Star Wars Legends

"After Star Wars was released, it became apparent that my story &mdash; however many films it took to tell &mdash; was only one of thousands that could be told about the characters who inhabit its galaxy. But these were not stories that I was destined to tell. Instead they would spring from the imagination of other writers, inspired by the glimpse of a galaxy that Star Wars provided. Today it is an amazing, if unexpected, legacy of Star Wars that so many gifted writers are contributing new stories to the Saga."

- George Lucas, from the introduction of Splinter of the Mind's Eye, 1996.



The Expanded Universe (also known as the EU) encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. It is derived from and includes most official Star Wars-related books, comic books, video games, spin-off films, television series, toys, and other media. This material expands and continues the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 137 years after Return of the Jedi. For the most part, the Expanded Universe is considered canonical by Lucasfilm Ltd.&mdash;though subordinate to film canon. However, the issue is one of the most hotly debated topics among fans.

The Expanded Universe has a continuity with few wrinkles. The general rule is that nothing in the Expanded Universe is allowed to contradict any other part of the Expanded Universe or the films. The films, however, do slightly contradict the Expanded Universe on occasion, and retcons are created in the Expanded Universe to fix these contradictions. In the absence of such ad hoc solutions, the EU is considered incorrect on the particular points of contradiction. The Expanded Universe is actually older than the films themselves, as the novelization of the original film was published nearly a year before the film was released. The earliest works involving Star Wars chronologically is the Tales of the Jedi comic series, which is set millennia before the films are. The most recent is the Legacy comic series, which is set about one-hundred thirty years after Return of the Jedi.

Development
The early development of the Expanded Universe was sporadic and unrefined, particularly because there was so little official material for the creators to build on. For example, the "Expanded Universe" is generally considered to have begun with Alan Dean Foster's February 1978 Star Wars spin-off novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye (although technically it began with Marvel Comics' "Star Wars #7" in January 1978). This novel drew inspiration primarily from an early draft of the Star Wars script. (It should be noted that although George Lucas's name is on the cover of the original Star Wars novelization, Alan Dean Foster ghost-wrote it. He was given a copy of the working script and a tour of the production. Most of the actual description was from the mind of Foster. It could be said that this was the unofficial start of the Expanded Universe.)

Much of the early EU material from the early '80s contained analogies to the real world, rather than embracing the holistic fiction of the Star Wars films. Much of this material now seems rather detached from the rest of the EU.

A turning point was reached when West End Games began publishing the Star Wars Roleplaying Game in 1987. In order for players of the roleplaying game to create new adventures, West End Games needed to provide supplemental material describing the Star Wars universe in previously unknown detail. For example, the Aurebesh alphabet was originally a random piece of set dressing in Return of the Jedi. Stephen Crane copied those symbols and turned them into a complete and coherent alphabet (which would later be used in the feature films). Developing details like this in a consistent fashion turned West End Games' Star Wars products into a de facto reference library for other EU developers.

Around this same time, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy, including the very popular Dark Empire stories.



Shortly thereafter, in the early '90s, Bantam Spectra published Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy. Widely publicized as the "sequels which were never made", Zahn's novels reignited Star Wars fandom and sparked a revolution in Star Wars literature.

All this development began to feedback on itself: West End Games was producing roleplaying supplements detailing the material from Dark Horse's comics and Zahn's novels. Novelists and comic creators were using West End Games' supplements as reference material. Sequels to the novels were being published as comics and vice versa. And the scope of the Expanded Universe grew at a prodigious rate.

To date, the bulk of the Expanded Universe has detailed the Star Wars universe after the end of Return of the Jedi, as numerous topics, including the rise of the Galactic Empire, the personal histories of Anakin Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine, and the Clone Wars had been declared off-limits by George Lucas prior to the development of the prequel trilogy.

It was decided in the late '90s that using the Empire as the villains had become repetitive and monotonous. Hence a new threat, the Yuuzhan Vong, was introduced in the New Jedi Order, more specifically, in the first book of the series Vector Prime.

The EU and the prequels
Prior to the release of The Phantom Menace, Lucasfilm specifically prohibited development of the time period prior to A New Hope in the Expanded Universe. The release of Episode I, however, threw open the gates to new possibilities.

Since The Phantom Menace was set in a time of peace, it was hard to invent any kind of threat for the heroes to fight against. Thus most material that built on The Phantom Menace was either set before or during the film, rather than after.

Attack of the Clones, on the other hand, introduced another fresh conflict -- one which fans had wanted to see for over twenty years. Aside from being explored in comics and novels, the Clone Wars would be given their own animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, which would serve to lead up to the release of Revenge of the Sith. In this series, many battles throughout the galaxy are shown, with the Force shown to seemingly its full extent in fantastic fights, such as Mace Windu destroying a whole droid army. The first (2004) season of the series concludes by introducing the newest villain, General Grievous, an important character in Revenge of the Sith. Grievous was also a main player on episodes 21-25, released in 2005 and leading directly to Revenge of the Sith. Following the release of Revenge of the Sith, events between the two trilogies are now being elaborated, like the Great Jedi Purge.

In addition to adding new possibilities, the prequel trilogy contradicted a number of statements involving the Clone Wars in existing novels. In Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, for example, the dates given for the war were inaccurate. This was since retconned by explaining that the dates were given using the Noghri calendar.

