List of Legends elements in the films

"...we're inspired by the comics and the books..."

- George Lucas

C-canon elements from licensed Expanded Universe (EU) creators have appeared in the Star Wars films, mainly the prequel trilogy. Most of these are brief appearances, almost taking the form of Easter eggs, and are even hardly distinguishable. However, others are more substantial.

The prequel trilogy also has many references to names and elements introduced in the television series Star Wars Droids due to Ben Burtt's large involvement in both, not the least of which is the cameo by himself as Ebenn Q3 Baobab in The Phantom Menace.

The reverse process is also true: Many Expanded Universe works have given names and/or background information to nearly every element shown in the films. Additionally, the Visual Dictionary series, along with other official sources such as "What's The Story?," has also introduced many retcons, thus "creating" C-canon depictions in films&mdash;e.g. the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith The Visual Dictionary identifies Count Dooku's tunic in Revenge of the Sith as being created on Vjun, a planet found heretofore strictly in the EU. The significance of these identifications, for the most part, is downplayed in this article.

After the reboot of 2014, EU material has been harvested for use in the new continuity, and films including Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens borrow Legends material.

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace



 * The planet Tund appeared in Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka, and is mentioned as the homeworld of Ben Quadinaros.
 * The species name Rodian first appeared in Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope, but was used in the prequel trilogy in George Lucas's handwritten scripts and production notes (although it is never mentioned in dialogue).
 * The Force speed ability, used by Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to evade droidekas, was created for the West End Games Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.
 * "Coruscant" was coined by Timothy Zahn for The Thrawn Trilogy. Lucas was going to include the capital world of Had Abbadon in Return of the Jedi, but adopted Zahn's name for Imperial Center when presenting the planet in the Special Editions and prequel trilogy. Zahn and Lucas both conceived of this capital world as an ecumenopolis.
 * The Aurebesh that appears is the one created by West End Games, who had, in turn based it on meaningless script appearing in the original trilogy.
 * The acceptance of Hutts as a species, rather than a gangster title (as originally suggested), was also new to the film.
 * The Jedi Code is mentioned, having first appeared in West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.
 * Boonta Eve Classic resembles the Boonta Speeder Race, where the droids end up in the Droids episode "A Race to the Finish."
 * Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber was a design originally seen wielded by Exar Kun in the Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith and Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War comic books.
 * It is not known if the following were intentional EU references, or were later retcons, coincidences, or EU extrapolations:
 * Prince Xizor appears as a spectator at the Mos Espa Grand Arena. A Micro-Machines model of the Shadows of the Empire villain was used to populate the crowd, possibly randomly, without canonical significance.
 * Toong, the species of Ben Quadinaros, was mentioned in Droids, while his planet, Tund, was first mentioned in The Lando Calrissian Adventures.
 * The Theelin species appears, in the form of Diva Shaliqua. The species first appeared in Dark Empire. (Note that another Theelin had already appeared in the Return of the Jedi Special Edition; see below.)
 * Ebenn Q3 Baobab may be a member of the Baobab family introduced in Droids. The role was a cameo by sound designer Ben Burtt.
 * Shmi and the others watch the race through a device described as a datapad. Datapads first appeared in Heir to the Empire and have shown up in other EU books since.

Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones



 * Aayla Secura appeared as a minor character in the movies, played by Amy Allen. The character was introduced in Star Wars: Republic: Twilight, released after The Phantom Menace. George Lucas liked her illustration and decided to import her.
 * Action VI transports initially appeared as the Wild Karrde in Heir to the Empire. They also arrive at the Theed Spaceport in Attack of the Clones.
 * The planet Rishi, introduced in Dark Force Rising, was given a mention via the Rishi Maze in Attack of the Clones.
 * The swamp planet of Bogden was visited by the droids in Droids. In Attack of the Clones, Jango Fett says that he was "recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden."
 * Dex's Diner is similar to the diner in an episode of Droids.
 * When Obi-Wan uses a lightsaber blade to block Dooku's Force lightning, this is possibly a reference to Luke Skywalker doing the same to Joruus C'baoth's lightning in The Last Command.
 * Footage similar to that found in Star Wars: Episode I Racer can be seen on a screen in the Outlander Club.
 * The concept of power couplings (of the type that Obi-Wan and Anakin flew through) first appeared in the Dark Empire comics.
 * Dooku's lightsaber design originated in "Bane of the Sith".
 * It is not known if the following were intentional EU references, or were later retcons, coincidences, or EU extrapolations:
 * San Hill is identified as a Muun from Muunilinst, a planet first mentioned in Specter of the Past.
 * The region of Coruscant where Dooku arrives and meets Sidious resembles the Coruscant scenes in the alternate dark-side ending of Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Note, however, that in Jedi Knight, the Imperial Palace appears instead of the LiMerge Building.
 * Power chairs first appeared in Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith. However, the concept of an antigravity seat is common in science fiction, so this may be mere coincidence.

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith


Revenge of the Sith has several elements that first appeared in Legends sources, such as Labyrinth of Evil, that were written during the movie's production. However, since those sources have borrowed those elements directly from the finished post-production movie script (for example, General Grievous was written for the film but first appeared in the Star Wars: Clone Wars), they will not be included.
 * The form of Force Grip that appears in the scene with Darth Tyranus and Obi-Wan (with immobilizing and lifting the target) first appeared in the Jedi Knight games.
 * Anakin Skywalker's double-lightsaber decapitation of Tyranus is similar to Luke Skywalker's defeat of Shimrra Jamaane in The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force.
 * Plo Koon's Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor has the same paint scheme as the Azure Angel.
 * Quinlan Vos is mentioned (as "Master Vos") by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the one of the Jedi Temple's many data rooms. Vos is a Legends character (who in turn was based on a background extra seen at the Mos Espa café in The Phantom Menace). A cameo appearance of this character during the execution of Order 66 was planned but not filmed.
 * A Juggernaut tank is prominently seen during the Battle of Kashyyyk. Although based on unused original AT-AT concept art, the Juggernaut was established in the Legends continuity as being a siege vehicle of the Old Republic, making its appearance in Revenge of the Sith a significant Legends inclusion.
 * As first mentioned in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe, Aldera is depicted as at the very least being close to a lake, if not at the center as previously noted.
 * Sound clips of Attichitcuk's growls from The Star Wars Holiday Special were used for a few of Tarfful's growls during Yoda's goodbye scene to him and Chewbacca. Additionally, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-Sections shows Attichitcuk using one of the gun platforms during the Battle of Kashyyyk.
 * Although most likely an unintentional reference, Mace Windu's line "He is too dangerous to be left alive" echoes the same line spoken by Kreia in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
 * The sinkhole grottos of Utapau resemble the pirate caves on Tarnoonga as seen in the Droids episode "The Pirates of Tarnoonga" and, to a lesser extent, the Great Well on Ophideraan, from the "The Serpent Masters" story arc of the Star Wars newspaper comic strip.
 * General Grievous's wheel bike is similar to Jann Tosh's vehicle in Droids.
 * Tsui Choi appears in the beginning of the Kashyyyk scene, riding a can-cell.
 * It is not known if the following were intended to be Legends references, or were later retcons, coincidence, and Legends extrapolations.
 * The 501st Legion was canonized in Survivor's Quest before being included in Revenge of the Sith. In turn, it was a real-life charity organization, being therefore also a fanon element that made its way in continuity.
 * The Massassi frieze in Palpatine's office depicts a battle of the Great Hyperspace War, described in the Tales of the Jedi comics. However, it is possible that when designed, it was intended to represent that Ruusan campaign which was invented along with The Phantom Menace; therefore the official description could be a retcon.
 * Baron Papanoida had been identified as a Wroonian before his species was retconned as a Pantoran. Wroonian appeared first in issue seven of the Marvel Star Wars comic series.
 * Nee Alavar, a background character, was identified as a Lorrdian. The Lorrdian people first appeared in the novel Han Solo's Revenge.
 * Padmé Amidala says, "This war represents a failure to listen". The character Mira says the same sentence in Jedi: Mace Windu.
 * The Room of a Thousand Fountains appears in a hologram when Cin Drallig fights with Darth Vader; it was first mentioned in Jedi Apprentice: The Rising Force.
 * The film's Buzz droids serve a purpose very similar to the Expanded Universe's Grutchins.
 * Darth Sidious expresses his desire to acquire immortality to rule the galaxy eternally, possibly referencing his resurrection and cloning in the comic book series Dark Empire. This has caused many of the fans that criticized Dark Empire for contradicting the Chosen One prophecy to reexamine their positions.
 * The following are retcons.
 * Salporin first appeared in Heir to the Empire. A Wookiee in the movie has been retconned to be Salporin.
 * Olana Chion, a Jedi, first appeared in Jude Watson's Jedi Apprentice: The Fight for Truth.

Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope



 * Swoop bikes new for the film, were redesigned and added to the Shadows of the Empire. In the Special Edition scenes added to A New Hope, a swoop bike scares a ronto.
 * The Outrider (and with it, YT-2400 light freighters generally) were added to a scene in the Special Edition. It is seen from a distance lifting off from Mos Eisley.
 * ASP-series droid, had appeared in Shadows of the Empire.
 * Yet another addition to Shadows of the Empire is the appearance of the Sentinel-class landing craft seen in the new dewback scene as well as above Mos Eisley.
 * The tractor beam characters were changed from English to Aurebesh for the 2004 DVD Edition. Of note is the fact that the Aurebesh had appared in original releases of the original trilogy (i.e. the clearance code screen for Tydirium in Return of the Jedi) is made up of nonsense characters. West End Games created a 'translation" to English letters for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game based on what had appeared onscreen. When using these newly assigned equivalents, most of the original trilogy Aurebesh remains unintelligible; however, in the prequel trilogy and a few remastered original trilogy examples, it has an actual meaning.

Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

 * Boba Fett, who first appeared in the Holiday Special in 1978, plays a major role as the individual who takes Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. Note, however, that the Holiday Special is an exceptional case since it was written by Lucas himself, and the character of Fett was designed for Empire, but revealed to the public through the Holiday Special, in much the same way Grievous made his first appearance some twenty-six years later.
 * The title The Empire Strikes Back had also been used in the December 1978 issue Star Wars 18: The Empire Strikes.

Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

 * The Theelin, in the person of Rystáll Sant in the Special Edition. The Theelin had first appeared in Dark Empire.
 * Boba Fett's rope weapon and jetpack had originally appeared in the Holiday Special.
 * A beard was added to Crix Madine's costume when it was realized that Kenner was designing the toy with a beard.

Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens

 * Kylo Ren's name has a one-letter difference from Kybo Ren, a villain from Droids.
 * Kylo Ren is similar to Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus, a main character in many Legends novels. Like Kylo Ren, he was the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa but fell to the dark side.
 * Kylo Ren kills a family member after his turn to the dark side.
 * "Ben" was the name of the child of Luke Skywalker in Legends.
 * The term "Light" (for the Light Side) is mentioned.
 * A crossguard lightsaber first appeared in Republic 61: Dead Ends.
 * Luke Skywalker also trained a new generation of Jedi in Legends continuity. Unlike Legends, Luke's Jedi came to an end abruptly.
 * The New Republic was first introduced in the novel Heir to the Empire.
 * Han Solo mentions the Moof, which was first pictured in Star Wars: Republic: Vow of Justice.

Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi

 * Admiral Gial Ackbar dies.
 * The sacred Jedi texts on Ahch-To are old books.
 * Luke tricks his nephew Kylo Ren by using a projection through the Force to allow the Resistance time to escape. This is similar to how he used projections of himself to confuse his nephew Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus into thinking he was attacking him instead of his sister Jaina.
 * Luke Skywalker dies and becomes one with the Force.