Death of the EU

VinLieger

So with Disneys butchering for profit to make new stories for the movies the EU is basically about to become one big non existent stack of paper.

Myself I own 80+ novels now some arent great but overall they are a damn good addition to the Universe and include amazing characters with great backstory and history as well as some pretty damn good reads I regularly go back to

Im more disappointed than anything else I suppose and even if the movies turn out to be the next Star Trek reboot its always gonna leave a bad taste in my mouth due to how many hours i put into it all.

There's quite a good article on Kotaku today about the goods and bads of it all

http://kotaku.com/star-wars-lore-is-changing-heres-what-that-means-1568713480

Curious what others take on the whole thing is.

Nody

EU = Expanded Universe for those not aware (took a while for me to remember that one as well :P ); basically Lucas has stated that anything not in the movies (inc. all games and books) is not canon anymore.

Myrddin

Nody wrote: »

EU = Expanded Universe for those not aware (took a while for me to remember that one as well :P ); basically Lucas has stated that anything not in the movies (inc. all games and books) is not canon anymore.

Did Lucas state that, or is it a Disney thing? Personally I never bothered much with any EU stuff, same with Star Trek.

Nody

Myrddin wrote: »

Did Lucas state that, or is it a Disney thing? Personally I never bothered much with any EU stuff, same with Star Trek.

I've seen it listed as both and as Lucas only. The statement (from Starwars.com) below indicates it as Lucas though:

or over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, all aspects of Star Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected. Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.

"We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon," said Kennedy. "We're set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before."

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.

On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be Star Wars Rebels. In print, the first new books to come from this creative collaboration include novels from Del Rey Books. First to be announced, John Jackson Miller is writing a novel that precedes the events of Star Wars Rebels and offers insight into a key character's backstory, with input directly from executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman.

And this is just the beginning of a creatively aligned program of Star Wars storytelling created by the collaboration of incredibly talented people united by their love of that galaxy far, far away....

DazMarz

I thought this was about someone building a big Death Star and zapping Europe out of it...

Twigster

I kind of expected this to be honest. It makes it easier to make a clean cut and almost start from scratch. Either way, fans of the EU would probably still be disappointed if the film didn't tie into the existing novels very well. So at least you are warned in advance that ep VII probably won't tie in with any book in particular. It still doesn't mean that we won't see characters like Thrawn appearing in the films, but I think at this stage I don't think some of the actors would be able for too many action sequences.

There are still some great books and stories in the EU and it wouldn't dissuade me from reading them.

ziedth

It really had to go that way, they pulled out a handy alternative timeline card in Star Trek that gave Adrams room to tell his story.

Obviously can't do that here. He couldn't make this film with someone telling him that this scene doesn't tie in with a book or game in the EU.

I feel for people who have invested time into it but I would have been amazed if it went any other way.

Twigster

The fact as well that the film is based thirty years in the future would rule out the possibility of some of the great characters from before that time period appearing in the film. This way the likes of Thrawn and other characters can make an appearance.

thegreengoblin

I can see both sides to the argument but when all is said and done, the EU is still there. It's not as if all copies of the books disappeared in some instantaneous, worldwide event. Some of my favourite memories of Star Wars are EU-based and I'll be damned if I'm going to let this news somehow ruin it all for it.

Let me put it this way. I used to love the old Marvel comics run from the early 80s. Some of the stories were downright absurd and as time went on it became increasingly obvious that these would and could not become part of official canon or EU. Did that ruin the memories I had of reading those stories? Not a bit. It's the same here. The Thrawn trilogy, the Han Solo novels, the Tales of the Jedi comics (to name but three) are as good as anything I've ever read or watched in Star Wars lore and that's the way it will stay for me.

It's a big universe out there.

ziedth

I've probably mentioned it before but although different I can relate because I was a big fan of Angel/Buffy when they were on.

Now, The last episode ends with them about to fight a battle they know they can't win it's kind of built up that they know they'll die but the point is that they try. It sounds quite lame as I write it but at the time although quite dark an ending I thought it was brilliant.

Now, since then they released a cannon EU in comics in which I assune they survived and although it could be brilliant as far as I'm concerned the show ends with them all dieing. I'm happier that way.

My advice to SW fans disappointed by the EU being shafted is just ignore it and believe what ya want ya know? If there are any plot holes "a wizard did it". It would be a real shame to let it effect your enjoyment of the movie.

thegreengoblin

The four new novels announced as part of the new canon look decent. If Lords of the Sith is half as good as the cover we're in for a treat.

http://paulskemp.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/LordsoftheSith.jpg

Mickalus

As far as I understood it, there was always different levels of canon.
topmost was the movies, next level included video games, comics and novels, etc etc. Then there's the non-canon stuff - stories re-told with different outcomes - infinities etc.
Any layer could overrule anything beneath it - with the movies having absolute power.

All of the stuff in the EU has to follow the top level canon (i.e. the movies) + a whole heap of guideline from George Lucas & Lucasfilm in order to be considered as part of the lower levels of canon. It also has to tie in with the rest of the EU on the same level.

It will be interesting to see if any of the current EU characters/story lines will be used in the new Movies/Canon, or if they'll wipe the slate clean and make it 2 separate lines of Canon - The 'Legends' being one, and then anything from the new Disney ownership being the new 'official' canon.

Either way, I don't see it as being the death of the EU, if anything it might make for more content.

Mickalus

So there are a lot of books getting re-branded under the new Legends banner. This is for an eBook version, but there are others getting reprinted with new artwork and new introductions.



Full size image here: https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/1972369_10152394717333713_1813002311475637938_n.jpg

iguana

I've developed a sudden fear that in Ep VII, Han and Leia will not be a couple, having split up in the initial years after RotJ. It seems to be quite a common trope in sequels to have split apart the popular, nothing in common but great chemistry couples that come together during a high adrenaline point in their lives. It may be a realistic thing to happen in the real world but in movies it tends to be done so that they can snipe their way through the sequel until they reunite at the end.

irishthump

Nody wrote: »

EU = Expanded Universe for those not aware (took a while for me to remember that one as well :P ); basically Lucas has stated that anything not in the movies (inc. all games and books) is not canon anymore.

Lucas has being saying this since the prequel trilogy was announced it's nothing new, and it's his prerogative.

metrosity

VinLieger wrote: »

So with Disneys butchering for profit to make new stories for the movies the EU is basically about to become one big non existent stack of paper.

Myself I own 80+ novels now some arent great but overall they are a damn good addition to the Universe and include amazing characters with great backstory and history as well as some pretty damn good reads I regularly go bac...

Star Wars was a long time ago, in a far away galaxy. There never was any free Republic run by anything remotely comparable to a Rebel Alliance in this world.

Just making an important remark to make about our globalized and conquered society run by banks since men first could own things. It's always been bad - we just invented scifi stuff to imagine it better - those of us who feel we deserve better( wrongfully feel?)
We were blind to how bad human beings are - how vulnerable and weak. So we invented elixir's like star wars. I feel we're so bad because I think I'm the best of ye, so I'm hardly 'all that' either. Who cares if Star Wars is changing really. It's just a common reference for those of us who imagine. It lives in your mind. You can keep the best of it inside forever.

If I keep going, I'll be able to start new threads and link to URL's in no time. How many posts do I have to make?