Story eras
The Old Republic was the government that united the Star Wars galaxy under the rule of the Galactic Senate. In this era, the Jedi are numerous, and serve as guardians of peace and justice. The Tales of the Jedi comics series takes place in this era, chronicling the immense wars fought by the Jedi of old, and the ancient Sith. After the seemingly final defeat of the Sith, the Republic enters a state of complacency. In the waning years of the Republic, the senate was rife with corruption and scandal, and saddled with a bureaucracy so immense that effective governing was nearly impossible. The ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected Supreme Chancellor, and promised to reunite the galaxy under a New Order. The prequel trilogy takes place during this era. An outcry of resistance begins to spread across the galaxy in protest to the new Empire's tyranny. Cells of Rebellion fight back, and the Galactic Civil War begins. This era begins with the Rebel victory that secured the Death Star plans, and ends a year after the death of the Emperor high over the forest moon of Endor. The Rebellion starts to reform itself into a body of government, first as the Alliance of Free Planets, and later the New Republic. The original trilogy takes place during this era. Having defeated the Empire at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance must now transform itself from a militant resistance force into a functioning galactic government. As Imperial territory is reclaimed, the New Republic suffers growing pains, having to fend off insurrections, Imperial loyalists, and wayward warlords. Also, Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi, begins training apprentices, rebuilding the Jedi order. The Jedi Knights are now a hundred strong. The New Republic has signed a peace treaty with what little remains of the Empire. The galaxy is finally enjoying a peaceful respite from decades of war. It's at this time that a horrible alien menace invades the Republic from beyond known space. The Yuuzhan Vong lay waste to entire worlds in their scourge, as depicted in the novels of The New Jedi Order. Having reached peace with the Yuuzhan Vong, the newly formed Galactic Federation of Free Alliance struggles to keep itself working as a single government. But many threats from inside are joined by a danger that comes from the remains of the Dark Side. The new Jedi order created by Luke Skywalker faces a new era as the heirs of the Skywalker legacy grow up. Jacen Solo, perhaps the wisest of that new order, is now Ben Skywalker's master, and together they will have to confront the new powers willing to destroy the Jedi, the Galactic Federation and, maybe, the galaxy. The Legacy era continues in a series of novels that debuted in May 2006 entitled "Star Wars: Legacy".
 * The Old Republic (25,000 - 1,000 BBY)
 * The Rise of the Empire (1,000 - 0 BBY)
 * The Rebellion (0 BBY - 5 ABY)
 * The New Republic (5 ABY - 25 ABY)
 * The New Jedi Order (25 - 30 ABY)
 * Legacy of the Force (37-140+ ABY)

Works
"The analogy is that every piece of published Star Wars fiction is a window into the 'real' Star Wars universe. Some windows are a bit foggier than others. Some are decidedly abstract. But each contains a nugget of truth to them. Like the great Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi said, 'many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.'"

- Chris Cerasi of Lucas Licensing.

Film and television

 * The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) was a two-hour television special portraying Chewbacca's return to his home planet of Kashyyyk to celebrate Life Day with his family. Along with the stars of the original 1977 movie, such TV and music stars as Beatrice Arthur, Art Carney and Jefferson Starship appeared in plot-related skits and musical numbers. The content is considered canonical, but the special is reviled by some fans and virtually disowned by George Lucas, though other fans enjoy its nostalgic sweetness and naively misguided creativity; an online petition for its video release has gotten press in New York Newsday and other media outlets. The Holiday Special features the first appearance of bounty hunter Boba Fett, in an 11-minute animated sequence, and the first reference to Kashyyyk. The general look of the Kashyyyk sets from the Holiday Special formed the basis for the settings used in Revenge of the Sith (2005).
 * Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) was the first of two films featuring the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi. In Caravan of Courage, the Ewoks help two children rescue their parents from a giant known as Gorax. This and the next film are notable for having their stories written by Lucas himself; one of his few contributions to non-theatrical Star Wars productions, other than his obvious sanctioning of them.
 * Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985). In this second Ewok film, Wicket, Cindel, and the Ewoks ally with a hermit named Noa to defeat Marauders who attacked their village.
 * Star Wars: Droids (1985-1986) was an animated series following the adventures of C-3PO and R2-D2 between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It featured Anthony Daniels as the voice of C-3PO.
 * Star Wars: Ewoks (1985-1987) was an animated series featuring the adventures of the Ewoks prior to Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars (2-D run) (2003-2005) aired on the Cartoon Network and depicted events between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The series received an Emmy Award and introduced the character of General Grievous.
 * Future film and television projects. On April 23, 2005, at the Celebration III fan-convention, George Lucas announced that two new television series would be produced. The first will be a fully 3-D, half-hour length series continuation of the Clone Wars cartoon to be produced by Lucasfilm Animation. The show is scheduled for a tentative Fall 2007 debut. A second series will be an hour-long live-action show, set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It will focus on very minor characters from the films, with the possibility of cameos by some of the main characters. The live-action show is expected to make its debut sometime in 2008 or 2009.

Radio and audio drama
A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of the next two films in the original trilogy: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The radio adaptations were notable for including background material probably created by Lucas but not used for the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively; John Williams composed an original score; and Ben Burtt, who designed the sound for all of the Star Wars movies, did the same for the radio adaptations.

In 1983, NPR broadcast an entirely original Star Wars radio drama, Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell. Like the radio adaptations of the films, Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell was written by Brian Daley.

