Lucasfilm Makes It Official: Star Wars: Expanded Universe Is Dead

[Jesse Ron]

In the words of Darth Vader, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!".

 

[Jingle Fett]

C'mon people, learn to read

they will now do so in the context of an official unified canon maintained by an official Lucasfilm Story Group, which will also decide which characters and concepts from the former EU can be repurposed by future filmmakers and authors

This means that not necessarily all of the EU will be dropped. A lot of it may be, but they can cherry pick what they like and leave out what they don't like. This means if they feel like it, they can keep characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, Admiral Daala, etc....And drop the stuff they don't like (like the Yuuzhan Vong or some of the weirder/crappier stuff).

 

[spartandude]

Pro- The Old Republic MMO is therefore non canon.... so give Obsidian the rights Knights Of The Old Republic franchise!

Con- The Heir To The Empire trilogy is now non canon.

 

[Gabanuka]

I really don't see why this is a big deal.

So what, the extra stuff no longer match to one official fictional history. It's no like the stories fade from existance, they still exist and are still great.

Hell most of the best DC comics are Elseworlds. All Star Superman, Red Son, Kingdom Come, etc

Except that now they're no better than fanfiction, they've been disavowed.

It doesn't devalue them as stories. The problem with Fanfiction is that the majority of it is shit not that it's not canon.

Besides the EU is still being released by official sources, just go the 'Alternative Universe' route if canon is so important. There are now two Star Wars universes.

 

[putowtin]

Ahh sod it all, gave up caring about this after Jar Jar Binks...

Disney do as you will this one no longer cares!


(Who am I kidding... the X Wing books, Wedge... Face... NOOOOOOOO!)

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Fans own SW, not the company. They will keep the EU alive because they believe in it.

The EU isn't going away but as for the official canon, referencing the EU with names/planets is probably the best we're going to get.

Whatevs. The books aren't going to be burned.

 

[Alterego-X]

It doesn't devalue them as stories. The problem with Fanfiction is that the majority of it is shit not that it's not canon.

The problem with fanfiction is not that the "majority is shit", the majority of EVERYTHING is shit, the problem is that with published media, people have an interest in the best top few stories, and ignore everything else that is shit, while with works that are legally declared to be "fanfiction", there is a desire to mock them by focusing on the shitty average and the infamous nonsense ones, instead of the quality ones.

 

[MiskWisk]

It doesn't devalue them as stories. The problem with Fanfiction is that the majority of it is shit not that it's not canon.

The problem with fanfiction is not that the "majority is shit", the majority of EVERYTHING is shit, the problem is that with published media, people have an interest in the best top few stories, and ignore everything else that is shit, while with works that are legally declared to be "fanfiction", there is a desire to mock them by focusing on the shitty average and the infamous nonsense ones, instead of the quality ones.

This. So much this. Have a cookie good sir.

OT: Saw this coming. Hopefully just a case of poor communication and they're just going to cherry pick the good stuff while ignoring the Vong bad stuff.

On a side note, while reading this thread, I somehow got it into my head that they are planning on merging the Kingdom Hearts storyline with this. I have no clue where that came from but, damn it all, that would leave me on the floor laughing my lungs out.

 

[Shiftygiant]

It's hard to get upset over something that is little more than fanfiction being declared non-canon.

All fiction not made by the original authors are in essence fan-fic. People are pissed because what the have dedicated a fair amount of time too has just been rendered meaningless. All the story's and characters they loved and the future of the series is no longer meaningful and was pointless. It'd like if Marvel or DC suddenly declared huge chunks of there back catalog to be non-canoh wait.

 

[Nowhere Man]

Well at least now we don't have to deal with a canon that has the emperor being cloned and coming back to life. I got the impression from that article that Disney was still going to be cherry picking things from the EU. So can we get Mara Jade too?

 

[UniversalRonin]

Wait, so no Kyle Katarn? He is the best thing about the post-Return of The Jedi stuff.

If we're very good, Darth Micky might bring him to life in some form or other... *Starts praying* I hope that B*stard mouse does. Because let's face it, once they nerfed Boba, who else could fill the gap of coolest character.

 

[Baresark]

Eh, that's a disappointment. All the best Star Wars stories were all EU. Meh, it is what it is. I haven't been emotionally invested in Star Wars in a really long time. It still a damn shame we'll never see Republic Commando become official cannon. That was some of the very best characterization in the whole damn universe.

