This notability policy describes criteria for determining the notability of articles on Wookieepedia, as accepted and approved by community consensus. Except for fan projects, which are covered on their own page at Wookieepedia:Notability of fan projects, any type of article not discussed below does not have fixed rules for determining notability; in such cases, notability is determined on a case-by-case basis.
In-universe articles
Aliases, nicknames, and pseudonyms
Articles on aliases, nicknames, and pseudonyms shall be merged with their main subjects (examples: Arica is merged with Mara Jade Skywalker; The Negotiator is merged with Obi-Wan Kenobi; Sunfighter Franchise is merged with Millennium Falcon)
- Exceptions are granted to aliases shared by multiple individuals (examples: Fulcrum, Blackhole, Madame Atuarre's Roving Performers) and subjects known only by an alias, nickname, or pseudonym (examples: Jon Antilles, The Contessa, Rookie One). Squadron callsigns do not count as nicknames for the purposes of determining notability.
Battle droids, clone troopers, and stormtroopers
Articles may only be granted to unidentified battle droids, clone troopers, and stormtroopers who play a significant plot role or who have significant dialogue. Simple exclamations (example: "Run for it!") and affirmations (examples: "Roger, roger."; "Yes, sir.") are not considered significant, whereas having more than one line of dialogue is considered notable.
- → See Wookieepedia:Mofferences/March 6, 2016 and Forum:CT:"Unidentified" Notability policy amendment
Centuries and decades
Articles shall be granted to centuries and decades that are both explicitly named in source material and have at least one event assigned to them that does not have an explicitly identified date.
Examples:
- The 690s BBY, 9400s BBY, and 10,970s BBY (all examples from The Essential Guide to Warfare unless specified otherwise) shall all receive articles.
- "The decade before the Battle of Yavin," "the century that began in 1100 BBY," and "the last century before the Battle of Yavin" shall not receive articles.
- An event is specified to have happened in 7786 BBY (source), but other, unrelated events are also stated to have occurred in the 7700s BBY; therefore, the latter shall receive an article.
- The term "3900s BBY" is exclusively used with respect to the timeframe of the Mandalorian Wars, and the conflict is also specifically stated to have taken place between 3976 BBY and 3960 BBY; therefore, the 3900s BBY shall not receive an article.
Information from future products
In-universe articles on topics from future Star Wars products may only be created once the information is released through official outlets, such as StarWars.com press releases or exclusive feature stories in outlets like Entertainment Weekly and Vanity Fair, where Lucasfilm or an official licensee is expressly providing the information. This specifically disallows information that has been leaked through unofficial channels.
LEGO articles
LEGO subpages are to be used only for subjects that were created for LEGO media and were subsequently mentioned in canonical media (example: R0-GR, Freemakers, Pace Freemaker, Graballa). Characters and subjects that originated outside LEGO media will not be eligible for a LEGO subpage (example: Lightsaber, Blaster, Luke Skywalker).
New canon subjects
New canon subjects that share a name with a Star Wars Legends counterpart may be assumed to be the same as that Legends counterpart, particularly if the canon subject is not visually identified in canon source material. For example: Mosep Binneed, who appears in the canon short story "The Ride" but is not pictured, may be assumed to be the same Mosep Binneed visually identified by Legends source material.
This does not apply to:
- Individual starships that are visually indistinguishable. For example: most individual Imperial-class Star Destroyers are visually indistinguishable. As such, the Adjudicator should not be assumed to appear in The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi in canon, despite the Legends Adjudicator appearing in these pieces of media.
- Appearances of sectors or galactic regions such as the Outer Rim Territories.
- → See Forum:CT:Legends names in Canon
- → See Forum:CT:Addition to new canon subjects notability policy regarding astro material
- → See Forum:CT:Notability policy: Identical starships modification
Planets
Planet articles may only be created based on maps from The Essential Atlas if the Atlas or another source explicitly identifies the article subject as a planet. According to author Jason Fry, The Essential Atlas lists star systems rather than planets, so galactic locations highlighted on Atlas maps are not to be interpreted as planet names without aforementioned source confirmation.
Sentient species
If an individual is of a unique and unnamed sentient species that does not appear elsewhere, that species should not receive an article; instead, the character's physical appearance should be described in the individual's article. Generic background characters should not receive species articles. However, if two or more characters are of the same unidentified species, that species may receive an article. Exceptions can be made for single-member species that are particularly notable.
A species must have one of the following to necessitate an article:
- A canonical name.
- Multiple members. For example: Yoda's species or Eero Iridian's species.
- Significant development/behind the scenes information, such as inspiration. For example: Red pachydermoid species.
- A species may only receive an article based on this clause if no corresponding character article exists for that species.
- A homeworld that has been specifically mentioned or appeared, and has been specifically identified as the species' homeworld.
- Significant backstory or accomplishments that have been directly attributed to the species. For example: Those who came before.
- Significant description and identification as a unique species in dialogue. For example: The Warlord's species.