For more than a decade, Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell was the only Star Wars drama not adapted from a feature film. Then, between 1995 and 1998 more than a half dozen audio dramas were released as audio tapes and CDs. These audio dramas were adapted from Dark Horse comic books, and include: Tales of the Jedi (1995), Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (1995), Dark Empire (1996), Dark Empire II (1996), Empire's End (1997), Dark Forces (1998), and Crimson Empire (1998).

Adaptations of the prequel films have not been made at this point.

Books
Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first movie, with the 1976 novelization of "A New Hope" (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to George Lucas). However, Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between the movies, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series.

Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original series (1977-1983), but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1991, however, Timothy Zahn's celebrated Thrawn trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam Spectra and Del Rey.

Notable books in the series include the X-Wing series by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston, the Jedi Academy trilogy and Tales From... series by Kevin J. Anderson, and the New Jedi Order series, by various authors. Another notable series of books is the Young Jedi Knights, also by Kevin J. Anderson, which follow the adventures of Jacen and Jaina Solo and their friends.

Comic books and strips
Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz.

In the 1980s, as part of its Star Comics line aimed at young children, Marvel also published the short-lived series Ewoks and Droids, based on the two Saturday morning cartoons of the same name.

Star Wars was also a daily newspaper comic strip from 1979 to 1984. Among the creators were Goodwin, Williamson, and Russ Manning.

In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, Dark Horse Comics published "Dark Empire" instead, and have gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. These include: Star Wars Republic, Star Wars Empire, Star Wars Tales and Star Wars Tales of the Jedi. Dark Horse has also published the Marvel series in a collection entitled Classic Star Wars. In addition, the company has reprinted several Japanese manga-interpretations of the films, including The Empire Strikes Back by Yoshiki Kudo and Return of the Jedi by Shin-ichi Hiromoto.

Computer and video games


Since 1983, over 120 video games have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Other early titles include the Star Wars Nintendo Entertainment System game (published by JVC) and three other titles for the Atari 2600.

Atari produced arcade games based on the original trilogy, beginning with Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, which were both 'flight sim' style games that utilized vector graphics. The third, Return of the Jedi, used more traditional raster graphics.

Star Wars has also, and not surprisingly, opened the way to a myriad of Space-flight simulations that take the space wars of the saga in a more serious manner, teaching the player to fly various Star Wars Universe starfighters along the lines of more traditional "Modern Aircraft" flight simulators. The first among these were "X-Wing" and its two expansions, "B-Wing" and "Imperial Pursuit", dealing with the Rebellion's side of the war, taking place in the period right before, and up to, the destruction of the first Death Star. The second was "TIE Fighter", dealing with the Empire's starfighters at the time prior to Episode VI. Both games were released for DOS and Macintosh. "TIE Fighter" also had an expansion disk, "Defender of the Empire". In addition, both the original "X-Wing" and "TIE Fighter" games saw two collector's edition releases (one for DOS and another for Windows 9x) which featured enhanced graphics quality and added missions. Newer simulators are also available, with "X-Wing Alliance" in the lead.

The first Star Wars first person shooter, "Dark Forces", was introduced by LucasArts in February 1995. Telling the story of Kyle Katarn, Imperial soldier gone mercenary, the game featured a little over a dozen levels where the player explored various original and familiar settings. Featuring an original and interactive soundtrack by renowned game composer Clint Bajakian using the iMUSE sound system, along with state-of-the-art graphics, the game succeeded in capturing many gamers' imaginations. The 1997 sequel, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, was notable for having a few cut scenes which were made up of live action footage of certain Expanded Universe characters, such as Kyle Katarn.

Rogue Squadron was a cross-platform title on Nintendo 64 and PC which allowed the player to experience a more arcade-action version of the same gameplay in "X-Wing" and "TIE Fighter", similar to the action that was presented in the N64 title Shadows of the Empire. The game consisted of piloting several different Star Wars vehicles through missions on planet surfaces and in space. "Rogue Squadron" saw two sequels, both on the Nintendo GameCube system.

Star Wars: Rebellion allowed players to compete in the Star Wars universe on a larger scale, focusing more on the strategic aspect of handling (or defeating) a rebellion, with resource management and agent-allocation, as well as large-scale conflicts between entire fleets of starships.

Knights of the Old Republic by BioWare, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords by Obsidian Entertainment are recent additions to the EU, and take place in the Old Republic era, right after the Mandalorian wars. The games are of the action RPG genre, a type of RPG that is still turn based like most RPG's, but instead of waiting for the other player to take a turn the turns are based on a rate of fire. This style of RPG is somewhat new and made big waves for its innovative style.

Other games are: Battlefront,  Battlefront II, Galactic Battlegrounds, Republic Commando, Episode III: The video game, Lego Star Wars, Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy, Star Wars Galaxies, and Empire at War.

Board and roleplaying games
In a 1996 game from Hasbro, entitled Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game, which is set during the era of the original trilogy, new live-action scenes were shot of Darth Vader on the Death Star around the events of Return of the Jedi. The footage was made available on a special VHS tape, included in the box of the game. When playing the board game, the players could put in the tape, which would play while they were in a game. David Prowse reprised his role as Vader, and James Earl Jones returned as the voice of Vader. Some of the original crew for A New Hope came back to shoot these scenes.

