Topic: EU Canon being discarded for new movies

[Tamer]

Here is the quote that gets me from the official site:

"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."

So because we have all read the EU Novels its not new and we won't like the new movies as much if they used established and previously approved Lucasfilm storylines? What the hey!

[wraithnine]

puts me off Ep VII already ,this is what i fear ,that Disney A)doesn't understand the fanbase or the rich tapestry of stories in the EU ,an B) don't care cos all they see is $$$.
either way i don't have a good vibe about Disney.

[CheesyKNAC]

I've been a huge Star Wars fan, like most people here, since early childhood having grown up with the original trilogy. I'll play Devil's Advocate here and say this, the one thing that I did hear in the video that seemed interesting is that they have a storyline department now that will keep the vision of everything and everyone on track with creating a unified storyline amongst the movies, books, games, shows, etc. I've been collecting and reading Star Wars novels for a few years now and you can even see the differences amongst all of the different books how different authors will try to get their own vision across of what they think Star Wars should be. I notice it every time I pick up a new book from a different author than the last book I just read. I'll admit I finally got into reading the Star Wars books when I picked up Star Wars, Republic Commando "Hard Contact". From that point I was hooked and bought that entire series and then began watching The Clone Wars and collecting as many of the books as I can (and am still collecting). Of course I can't read them all as fast as I've been buying them, lol. So of course after reading Imperial Commando "501st" I'm thinking "AWESOME!!!" and can't wait for the next book to come out. Now for me anyways this is around the same time that they introduce the planet Mandalore into Clone Wars. I watch it and I'm thinking "Wait, this isn't the Mandalore I've been reading about. These aren't the Mandalorians that I've come to love and admire from the novels. What the hell is going on here??" I start doing a little digging and come to find out that Karen Traviss had (at that time) recently decided to not continue writing the next novel in the Republic/Imperial Commando series due to a conflict of interest with what the Clone Wars story writers and show producers have put forth out there as it totally contradicted what she had written. Now at the time being a HUGE fan of the novel series I WAS PISSED!! How could the show's producers totally go against what was (for me) written fact/history? For a little while I then had a love/hate relation with Clone Wars because of this, but as Clone Wars was a great way to get my nieces and nephews involved in the Star Wars universe and teaching them all that I knew. I still love Clone Wars even if yes admittedly there are some serious contradictions between what the show's producers put out there as opposed to what we've all come to learn as what we thought the Star Wars universe should be from what we've all read already.

So I guess this is the part where I play Devil's Advocate here. Maybe it might not be such a bad idea to have the collective mind of all of the writers, producers, designers, toy manufacturers, illustrators, etc, etc, all having to be on the same page from this point forward as to what the Star Wars universe should be. I know a lot of people will hate me for saying that because like me, they have invested a lot of time and money into buying and collecting anything and everything that we could get our hands on from the Star Wars universe, and we all hate the idea that someone else is coming in and telling us that we've wasted all that time, effort and money on it as the storyline is heading off in a different direction. Now here's the thing, Star Wars and all of the EU material have been great for one or more things, especially for those involved in the customizing community, it has sparked our imaginations to create different things and different versions of what we think the Star Wars universe should be. We can own that! We can be proud of that! It doesn't make what anyone has created any less valid because our beloved franchise is being taken into a different direction that what "we" think it should be taken. The things everyone have created are still as cool as ever, and no one says you have to stop creating what you want because of any changes.

The thing I like about the reigning in of the storyline is that possibly it could end some of the in-fighting amongst a lot of fans that I've seen happening over the years due to what one person's vision of what the Star Wars universe should be based on whatever form they've been exposed to it has been. Remember back when I said I was a huge fan of the Republic/Imperial Commando series of novels? Well I still am, and that will not change with a possible change in where the new Star Wars stories may lead. For the longest time I was a huge defender of Karen Traviss and her vision of SW/Mandalore and even maybe hated the powers that be at SW/Clone Wars for taking the story and tweeking it for the show, and as far as I thought I had learned, that was her reason for leaving writing for SW. I got into a pissing match on a comment thread on facebook recently over something posted that was SW related. It delved into territory of Karen Traviss and her reason for no longer writing due to the changes made in the show. Of course I jumped in and voiced my opinion and stuck up for Karen. This pissing match went on for what seemed like way too long, when another Karen Traviss defender also pointed out something that made me step back and think. He was a fan of her work as well, but he also pointed out that she did kind of seem to be having the idea that the whole Mandalorian thing was HER creation and that she owned the Mandalore folklore that we'd all come to love. When in reality she was just a hired gun, a writer hired to write stories for SW, that's it. And that possibly she shouldn't have had such a hissy fit and run off on the fans in the way she did. This was like hitting a brick wall of realization for me. He was right. At the end of the day it wasn't her creation. In reality it's George's creation and we have to respect that. Yes we the fans should have a major say in it too, but therein lies the problem, the same as when you have too many different venues/outlets for everyone else's vision of what SW should be...... there are going to be contradictions and fighting over different visions and opinions. So for me the setting up of a department to oversee the future of SW and where the stories will lead is kind of exciting for me, and a little bit of a sigh of relief that there may be some more continuity in things across the board and less fighting and bickering amongst fans and that everyone can get along and get into loving Star Wars again for what it is, an escape for all of us into a galaxy far far away!!

