Related
Summary
TheStar Warsfranchise undergo a partial reboot a decade ago , with most of its material being rebranded with a new identification that does a ill service to the one-time holding . Since its 1977 unveiling , Star Warshas been a transmedia franchise , with its initial movie – now know asA New Hope – being accommodate to print form and growing theStar Warsuniverse with original narrative shortly after the moving-picture show ’s release . The overplus of comic record book , novel , video recording game , TV show , and even spin - off picture comprised what was once called the Expanded Universe , which has since been renamed Legends .
The Legends continuity includes nigh allStar Warscontent from 1977 to April 2014 , with a few exceptions . The 2008 TV showStar Wars : The Clone Warswas not intended by showrunner Dave Filoni to match into the established Expanded Universe persistence , but it is a primal part of the modernStar Warscanon and thus should be look at exclusive to it . TheStar Warsoriginal and prequel trilogiesare part of both timelines and a few properties let go of after April 2014 are part of the Legends continuity , such as the 108th issue of Marvel ’s classicStar Warscomics .
Here ’s every approaching Star Wars motion picture in growing - including Rey ’s New Jedi Order , the Dawn of the Jedi , and The Mandalorian & Grogu !
Why Lucasfilm Chose To Rebrand The Expanded Universe As “Legends”
The Rebranding Allowed The Sequel Trilogy & Future Stories To Have More Freedom
Although George Lucas treated theStar Warsfranchise ’s non - movie material inconsistently , Lucasfilm executives and creatives established quite definitively that the thrive Universe was formally canyon . originative teams assure that their piece of work aline with the movies and used retcons to smooth out persistence wrongdoing , endeavour to make every property count as much as the six saga movies themselves . Two years after Disney ’s skill of Lucasfilm , however , the recently established Lucasfilm Story Group choose to kick downstairs the Expanded Universe to an alternative timeline to maximize the sequel trilogy ’s creative freedom during its development .
George Lucas was sometimes supportive of the Star Wars inflate Universe as the prescribed canon , while other times , he treated it dismissively .
On April 25th , 2014 , the lucubrate Universe was officially renamed “ Legends . ” Re - handout of old thrive Universe dimension – peculiarly books – would admit a Legends banner , and young materials in the Legends continuity have been few and far between since the rebranding . Lucasfilm apparently chose the name legend as the Expanded Universe ’s unexampled designation to allow for a level of wriggle room in the innovative canon , with viewers and Creator save elements of the premature timeline when they could ( or want to ) . Indeed , Legends has often inspired elements of modernStar Warscanonmaterials .
“Legends” Became An Insult To The Old Expanded Universe
The Term Reduces These Stories To Nothing More Than Folklore
Unfortunately , naming the previous continuity “ Legends ” and concern to the newer one as “ canyon ” is in and of itself disrespectful to what was once the officialStar Warstimeline . The name Legends can reduce the Expanded Universe chronicle and lore to in - universe folktales and reframe the decades of material as never having mattered to the dealership in the first position . This might not have been Lucasfilm ’s intention , however , as the terminal figure Legends also allows Maker , viewers , and lector to cherry - pick their preferent percentage from the original persistence and comprehend them as being part of the modern timeline , if they are not contradicted .
The term Legends also give up creators , viewers , and readers to cherry - pick their favorite portion from the original continuity and comprehend them as being part of the modernistic timeline .
Whatever the aim might have been , the new names , at long last , do a ill service to theStar Warsfranchise . By calling the Expanded Universe “ Legends , ” the franchise knocks the old persistence down a tholepin to shore up the young one , only to import story beats , concept , satellite , and even characters from the now - bygone persistence . Meanwhile , legend kept an overall tidier continuity in 37 years than the New canon has in a decade , though the modern persistence is far more mainstream and recognise , thanks to high - profile properties like the sequel trilogy and Disney+ evidence likeThe Mandalorian .
Legends was Star Wars ' first continuity , so it naturally inspires legion elements of Disney ’s novel Star Wars canyon . Here ’s everything Disney kept .
Star Wars Needed To Take A Leaf From DC & Marvel
A New Continuity Could Have Been Started Without A Name Change
In hindsight , Lucasfilm should have pack a different glide path to theStar Warsfranchise ’s partial continuity reboot . The DC and Marvel comic franchises frequently make new continuity and on a regular basis have fond or stark reboots in the former ’s case . Yet DC and Marvel ’s older continuities are never given belittle unexampled titles . Silver Age DC stories were part of “ Earth - One ” while their Golden Age predecessors were part of “ Earth - Two , ” and while the former was the new mainstream DC Universe , there was no revisionist view of DC that handle the latter like it never mattered because both continuities are legitimate .
In theStar Warsfranchise ’s subject , the two timelines should have been treat the same elbow room . Both canyon and fable are evenly logical continuities , with the latter having been the prescribed canyon before 2014 ’s partial reboot . Rather than give the old expand Universe a new name that intrinsically labels it as subscript , Lucasfilm should have given the two timeline designations akin to DC ’s Earth - One and Earth - Two , acknowledging and honoring both the olderStar Warstimeline and its forward-looking successor .
All Star Wars picture and TV shows are available to pour on Disney+
Custom Image by David Miller