 

[Brockyman]

What do you mean "they don't care"? I think a lot of them do care. They couldn't just use the EU in the movies, but they've made it a side cannon, it's not a bad thing if you look at it logically

You want to talk "logic"?

Lets not dress this shit up: Disney doesn't care because to them Star Wars is just a brand to be exploited, nothing more.

Now, Lucas milked the motherfuck out of Star Wars, but the difference between him and Disney, is that for a good long while, he still cared...even if it was the care of a rich egotistical madman.

Disney has no such personal attachments.

The reality is that Disney wants to slash the EU entirely because it's too complicated and "geeky" for their new pet monkey JJ Abrams to work with, but at the same time they don't want to lose that EU revenue. So instead, they opted to rebrand it.

It makes perfect sense as business logic.
Ultimately, it's good news for Disney and their bottom line.

But for anyone who was invested in the EU, it's not good news; It's horrible news, because anyone who thinks about it LOGICALLY will realize that Disney is basically throwing out decades of work purely for their own convenience.

Kill the geek culture so that the popular culture can flourish.

Captcha: "Circle of life"
How serendipitous.[/quote)

What do you mean "they don't care"? I think a lot of them do care. They couldn't just use the EU in the movies, but they've made it a side cannon, it's not a bad thing if you look at it logically

You want to talk "logic"?

Lets not dress this shit up: Disney doesn't care because to them Star Wars is just a brand to be exploited, nothing more.

Now, Lucas milked the motherfuck out of Star Wars, but the difference between him and Disney, is that for a good long while, he still cared...even if it was the care of a rich egotistical madman.

Disney has no such personal attachments.

The reality is that Disney wants to slash the EU entirely because it's too complicated and "geeky" for their new pet monkey JJ Abrams to work with, but at the same time they don't want to lose that EU revenue. So instead, they opted to rebrand it.

It makes perfect sense as business logic.
Ultimately, it's good news for Disney and their bottom line.

But for anyone who was invested in the EU, it's not good news; It's horrible news, because anyone who thinks about it LOGICALLY will realize that Disney is basically throwing out decades of work purely for their own convenience.

Kill the geek culture so that the popular culture can flourish.

Captcha: "Circle of life"
How serendipitous.

You raise interesting points. Let me try to break them apart bit by bit

1. I don't know about your "brand to be exploited" argument. Of course they want to make money, they paid billions of dollars for it, but I also see what they've done with Marvel. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is something geek culture has craved for years, is ran by people who care about comics and the franchise. Abrams is on record saying that he is so much closer to Star Wars than Trek, so I'm starting out with hope

2. I have my issues with Lucas same as anyone, but I've always had an issue with people saying he milked/killed Star Wars. Star Wars belonged to George Lucas. Not you, not me. He could have easily stopped after Jedi and not allowed an Expanded Universe at all, but he did. Sure he got normal royalties off characters he created, but the fact he allowed others to use and make money for what is basically fan fiction was new at the time.

I'm not claiming he didn't make some boneheaded stupid decisions, but I don't think he had evil intent. The general storyline and concept of the prequels was a good one, but just executed poorly with bad actors, bad screenplays, and everything that's been documented.

The "Special Editions" of the Original Trilogy (except for the Han/Greedo scene, but that's liberal political correctness gone amok) wasn't a bad idea either, it's just them not releasing the original cuts/prints on blu ray/digital that's the real issue

3. Disney/LucasFilms stated purpose for cutting the EU is so they can have creative control of movies and so they can make a fresh story. That does make sense but here is something LOGICALLY you need to consider

THE MAIN STAR WARS CHARACTERS PORTRAYED IN A LOT OF THE NOVELS/EU OR TO FREAKING OLD TO PLAY THE PARTS/ROLES THEY WOULD NEED TO IN THE MOVIES

Also, you can't just pick up 20-30 years down the EU road. A lot of Star Wars fans didn't get all the way into the EU and wouldn't know what was going on if they just followed the story with Han, Luke and Leia aging 20-30 years.