Several editions of the Star Wars roleplaying games have been published. The 1st edition (a d6 version) was published by West End Games in 1987. The 2nd edition was published by West End Games in 1992. The 2.5 edition was published by West End Games in 1996. In late 2000, Wizards of the Coast released the 3rd edition (a d20 version). In 2002, Wizards of the Coast released the 3.5 edition. Bill Slavicsek worked on all the editions. He included a conversion table (from the previous d6 versions to the new d20 version) at the end of the 3rd edition that helped Star Wars RPG players adapt to the new d20 version.

In 2005, Hasbro developed and released a DVD TV Game based on Star Wars and utilizing the Trivial Pursuit game-play format.

Multimedia projects

 * Shadows of the Empire (1996) was an ambitious multimedia project created by Lucasfilm. Dubbed "a film without a film", Shadows of the Empire told the story of the events between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and introduced a new villain named Prince Xizor. Utilizing all previous types of media that have been used to present the Expanded Universe, the project included a novel written by Steve Perry, multiple comic book series, a soundtrack, a video game, concept art, action figures, and the like.
 * Clone Wars (2003-2005). Using methods similar to the Shadows of the Empire project, Lucasfilm directed a widespread project to tell the stories of the Clone Wars. This project was made up of films, novels, video games, comics, action figures, and even its own animated series (described above).

Mockumentaries

 * Return of the Ewok (1982) was a 24-minute fictional mockumentary-style movie, focusing on Warwick Davis' decision to become an actor and act as Wicket in Return of the Jedi.
 * R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2002) was a 20-minute mockumentary-style movie, focusing on the "true" story of R2-D2's life. It was made as a fun side-project by some of the crew of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but was later deemed suitable for television and for its own DVD.

Star Tours
In 1987, Lucasfilm and Disney, utilizing the power of ILM, teamed up to produce Star Tours, an amusement park simulator ride through the Star Wars galaxy. The ride is advertised as an opportunity to take a tour to the forest moon of Endor via the StarSpeeder 3000. The ship is controlled by a robot named Rex (voiced by Paul Reubens of Pee Wee Herman fame), who happens to be new at giving the tours, and your riding experience happens to be his first time at the controls. Along the way, the rider encounters many mishaps, including run-ins with Imperial Star Destroyers, and near collisions with asteroid fields, until their ship finally makes it safely back into the port. A Star Tours II has been announced by George Lucas, to be based on prequel situations, although exactly when it will begin production or its opening date are as of yet to be confirmed. A limited-run line of action figures is also available exclusively in the Star Tours gift shop, based on droid characters from the ride and the line leading into it.

Toys
In addition, many other toys have been made. The Star Wars toy phenomenon began in 1978 with the original action figures, toy lightsabers and blasters, twelve-inch figures, toy vehicles, and much more products. These toys are known as the vintage Star Wars toys. Today many of these "vintage" figures are quite rare and hard to find. Many are also worth a lot of money. Recently, a toy line called Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Collection, brought back elements of the original vintage toy line, such as vintage packaging. With the coming of The Phantom Menace, LEGO began creating little (and quite large) buildable Star Wars characters and scenes. Recently, the Lego creators have invented light-up lightsabers for their figures. Lego even made a video game (mentioned above).

Many types of toys have been made. Darth Vader helmets and voice changers now inhabit the shelves, usually right next to the Ultimate Lightsaber Kit, which contains parts to design and assemble your own functional lightsaber toy. The term "Expanded Universe" was first used with Kenner's assortments of action figures based on the various Star Wars novels, comic books, and video games. Previous toys based on novels were sold by Galoob as "Epic Collections."

Continuity and canonicity


The Expanded Universe is intended to be a continuation, and an expansion, on the six Star Wars theatrical films produced by George Lucas from 1977-2005. All EU material, combined with that presented in the films is meant to function as a complete story. However, in order to allow this story to function as a whole, it must be kept under in an order of continuity. Lucasfilm holds this of such high importance that a team's sole job at Lucasfilm is maintaining continuity between Lucas's films, and the EU, which is written by many other authors and artists, many times out of order, and with many different ideas. Lucas, however, is free to go in any direction he wishes in his films to tell the story he intends. He acknowledges and supports the works of the EU, however, he still tells the stories he wants to tell in his films. When asked in an interview his general opinion on the EU, he replied:

"I don't read that stuff. I haven't read any of the novels. I don't know anything about that world. That's a different world than my world. But I do try to keep it consistent. The way I do it now is they have a Star Wars Encyclopedia. So if I come up with a name or something else, I look it up and see if it has already been used. When I said [other people] could make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek, we would have two universes: My universe and then this other one. They try to make their universe as consistent with mine as possible, but obviously they get enthusiastic and want to go off in other directions."

- George Lucas, from an interview in Starlog #337

George Lucas retains ultimate creative control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the "death" of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes considerable effort to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across multiple companies. Nothing in the Expanded Universe is supposed to contradict the films or any other part of the Expanded Universe. Upon occasion, Lucas's new films, reedited Original Trilogy films, or statements have contradicted existing EU material, and several retcons have been used to fix these inconsistencies.

Some purists reject the Expanded Universe as apocrypha, believing that only the events in the film series are part of the "real" Star Wars universe (Palpatine's clones, for example, seem to contradict the "chosen one" theory). This line of thought is supported to the extent that some Expanded Universe material released before Lucas's prequel films drew erroneous conclusions that Lucas later corrected. However, elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films. For example, the name of planet Coruscant first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used later in the prequel trilogy (although its pronunciation changed) - though the planet itself, under a different name, had existed in a previous version of the script to Return of the Jedi. Also, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura originally appeared in the ongoing Dark Horse comics series "Republic" - apparently Lucas saw the cover which featured her and liked the look of her character so much that he included her in the Jedi battle at the end of Attack of the Clones, played by Lucasfilm employee Amy Allen, and her demise is later shown in Revenge of the Sith. These examples sometimes end up confusing the issue, as they have blurred the lines between the Expanded Universe and "his world."