Star systems
Star systems that The Essential Atlas and/or the Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion have named after nebulae; star clusters; rogue planets; or any other non-standard, non-planetary astronomical location shall not have articles. Exceptions to this rule are systems named after space stations (example: Azzameen Station system) and any star system that is clearly shown to exist in a source outside of Atlas material (example: Red Nebula system).
Wookieepedia is not a dictionary
Wookieepedia exists to catalog the Star Wars universe, but only within reason. We do not serve to list every item that has ever existed in Star Wars if a simple real-world dictionary definition would suffice. The Trash compactor archives are littered with examples of overzealous article creation, and while we generally appreciate such enthusiasm, articles with an obvious real-world equivalent should generally only be created if they fall into a few major categories:
- The item possesses a distinct otherworldly quality. For example, we have shirts on Earth, but our shirts don't go 'boop' and change color.
- The item's distinct lack of an otherworldly quality creates a unique incongruity. For example, in a universe with bacta and laser scalpels, why does a child have braces? And in a galaxy full of blasters, it's interesting when one lands on a planet dominated by swords.
Outside of such areas, items with real-world equivalents will normally be deleted upon creation via the speedy deletion process unless a compelling argument can rapidly be presented for their preservation.
Real-world articles
Film re-release products
Articles for film re-release products should only be created if the product contains multiple films and new content, such as content changes or behind-the-scenes features. Any film re-release product consisting of only a single film should be covered on the main article for that film, even if it includes new content.
Future products
Articles about future Star Wars products may only be created if the products have been revealed by an official source. Examples of official sources include Lucasfilm, publishers, or mainstream media sites.
Internet marketplace and listing sites may only be used as independent confirmation if the listing is directly maintained by an official source. Sites that provide directly maintained listings include Disney Books, Edelweiss+, and Penguin Random House. Sites such as Amazon may only be used as independent confirmation if the listing was created by an official source (or a verified proxy) and not an independent third-party seller.
Listings by third-party sellers may only be used to confirm rare or limited-release products that cannot be otherwise identified by official sources (example: Star Wars Galactic Adventures). In this case, the third-party listing must clearly demonstrate that the product is officially licensed, such as with identifiable close-up images.
Canceled products
Canceled products may only receive articles if they are confirmed by official sources, such as Lucasfilm or mainstream media (example: Battle of the Sith Lords). Authorial comments or portfolio content (example: concept art) may also be used as confirmation provided the source clearly demonstrates that the product was officially in development with Lucasfilm. Internet marketplace and listing sites may only be used as confirmation of canceled products if they fit the above listed criteria for future products.
If the canceled product is untitled, there must be substantive information available in order to necessitate an article. An article may not be created if the only known information is the product's author, publisher, release date, or ISBN. If the product does not meet these criteria, it should instead be documented on the publisher's article or other relevant pages.
Merchandise
Wookieepedia does not maintain articles for general merchandise, which is defined as any officially-licensed Lucasfilm Star Wars product that has no canonical value with respect to the franchise's in-universe continuities. Merchandise items may be more appropriate for the Star Wars Merchandise Wiki.
- One exception is video games. Wookieepedia covers all officially-licensed Star Wars video games, even those without any clear canonical value, such as Star Wars Chess and Star Wars Pinball.
Toys and toy lines
Toys such as action figures and LEGOs should not receive articles for individual figures or sets but should instead be documented in articles for individual toy lines. These toy lines should be listed in the Sources section of in-universe articles. Toy lines should be listed in the Sources list using their respective citation templates, with each toy or set listed as a separate entry.
- → See Forum:CT:LEGOs and Forum:CT:LEGOs, redux
Musical themes and motifs
Musical themes and motifs may only be granted articles if they meet at least one of the following criteria:
- They appear multiple times within a piece of media spread out between multiple scenes, or in multiple pieces of media, and are connected to a single subject (Example: Shmi's motif),
- They are specifically named, such as in the footer notes of a soundtrack booklet, sheet music book, or other official source (Example: "The Arena") (Note that some tracks also have pages in sheet music books but should still only receive articles if they represent a single composition), or
- They are composed as a concert suite that is included in official media (Example: "Duel of the Fates").
Note that articles are not to be granted to individual tracks on soundtracks. If a track shares a name with a musical theme, such as "The Imperial March" on the soundtrack for Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, the article is based on the musical piece, not the track on the album. Motifs that are not specific to Star Wars but that are included in Star Wars music also do not receive articles, and mentions of these motifs should instead link to their Wikipedia article (Example: "Dies irae").
Non-copyrighted products
Articles for products explicitly labeled as not endorsed, authorized, licensed by, or affiliated with Lucasfilm should not be created unless they otherwise qualify under the notability guidelines for fan projects. Examples of products that do not qualify for individual articles include unlicensed books such as George Lucas: A Life and A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Exploring Star Wars Comics, which instead utilize {{BookCite}} to document their content. Alternatively, {{Softredirect}} may be used to point to a product's corresponding Fanpedia page.
Individuals with an eponymously named subject
Articles may be created for real-world individuals for whom in-universe subjects were named in tribute if there is a known story expanding on the event of the naming.