Okay, I'm done ranting..... I think, lol

[smeagol92055]

puts me off Ep VII already ,this is what i fear ,that Disney A)doesn't understand the fanbase or the rich tapestry of stories in the EU ,an B) don't care cos all they see is $$$.
either way i don't have a good vibe about Disney.

I hear your concerns, and I understand them, but I don't necessarily think that dumping the bulk of the EU canon is a terrible idea. There are a lot of things in the EU that are just terribly written, clunky, and outright contradict other things in the EU. Plus, they're not dumping everything; they stated already that they were going to be using the EU as a library to draw from, and they named some pretty obscure EU stuff as examples.
To me, this is the same as when Disney bought Marvel. Everyone predicted doom and gloom and six months later The Avengers came out and blew the doors completely off the joint. Now, I'm NOT a fan of J.J. Abrams, and if I hear the name Orci or Kirkman I'm going to flip a table over... But I don't think that this will be ALL bad.

Just gotta wait and see.

[Goldleaderone]

Not only do I feel bad for the fans but I also feel bad for the authors and the hard work they did. All that work, just thrown out the window basically? Such a shame.

I'm a little confused though. What about other EU material, such as Shadows of the Empire and Splinter of the Mind's Eye, are those still canon or being discarded as well? Basically anything in the OT timeline is what I'm asking, up until Ep. 6.

[Hand So Low]

I'm pretty OK with no EU references in the new movies.

TBH the EU was, for me, hit or miss. Loved Plagueis and Bane stuff, but young Jedi stuff, and Clone Wars stuff was meh. Even parts of the Thrawn story were kind of... well, I just don't think Luke should've had a love interest. All this is my personal opinion, so there's that, too. And it seems like Vader killed about a third of the Jedi because there's an awful lot of them hiding (but still able to be found) after he wiped them out.

I'm ready for a cohesive EU.

[Tamer]

From what I understand everything that has been done by now will fall under a "LEGENDS" line and not be considered part of the official SW Timelines.

I do agree some of the EU Stuff I could do without, but a few of the storylines were just excellent. And to me this just seems to be done for the fact they are thinking won't like it unless its new.

[Phatty]

I'm not going to lie, I was praying for a Hand of Thrawn trilogy. It has been my favorite saga since the original.  I love the characters, the story, and the possibilities.  I love the introduction of Mara Jade, the Solo kids, and of course Thrawn himself. 

I am probably among the minority when I say, I'm not upset about the discarding of the EU for the new movies.  That is a result of fandom, not arrogance.  We as fans have created a culture that has been highly facilitated by the internet where we constantly tear down that which we do not personally like.  Internet Trolls have become mainstream and we're just never happy.  I'm as guilty of this as anyone.  Had they based this next trilogy off of existing story arcs, such as the Hand of Thrawn series, none of us would've been happy.  We all would've picked it apart until it was deemed a failure.  We did it with the Prequels!  And while we can all agree that Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd were the worst things to hit our beloved Universe ever, Episode 1 was a great story about how the Originals we all came to love had began.  My biggest complaint of the entire prequel trilogy was the death of Darth Maul!  Dooku wasn't nearly evil or fearsome enough.  He was that diabetic grandfather that we all have that is just cranky all the time. 

Who remembers the uproar that came out with the latest Superman movie, "Man of Steel?"  The destruction of Metropolis and death of Zodd were completely torn apart because "that's not Superman."  But yet it is.  It wasn't simply a death scene, it showed the difficult choice a man had to make: The death of the race he was born into, or the death of the race of whom he had become.  You see the anguish, the torment he went through to make that choice.  Yet it is STILL highly criticized. 

