been an actual decision made and that decision affects what would he would have preferred happening. It really would be like if Paramount and Pocket announced that they weren't doing any more Prime timeline Trek novels. A lot of this board would NOT be happy.

Where he goes off the rails is when he calls them a-holes for their decisions and takes off the table even the possibility that he might enjoy the new movies/shows/novels/characters/timeline that will come of this decision.

This is what I'm talking about. I just wanted to keep the books ongoing, in a different universe. The majority of book fans will always be fans of the EU, they're not going to have an explosion of new readers by rebooting it. Like Star Trek, they should have just kept the books separate.

As for "going off the rails", I've hated EVERYTHING people tell me to "give a chance" when it comes to things like this. When I've hated literally everything from the Star Trek reboot, why the hell do I need to give anyone the benefit of the doubt? When I'm constantly bombarded by things I hate from reboots and stuff like that, I think I can justifiably remove the possibility of even being able to endure any more crap that comes from stuff like this.

There is nothing good that will come from destroying characters I like that I'll enjoy, and turning a franchise into another JJ Trek/Transformers mindless action franchise. It sucks, and I just hope their sales plummet to the point where it becomes unprofitable. No books is better than what they're doing, and the people in charge are a-holes, from the minion that decided to reboot the EU to the hacks making the crappy movies.

More seriously what EU fan more than likely really hates is all that triva they have learnt over the years is worthless, so when they talk to a normal person and say "well you see 40 years after Return of the Jedi, Dark Jockstrap hunted for the rampo crystal and he's the son of the second cousin of the guy who refueled Luke's X-wing".

You're entitled to your opinion of the EU, but you have no right to belittle my opinion on the franchise, or say why I or anyone else enjoy it. I've grown attached to many, many characters over the years, and now that they're thrown away, I'm pissed. I couldn't care less about trivia. I care about characters that I enjoy, and an EU which is the primary reason I love Star Wars. With only the movies, the Star Wars franchise is ok. With the EU, it's outright awesome. Now, the movies are going to Michael Bay territory, and the books are being dragged along with it.

 

[Skywalker]

Ooo, I love the idea for Heir to the Jedi. Star Wars fiction hasn't utilized the first person perspective very often. The only example I can recall at the moment is Michael A. Stackpole's I, Jedi, though I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

I do think having just one book cover the whole period between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back is kind of disappointing, but I'm getting the sense that this new EU's primary focus (at least early on) will be more on the post-ROTJ era to build a foundation for what's to come in Episode VII.

 

[BillJ]

You're entitled to your opinion of the EU, but you have no right to belittle my opinion on the franchise...

And you have no right to belittle the owners and creators of the franchise by name calling because they make decisions you don't agree with.

Maybe it's time to stop throwing temper tantrums and grow up.

 

[Relayer1]

I think the new movies (and thus the new EU) will recycle a fair few characters from the old one. Maybe a few broad plot ideas too, so we probably haven't seen the last of Mara Jade.

As I said, the new EU is good for me as I'd really grown to dislike the last one. I'm more concerned about them using the same authors for the new novels...

 

[JoeZhang]

You're entitled to your opinion of the EU, but you have no right to belittle my opinion on the franchise, or say why I or anyone else enjoy it. I've grown attached to many, many characters over the years, and now that they're thrown away, I'm pissed. I couldn't care less about trivia. I care about characters that I enjoy, and an EU which is the primary reason I love Star Wars. With only the movies, the Star Wars franchise is ok. With the EU, it's outright awesome. Now, the movies are going to Michael Bay territory, and the books are being dragged along with it.

I'm not belittling it - I'm point out that now we are all on an equal footing, I know as much about what happened after Return of the Jedi as you do. Hell you know as much as the characters in the films as I do - take the mysterious Emperor's royal guard - we know nothing about them beyond what they look like!

Botta Fett? a loser who died like a loser.

What happened to Luke Skywalker after ROTJ? Nobody knows!

 

[beamMe]

I'm curious to find out what Kirk55555 thought would happen to the EU when new movies were announced?

To be fair to him, I don't think he's complaining at all that the EU will not be incorporated into the new movies, I think his gripe is that it sounds like they will not be producing any more EU novels. Sounds like he would have been perfectly happy if they said the EU novels aren't canon, won't be part of the new movies, but will continue to be produced. Of all his complaints, I think that's a legitimate one. At least legitimate to the point where there has been an actual decision made and that decision affects what would he would have preferred happening. It really would be like if Paramount and Pocket announced that they weren't doing any more Prime timeline Trek novels. A lot of this board would NOT be happy.

Where he goes off the rails is when he calls them a-holes for their decisions and takes off the table even the possibility that he might enjoy the new movies/shows/novels/characters/timeline that will come of this decision.