This is a hotly debated issue among Star Wars fans. Superficially, the allure of the films is that they are organised numerically and logically whereas the Expanded Universe is published out of chronological sequence and occasionally contains minor contradictions, despite the best efforts of Lucas Licensing. On the other hand, without the Expanded Universe, the Star Wars universe has no real depth. Some readers accuse the EU sources of being excessively self-referential, to an extent that misrepresents the Star Wars universe (e.g. EU minimalism, the creeping reduction of technological abilities and physical scope in EU sources). Some other fans find that the Expanded Universe convention destroys many of the good dramatic elements of the movies if it explains things in a way they find unfavorable. These critics feel that writing a new story within the context of the EU handcuffs the author.

Though LFL has decreed that the Expanded Universe is part of continuity, some Star Wars fans do not agree. In theory, the films are the absolute canon and everything else official is part of the Expanded Universe that, while generally valid, cannot contradict anything in the movies. Wherever an EU source contradicts movie canon, the EU source is invalid on that specific point, though the rest of the source is still considered part of the continuity. Despite the unpopularity of works like the Jedi Prince series, they are considered just as canonical as popular works like Shadows of the Empire.

However, it sometimes appears that this is not true in practice. For example, Prophets of the Dark Side featured the wedding of Han Solo and Princess Leia, but Dave Wolverton ignored this and featured the same event in his novel The Courtship of Princess Leia, which was released a few years later. According to the rules of the Expanded Universe, both versions are within continuity, though it is the wedding in Dave Wolverton's book that is most often referenced. Fans have tried to fix this problem by suggesting that, since the scene in Prophets of the Dark Side concludes just as Han and Leia are walking down the aisle, the event was disrupted and postponed until the time of The Courtship of Princess Leia; this was confirmed by the authors of the other series, that they had planned to write another series of novels which would begin with the wedding's disruption, but their contract was cancelled before they could do so.

There are also minor disputes about what is, and what is not, part of the Expanded Universe. For example, the two Star Wars spin-off films: Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor were written by George Lucas and are films, but they are not one of the six main films in the series, so they are usually considered to be a part of the Expanded Universe.

Official levels of canon
The Holocron continuity database is an internal database maintained by Lucas Licensing for the express purpose of trying to maintain continuity within all licensed products. The Holocron is sorted into four levels of canon, reflecting LFL's current canon and continuity policies: G, C, S, and N. G, C, and S together form an overall continuity that is considered by Lucasfilm to be the "true" Star Wars canon.


 * G (George Lucas) canon is absolute canon. This category includes the six films, the deleted scenes from the films, the novelizations of the films, the radio dramas based on the films, the film scripts, and any material found in any other source (published or not) that comes directly from George Lucas himself. G canon outranks and overrides all other forms of canon when there is a contradiction.
 * C (continuity) canon refers to the main body of EU work, and is the next most authoritative level of canon. All material published under the Star Wars label but not falling into either G, S, or N is C canon, and is considered authoritative as long as not contradicted by G canon. Games are a special case as generally only the stories would be "C-canon" while things like stats and gameplay are "N-canon". C-canon elements have been known to appear in the movies, thus making them G-canon. (This includes: the name "Coruscant", swoop bikes, Aayla Secura, YT-2400 freighters and Action VI Transports.)
 * S (secondary) canon refers to older, less accurate, or less coherent EU works, which would not ordinarily fit in the main continuity of G and C canon. Unless referenced by a G or C-level source, the story itself is considered non-continuity, but the non-contradicting elements are still a canon part of the Star Wars universe. For example, this includes the popular online roleplaying game Star Wars Galaxies and certain elements of a few N-canon stories.
 * N continuity material is also known as "non-canon" or "non-continuity" material. What-if stories (such as those published under the Infinities label), game stats, and anything else that is directly contradicted by higher canon and cannot at all fit into continuity is placed into this category. "N-canon" is the only level that is not at all considered canon by Lucasfilm.


 * T canon refers to the canon level comprising only the two television shows: Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the Star Wars live-action TV series. Its level in canon is currently unknown.

EU in the Movies
C-canon elements from licensed creators have been known to appear in Lucas's films. Most of these are brief, cameo appearances, almost taking the form of Easter eggs (which may have been added by animators or others under Lucas, rather than specifically dictated), but others are more substantial. It seems that elements of the Expanded Universe influenced George Lucas in the writing of the Star Wars prequels, at least insofar as knowledge of the EU helps in understanding the prequels. The Clone Wars-era EU was also used to introduce characters such as General Grievous and Commander Bly, Lucas' creations slated to appear in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.


