Somehow the EU Already Knew
First, I will start this post to say that I was aghast at the sudden termination of the Expanded Universe. Like it or not, I personally grew up reading everything I could find on Wookiepedia (the ultimate compendium of all Star Wars brand literature and entertainment properties)
From a fairly young age I was thrilled that such a thing as the Star Wars Universe could exist and that somehow every new product could be connected to this rich Lore previously established.
However, as I continue to collect new experience, I can at least partially understand the reasons for its departure. For one, each new product would be required to follow every single plot point and established character before it. This becomes difficult for a writer, much less a scriptwriter for a big budget movie, since well, reading the ten to fifteen years of existing events is unbelievably unrealistic especially if they hope to make said movie in any timely manner. Additionally, to write even a semi-realistic story with the likes of a three-eyed Mutant Clone of Darth Sidious, talking Lizard People bent on putting human minds into robot drones, and giant telepathic space spiders or Kilikiks (who are giant telepathic space insects of some sort) is frankly asking for skill that few scriptwriters posess, and no movie studio in its right mind would fund.
So I can at least understand the logic behind the decision.
However, my concern from the start was for the talented writers of the Expanded Universe who toiled for years to fit their own magnum opus into the wacky and unbelievable web of stories that comprised the Star Wars Canon.
Well, believe it or not, some authors such as (like it or not) the founder of the Expanded Universe as we know it, Timothy Zahn was undeterred by this news.
]TimothyZahnAuthor 543 points 1 year ago
I wasn't going to address this topic. But since so many of you have asked:
What the "non-canon" announcement by LFL means is that they aren't going to be bound by the Expanded Universe books, comics, and games as they plan their new movies. Realistically, that's something they had to do -- the EU is just too big, complicated, and occasionally contradictory for them to have to deal with.
However, I'm guessing that EU stories that aren't referenced (or contradicted) by the sequel movies will still be considered sort-of alive, in the same way that most Clone Wars-era stories (like Outbound Flight) were mostly unaffected, with the exception being all of the previous material on Boba Fett's backstory.
Alternatively, if the new movies do contradict my books in some way, I can probably come up with some hand-waving story that will explain the apparent discrepancy. If there's one thing we authors are good at, it's hand-waving.
So perhaps the long train of authors who toiled away for years will have a shot at this new Universe being birthed after the tragic death/exile of our own galaxy. I find it difficult to see, but it is interesting that some are taking this much better than I had previously anticipated, and that maybe we will have in our possession something as good or better than we had.
--If you are so inclined, feel free to comment on my own perspective on the matter, perhaps you view the ignoring of the EU as less of a death and more as a clarification of dubious facts. Perhaps you've hated the Expanded Universe for providing details where there should be more imagination.. If such discussion requires more space, I would be happy to speak further on an Expanded Universe topic..
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