This is what I'm talking about. I just wanted to keep the books ongoing, in a different universe. The majority of book fans will always be fans of the EU, they're not going to have an explosion of new readers by rebooting it. Like Star Trek, they should have just kept the books separate.

As for "going off the rails", I've hated EVERYTHING people tell me to "give a chance" when it comes to things like this. When I've hated literally everything from the Star Trek reboot, why the hell do I need to give anyone the benefit of the doubt? When I'm constantly bombarded by things I hate from reboots and stuff like that, I think I can justifiably remove the possibility of even being able to endure any more crap that comes from stuff like this.

There is nothing good that will come from destroying characters I like that I'll enjoy, and turning a franchise into another JJ Trek/Transformers mindless action franchise. It sucks, and I just hope their sales plummet to the point where it becomes unprofitable. No books is better than what they're doing, and the people in charge are a-holes, from the minion that decided to reboot the EU to the hacks making the crappy movies.

More seriously what EU fan more than likely really hates is all that triva they have learnt over the years is worthless, so when they talk to a normal person and say "well you see 40 years after Return of the Jedi, Dark Jockstrap hunted for the rampo crystal and he's the son of the second cousin of the guy who refueled Luke's X-wing".

You're entitled to your opinion of the EU, but you have no right to belittle my opinion on the franchise, or say why I or anyone else enjoy it. I've grown attached to many, many characters over the years, and now that they're thrown away, I'm pissed. I couldn't care less about trivia. I care about characters that I enjoy, and an EU which is the primary reason I love Star Wars. With only the movies, the Star Wars franchise is ok. With the EU, it's outright awesome. Now, the movies are going to Michael Bay territory, and the books are being dragged along with it.

Close-minded and hyperbolic are good words to describe this ^ post, I think.

 

[davejames]

I have to admit, as much as I kinda liked TCW, it does seem a bit weird that a cartoon series is now considered just as canon as a bunch of live-action movies. And that now apparently Rebels will be as well.

Which means I won't be able to watch without wondering what the "live-action" version of everything would actually look like.

And now that I've read the story blurbs for the four novels that were announced, I'm very curious to read each one.

Agreed. I haven't read a SW novel in ages, but those ones actually sound pretty cool. And I like that I won't need to know some long, complicated backstory like I probably would have with the current novels.

 

[sidious618]

I'm not belittling it - I'm point out that now we are all on an equal footing, I know as much about what happened after Return of the Jedi as you do. Hell you know as much as the characters in the films as I do - take the mysterious Emperor's royal guard - we know nothing about them beyond what they look like!

Botta Fett? a loser who died like a loser.

What happened to Luke Skywalker after ROTJ? Nobody knows!

As someone who has read a lot of Star Wars books and comics, it's weird to have this feeling again. I mean, I know all about the Emperor's Guards, but maybe now I don't? It's strange.

This decision had to happen and I like that they're giving it a Legends brand and saying "this is it's own universe" which gives it some sense of legitimacy. I enjoyed much of the PT EU and the NJO. I'm not really letdown by the EU being put in its own universe although I was hoping that wouldn't have to happen because I liked the idea of the new trilogy taking place centuries later, but that was never a realistic hope.

 

[PsychoPere]

And now that I've read the story blurbs for the four novels that were announced, I'm very curious to read each one.

Agreed. I haven't read a SW novel in ages, but those ones actually sound pretty cool. And I like that I won't need to know some long, complicated backstory like I probably would have with the current novels.

I've read most of the post-NJO novels. I liked elements of both the Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi series, but felt that each was ultimately too long for their own good and had lots of bad intermixed with occasional good. When I read Crucible, I felt like I was doing so more out of obligation than desire.

But these four books? Yeah, it's safe to say I'm excited about each one. There are still a few EU books that have been published in recent years that I haven't read that I want to - Kenobi tops that list - but it has been a while since I've been able to use the word "excited" about a SW book.

Comics are another matter entirely. Even though I'm not remotely up-to-date on the series that Dark Horse has been publishing, I have the desire to read many of their titles. In terms of quality, DH has been the brightest spot for SW EU for a long time now.

 

[JoeZhang]

I'm not belittling it - I'm point out that now we are all on an equal footing, I know as much about what happened after Return of the Jedi as you do. Hell you know as much as the characters in the films as I do - take the mysterious Emperor's royal guard - we know nothing about them beyond what they look like!

Botta Fett? a loser who died like a loser.

What happened to Luke Skywalker after ROTJ? Nobody knows!

As someone who has read a lot of Star Wars books and comics, it's weird to have this feeling again. I mean, I know all about the Emperor's Guards, but maybe now I don't? It's strange.

They are a good example because going off what is canon, we know from the titles what they are called (NOT imperial guards) and what they look like and... that's it.