Another thing to remember is that they never actually claimed that the EU WAS cannon, fans ASSUMED it was cannon. Star Trek (all time periods and eras), Stargate (movie and TV shows), Babylon 5, Farscape, Batttlestar Galactica, and others have all had books, comics, table top games, video games, and other content that isn't in the continuity laid out by the creators and founders of the franchises.

4. I'm sick and tired of people bashing "business logic" when it comes to movies and video games. Yes, there are business exes that make stupid decisions, but you have to realize that movies and games are businesses and require people, money and resources to make. I do agree they should take more chances and not follow just the same formula, but you can't bash people for wanting to make sure they're employees and stockholders make, and don't lose, their money. Star Wars isn't yours. It isn't a charity for you to have what you want it to be.

5. If your invested in the EU, and are a mature adult, this should have little to no impact on you. If you're a real fan, the fact they are planning to make 3 direct movies and spinoffs and a new cartoon should at least make you a little excited... guarded maybe, but at least interested. The fact they aren't "cannon" shouldn't take away your enjoyment of reading the stories and playing the games. I've read a ton of different Star Trek novels that either stray from or actually go against cannon, and still enjoyed them.

6. Kill Geek Culture? Really? Um, they are releasing a movie that has a sentient tree and talking racoon based on a super obscure Marvel Comic. The 2 biggest movie franchises are about superheros and wizards. The highest grossing movie of all time is about blue aliens. Ever year, more people go out to and cosplay at thousands of conventions around the world, and San Diego ComicCon is one of the biggest entertainment events in the world.

So what the living hell are you talking about killing geek culture? Is it because they do add/subtract a little to include more people? Are you such an entitled person that you can't allow filthy casual/popular audiences to enjoy "geek" culture?

Grow Up

 

[Flames66]

Well, at least we don't have to worry about the Yuuzhan Vong showing up.

Or, maybe they'll show up early. o.0

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I think that the expanded universe is getting pretty bloated and messy, on the other I don't trust Abrams to sort it out.

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

Good thing I only really care about the pre-movie era. The old republic-era is just way more rich and interesting to me than the stories in the films.

 

[Evonisia]

So Boba Fett is dead? Well FUCK YOU GUY!

Fuck you Geroge Lucas Films, fuck you!

Well he's never said to actually die in the film, so I assume they'll either mention him or leave it unknown.

 

[Ratty]

A lot of it may be, but they can cherry pick what they like and leave out what they don't like. This means if they feel like it, they can keep characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, Admiral Daala, etc....

Don't forget Jedi Master Bayts [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Soon_Bayts], that's the real victim here.


But nah I wouldn't expect them to keep a lot of older characters, especially someone like Mara Jade. Wouldn't she already be dead by the time these movies take place anyway? My bet is that they're going to have Luke as the stoic and romance-less Jedi master like Obi-Wan and Yoda in the original films. Could be wrong of course, especially if they turn out to have Obi-Wan's daughter in the new movies as has been rumored.

 

[Bayushi_Kouya]

As someone who never liked Star Wars:
I've been subjected to a lot of Star Wars related tripe through my dad and my first girlfriend, and I can't really muster up that much sympathy for the EU's death. The three characters I actually did care about -- Vader, Starkiller, and the Exile -- were killed long before this happened.

As someone who hates seeing people in pain:
I'm sorry for your losses. I have been there, through the massive, world-destroying retcons. Feels bad, man. At least you can look forward to Episode 7 being the only piece of guaranteed tripe, as 8 and 9 are going to have all new characters.

 

[Nadia Castle]

Most of the EU is absolute mess by now anyway. Too much time spent flanderizing perfectly good characters or trying to be clever deconstructions. The simple wonder of Star Wars has been recycled so much it's like watching a man drinking his own urine 18 times. Darth Vader should always have been the evil of the universe, but we've spent so many damn stories 'exploring' him that he's become just another boring guy.

Also yes, George Lucas completely dropped the ball by wasting Darth Maul (I was sure he was going to be the one when trained Vader before being killed by hi and taking his place), but resurrecting him with cyborg legs, with magic, or cloning, or any of the other billion forms is getting really tiresome.

Now perhaps we can focus on how much we don't want Abrams to screw these films up even though all the reports sound like it's just going to be his own massive fan wank....

 

[DarthSka]

So this means no Mara Jade, Kyle Katarn, Admiral Thrawn, Solo kids, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, and more? You're killing me Star Wars.