We cannot see things for what they are, we feel the need to assert our opinions over everyone else, because we need that validation.  Disney, Lucas, and J.J. Abrams absolutely could not have created a new trilogy that would forever lasting using existing EU cannon.  We would never allow it.  So I ask of you now, all of you who have read comics over the years, did Disney get Marvel right?  In the grand scheme of things, minus various changes that were made for sake of 21st Century realism, did Disney really take Marvel to a whole new level?  I say they did.  They have taken characters and story arcs that have existed for decades, modernized them without losing their core origins, and made something fantastic!  With the release of the cast list, knowing that the originals are returning, and after what J.J. Abrams had done with the Star Trek reboot, doesn't anyone out there have any faith?  I know I do.  I cannot wait to see the ENTIRELY NEW UNIVERSE that they eek out for themselves.  A whole new Expanded Universe, that we as a custiomizing community will be salivating over (presuming that Disney puts boot to Hasbro's behind to create toys that are worth a crap!) to begin building upon this new universe.

C'mon Yarders, this is what we were made for; what we were bred for!  Let's not be negative about what we do not yet know of.  Instead, let's embrace the myriad of possibilities coming our way!

[Goldleaderone]

From what I understand everything that has been done by now will fall under a "LEGENDS" line and not be considered part of the official SW Timelines.

I do agree some of the EU Stuff I could do without, but a few of the storylines were just excellent. And to me this just seems to be done for the fact they are thinking won't like it unless its new.

Alright. I heard conflicting reports. I heard from everything post-Jedi EU would be discarded while keeping everything else in tact. Then I heard everything would be just thrown out and starting anew. I'm not for it, but I'm also not against what Disney is doing. As a fan, sure it stinks, but if they decided to keep everything canon I'm sure we would have some conflicting EU material somewhere down the line.

[Tamer]

Being a promoter of history in general. There is part of me that just cannot condone getting rid of an entire "verse" just so we can get something new. I think it is a disservice to all those wonderful authors who have penned those wonderful stories and, if everyone remembers, they were part of the accepted SW Universe from Lucasfilm at the time.

That being said I have read more reports that did say they were going to try and involve some characters and story elements from previously penned EU so perhaps I do not need to get to huffy yet. Heck, lets face it, its Star Wars so anything new they give us we are gonna shovel up in mass quantities. Are all of us gonna like it? Yes and No. I think it is pretty interesting to read everyone's opinions here. Keep it coming folks. And thanks for everyone playing nice.

I can see great points in everyone's arguments here.

[smeagol92055]

I think that this poll is a bit misleading. At no point has anyone said that they WON'T be using any of the EU stuff in the movies, they merely aid that the EU was going to be used as a sourcebook to draw things from for the movies. That practically guarantees that there will be enough EU references to keep the hardcore fans happy, even if the rest of the movie is crap.
I think rather than moan and groan about what could possibly be, we should all try to remain positive and be happy that the Star Wars franchise is finally getting a big-screen continuation, instead of endless prequel material.

[DarthSinister]

Lucas always said that the only material that was actually cannon was the films. This never stopped me from enjoying some EU material or loathing some as well... (the death of Chewbacca is one)

My EU of choice is mainly from the earliest era of Star Wars. Alan Dean Foster novels and Marvel Comics were always dear to my heart because as a child it was what we had. Lucas could not stand the Marvel stuff and didn't keep silent about that fact. After a period of time others came along and basically wrote over the above mentioned stories as if they never existed. This didn't bother me in the slightest because I have my favorite and that's what I like. What's happening now for the fans of newer EU like Dark Horse, Salvatore, Zahn and so on is exactly the same thing. This material is not going to disappear. It's still there for all who like it to enjoy, just as Marvel and Foster fiction is.

Maybe the new stuff will be good... maybe not, but we'll all still have our favorites and that's something. It's all part of growing older. Music changes, hair styles, clothing, toys and even Star Wars. This is why my Grandparents used to sit around and talk about the "good ole' days" and day dream of a better, simpler time. Now it's our turn.

[Tamer]

LOL. Ah, it is just the oldster in me that is so resistant to change. Maybe I am just fearful those youngsters are going to dice up and stomp on my movies? Could be!

Like I said in another thread, none of us are going to be totally happy with this whatever they do. George probably warned Disney from the start what they were up against. And I sure do hope they get us some of the EU Characters I really like in the from of Thrawn, Daala, the Vong, etc. It would be cool to hear the perspective of one of the artists who wrote some of that EU material like Zahn on the recent EU announcement.

[DarthSinister]

I feel old.