 * Boba Fett, originally introduced as a villain in The Star Wars Holiday Special, was incorporated into The Empire Strikes Back, and quickly became one of the most popular Star Wars characters. He went on to appear in Return of the Jedi and Attack of the Clones, and new footage of Fett was filmed and inserted into A New Hope.
 * The name "Coruscant" was originally used by Timothy Zahn in the Thrawn trilogy of novels. 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 Edition and prequel movies.
 * Swoop bikes, originally introduced in Shadows of the Empire, were featured in a scene added to the Special Edition of A New Hope, in the sequence introducing Mos Eisley where a swoop bike scares a ronto. Anakin Skywalker also pilots a type of these swoop during his search for his mother in Attack of the Clones.
 * Quinlan Vos. Vos briefly appeared as a background extra on Tatooine, in The Phantom Menace at a Mos Espa café. His character and story was later elaborated upon in the EU. A cameo appearance of this character was planned, but not filmed for Revenge of the Sith. His name (as "Master Vos") was still mentioned in the film, however, by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Jedi briefing room in the Jedi Temple.
 * Aayla Secura. Appeared as a significant, albeit minor, character in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. She is the second victim of Order 66, as seen in Revenge of the Sith
 * The Outrider, originally introduced as the character Dash Rendar's ship in the 1996 novel Shadows of the Empire, has a minor cameo in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Inserted into the film by ILM as part of the film's "upgrades", the ship is seen from a distance lifting off from the Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine during the establishing shots of Mos Eisley. The appearance of the Outrider also introduced the ship's model, the YT-2400 freighter, into G-canon.
 * Action VI Transports, initially appeared as the Wild Karrde in Heir to the Empire. These freighters are shown arriving at the Theed Spaceport in Attack of the Clones.
 * Prince Xizor. Cameo appearance in The Phantom Menace on a Coruscant landing pad. Also, a Micro Machines model of the Shadows of the Empire villain was used to populate the spectator stands at the Mos Espa Arena in The Phantom Menace.
 * The Force Speed ability, first created for the West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Used in The Phantom Menace by Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to evade droidekas.
 * The planet Tund, first mentioned in the Adventures of Lando Calrissian series of books, was identified as the planet Ben Quadinaros was from in The Phantom Menace.
 * The planet Rishi, introduced in Dark Force Rising, was given a mention via the Rishi Maze in Attack of the Clones.
 * Nee Alavar, a background character in Revenge of the Sith, was identified as a Lorrdian. The Lorrdian people first appeared in the novel Han Solo's Revenge.
 * In the mid-nineties, author Michael P. Kube-McDowell wrote a trilogy of novels known as The Black Fleet Crisis. In the novels, which involved the planet Coruscant, Kube-McDowell contradicted Lucas's concept of Coruscant being a planet completely covered by buildings. In his novels, Kube-McDowell described the planet as being mostly covered by buildings, but also containing oceans. His reasoning was that a society cannot survive without water, and thus, oceans. Thus Coruscant had to have water in order to be believable, because water would also be needed to grow and produce food for the planet's massive population. Kube-McDowell's portrayal was also supported by the account of the first capture of Coruscant by the Rebel Alliance given in the Rogue Squadron series, where a crucial element of the master plan to take down the planetary shields involved using a mirror station in orbit to boil the reservoirs (thereby inducing a storm which would help damage the power grid). Lucas still held his idea of the city planet. However, Lucas later contradicted his own original concept by showing it raining on Coruscant in Revenge of the Sith. So, although initially Kube-McDowell's idea was not part of G-canon, Lucas's inclusion of rain canonically removed any contradictions.
 * The double bladed lightsaber (which Darth Maul uses in The Phantom Menace) was first used by Sith Lord Exar Kun in the Tales of the Jedi comic book series.
 * The Juggernaut (or Turbo Tank) is from the EU.
 * The name of the Wookiee home planet Kashyyyk was taken from the EU, although Lucas himself invented the species and the planet.
 * Though originally developed for the Special Edition of A New Hope, the Sentinel-class landing craft (also known as the "Imperial landing craft") made its first appearance in Shadows of the Empire. This is the craft seen lifting off in A New Hope when the stormtroopers are roaming Tatooine on the Dewbacks.
 * In the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye (released in 1978), C-3PO mentions that Darth Vader knows "all the proper code words and commands" to shut him down. This would make sense, given the revelation in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (released in 1999) that Vader himself built 3PO when he was a little boy. Whether Lucas was aware of this when making The Phantom Menace is unknown.
 * Lucas has adopted the Expanded Universe name Twi'lek for Aayla Secura's species, as evidenced by a remark of his which is documented in an Episode III Set Diary entry.
 * The Expanded Universe character Tsui Choi was at one point slated to appear in Revenge of the Sith.
 * The Squid Lake sequence from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith seems to resemble parts of the Mermeia sequence from The Star Wars Holiday Special.
 * The Buzz droids in Revenge of the Sith are reminiscent of the Grutchin species from The New Jedi Order.

Lucas's involvement with the EU
Lucas has often worked very closely with EU creators:


 * Lucas wrote the story for The Star Wars Holiday Special.
 * Lucas wrote the stories for, executive produced, and directed pick-ups and re-shoots for, both of the Ewok films from the mid-eighties: Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor.
 * Lucas was involved with the creation of the Star Tours theme park attraction.
 * Lucas is planning to write, direct, and produce part of the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series.
 * James Luceno based his book Labyrinth of Evil on the background Lucas informed him of, of what happened right before Revenge of the Sith.
 * Lucas also gave Genndy Tartakovsky information on specific events during the Clone Wars, which Genndy then used in part of the series. Lucas also will likely give input on the upcoming 3D continuation of the series.
 * In writing the novelization of The Phantom Menace, Lucas informed Terry Brooks of the extensive history of the Sith and Jedi before that time period, so he could include it in his book. For example, the character of Darth Bane is an original creation of Lucas', and although he did not include information on the character in his films, he informed Terry Brooks of the character to incorporate into the novelization of The Phantom Menace. Lucas also gave Brooks other extensive bits of info of what went on during The Phantom Menace.
 * Lucas wrote the prologue for Matthew Stover's novel Shatterpoint.
 * During the production of the Shadows of the Empire multimedia project, Lucas instructed those involved to base the Prince Xizor character on the Dashade species from The Star Wars Holiday Special.
 * Lucas met with Roy Thomas to help plan the early storylines for Marvel Star Wars, and personally approved the direction Thomas planned to take the series.
 * Lucas selected Archie Goodwin to become a writer for the Star Wars comic strip.
 * Lucas helped Kevin J. Anderson develop aspects of the Sith for the Tales of the Jedi comics.
 * Lucas decided that Delta Squad should have colored armor in Republic Commando, to match Episode III.
 * Lucas instructed John Ostrander on what the fate of Quinlan Vos should be in Star Wars Republic 83: The Hidden Enemy, Part 3.
 * George Lucas has decreed that there can be no more Wookiee Jedi in the Expanded Universe. Notably, Obsidian Entertainment was forbidden to make Hanharr a Dark Jedi because of this restriction.
 * George Lucas has decreed that, following Episode III, Palpatine has only minor concern over the remaining Jedi.
 * Lucas owns the original cover art of Tag & Bink Were Here.
 * Lucas gave his direct input and guidance to the 2007 multimedia project Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
 * Lucas established that Darth Plagueis is a Muun..

Lucas/EU contradictions
On the other hand, Lucas has been known to ignore C-canon material when creating his films, even when this material is well-established and central to the EU continuity. This has led some to believe that the C-canon material is not, in fact, closely aligned with Lucas's vision. Examples of these inconsistencies include:


 * While in the EU the Republic has been extant for roughly 25,000 years, based on statements made by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, in Attack of the Clones, Palpatine says that the Republic has stood for a thousand years. Taken at face value, this would not only delete the majority of the EU's history, but contradict another piece of G-canon as well. Authors invented the Ruusan Reformation, in which the Republic is reorganized following the defeat of the Sith, occurring a thousand years before the movies, in order to explain, or "retcon," this statement.
 * The deaths of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker in the original trilogy made it appear that dead Jedi typically disappeared and reappeared as Force ghosts. Revenge of the Sith revealed that this is in fact a very rare ability only a few Jedi have ever mastered.
 * Boba Fett's origins originally named him as one "Jaster Mereel," a Journeyman Protector exiled from Concord Dawn. It was later revealed that Jaster Mereel was merely an alias Fett was using when he was exiled. The real Jaster, whose name Boba used as an alias, was retconned into a separate character.
 * The Clone Wars as described in Zahn's Thrawn trilogy were, at least in part, a struggle between the Old Republic and an army of insane clones grown and controlled by a number of "clonemasters." Attack of the Clones on the other hand, revealed that the Clone Wars were fought between the Old Republic (using clones) and a (single) Separatist movement (using droids). When writing the prequel trilogy, Lucas changed the dates he had originally given Zahn for the Clone Wars, so Zahn's estimate was at least a decade off. This inconsistency was easily retconed however, since it is the Noghri who give the former date, and this species was using their own unique dating system.
 * Similarly, in Attack of the Clones, Sio Bibble states that "there hasn't been a full-scale war since the formation of the Republic." In the EU, dozens of wars have occurred since the Republic's formation such as the Great Hyperspace War, the Sith War, the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Civil War, the New Sith Wars, and numerous Great Schisms. Bibble, like Palpatine above, must have been referring to the post-Ruusan Reformation Republic, as that is the only explanation that makes sense without undermining much of the EU.
 * In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin is outraged that he was admitted to the Jedi Council but not given the rank of master. He says that such an occurrence had never happened in the history of the order. However, it had been established that during the time of The Phantom Menace, Ki-Adi-Mundi was a council member though he was only a knight.
 * R4-P17, the droid in Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter in Attack of the Clones, is at first an incorrect designation, as it has the dome of an R2 unit. The R4's dome is more conical. However, this was retconned by saying that R4-P17's old R4 body was damaged, and its remains were placed in an R2 body.

Film cast and crew paticipation in the EU
On a number of occasions, cast and crew from the films have been known to participate in the EU.


 * George Lucas has worked quite a bit with the EU (see above).
 * Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker for The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), as well as for a brief voice role as as Luke in the 2000 television commercial for the novel Vector Prime. He also worked on the LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick animted short.
 * Harrison Ford reprised his role as Han Solo for The Star Wars Holiday Special.
 * Carrie Fisher reprised her role as Princess Leia Organa for The Star Wars Holiday Special.
 * Peter Mayhew reprised his role as Chewbacca for The Star Wars Holiday Special, and wrote the introduction for the Chewbacca trade paperback.
 * David Prowse and James Earl Jones reprised their role as the body and voice (respectively) for The Star Wars Holiday Special and the board game Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game.
 * Anthony Daniels has portrayed C-3PO in all of his non-film roles where 3PO either physically appeared, or needed the voice work (with the exception of the Dark Empire audio drama, and also co-wrote Droids: The Protocol Offensive. According to Genndy Tartakovsky, Daniels also re-wrote some of his lines while working on the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series so that thy would be more like what his character would normally say.
 * Billy Dee Williams reprised his role as Lando Calrissian for The Empire Strikes Back audio drama and the Dark Empire audio drama, as well as the video game Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.
 * Warwick Davis reprised his role as Wicket W. Warrick in the two Ewok films Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1985) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985), and his non-canon film Return of the Ewok. He also portrayed Willow Ufgood in the retroactively non-canon film Willow (1988).
 * Temuera Morrison reprised his role as Jango Fett in the video games Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, Star Wars: Battlefront, and Star Wars: Battlefront II. He reprised his voice role as Boba Fett in the video games Star Wars: Battlefront II and Star Wars: Empire at War. Additionally, he reprised his roles as various clonetroopers in the video games Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Republic Commando, and Star Wars: Battlefront II. Archive sounds of Morrison were used for the voice of Jango Fett and various clonetroopers in the video game LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game.
 * Jake Lloyd reprised his role as Anakin Skywalker in the video games: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode I Racer, Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, and LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game.
 * Denis Lawson, who portrayed Wedge Antilles in all three films of the original trilogy, reprised the role, in voiceover form, in the Nintendo GameCube game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. Lawson's voice also provided the narration for the audio book of Heir to the Empire.
 * Matthew Wood, who voiced General Grievous in the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, reprised his role as the character in speaking roles for the Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game, the Star Wars: Battlefront II video game, and the General Grievous Halloween audiocast.
 * Though not an official part of the EU, it is notable that Peter Sumner, the actor who portrayed Lieutenant Pol Treidum in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, reprised his role in the 1999 fan film The Dark Redemption.
 * Clive Revill, who provided the original voice for Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, provided the voice for Jan Dodonna in the Star Wars: X-Wing Collector's Edition.
 * Ahmed Best reprised his role as Jar Jar Binks (in terms of voice acting) in the video games: The Gungan Frontier, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (game), Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing, and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Ben Burtt was heavily involved in the later episodes of the Star Wars: Droids animated series; he served as story writer on all of the Mungo Baobab episodes, and wrote the story and script for The Great Heep TV special. He later expanded on the Baobab family when he wrote the lyrics for the Dha Werda Verda poem and the the liner notes for the Shadows of the Empire soundtrack, as well as the 2001 book, the Galactic Phrase Book and Travel Guide. He also served as sound designer/re-recording mixer for Willow.
 * Joe Johnston wrote the children's book entitled The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense, co-wrote the episode entitled "Coby and the Starhunters" of the Star Wars: Droids animated series, served as production designer on both of the Ewok television films, and served as associate producer for Willow.
 * Dennis Muren worked on the special effects for Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and the special effects for Willow.
 * Phil Tippett also worked on the special effects for Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and the special effects for Willow.
 * John Knoll served as the ILM animation camera operator on Willow.
 * Miki Herman served as "Star Wars consultant" on The Star Wars Holiday Special and co-executive producer of the Star Wars: Droids and Star Wars: Ewoks animated series.
 * Rusty Goffe played Kabe, a Jawa, and the Gonk droid in A New Hope, and went on to play a Nelwyn villager in Willow.
 * Nosher Powell worked on the stunts in A New Hope, and went on to act in an unknown role in Willow, as well as work on the stunts for that film.
 * Jack Purvis played the Chief Jawa in A New Hope, the Chief Ugnaught in The Empire Strikes Back, and as Teebo in Return of the Jedi, went on to play an uncredited role as a Nelwyn band member in Willow.
 * A number of Ewok actors from Return of the Jedi returned to work on the Ewok films and Willow:
 * Bobby Bell - Acted as the Ewok Logray and worked on the stunts in Caravan of Courage. Stock footage of Bell's Ewok character in Return of the Jedi was used in Star Wars: Battlefront.
 * Peter Burroughs - Originally played an unnamed Ewok in Return of the Jedi, he went on to play a Nelwyn villager in Willow, and worked on the stunts for both films. Stock footage of his Ewok character in Return of the Jedi was later used in the video game Star Wars: Battlefront''.
 * Debbie Lee Carrington - Acted as the Ewok Weechee Warrick in and worked on the stunts for Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor. Stock footage of Carrington's Ewok character in Return of the Jedi was used in Star Wars: Battlefront.
 * Tony Cox - Acted as the Ewok Widdle Warrick in Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor, and as a Vohnkar warrior in Willow. He also worked on the stunts in Caravan of Courage. Stock footage of his Ewok character in Return of the Jedi was used in Star Wars: Battlefront.
 * Malcolm Dixon - Originally played an Ewok Warrior in Return of the Jedi, he went on to play a Nelwyn band member in Willow]]. Stock footage of his Ewok character from Return of the Jedi was later used in the video game Star Wars: Battlefront''.
 * Margarita Fernández - Acted as the Ewok Kaink in Caravan of Courage and worked on the stunts for Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor
 * Daniel Frishman - Acted as the Ewok Deej Warrick in Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor. Stock footage of Frishman's Ewok character in Return of the Jedi was used in Star Wars: Battlefront.
 * Pam Grizz - Acted as the Ewok Shodu Warrick in Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor. Grizz's Ewok character in Return of the Jefi was used in Star Wars: Battlefront.
 * Kevin Thompson - Acted as the Ewok Chukha-Trok in Caravan of Courage and worked on the stunts for Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor.
 * Kenny Baker has an uncredited role as R2-D2 in Star Tours and an uncredited role as a Nelwyn band member in Willow.