Editorial: Why Disney Made the Right Call Wiping Canon

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Now that most of us have seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it seemed like a good time to pan back a bit and take stock of whether the canon wipe was worthwhile or not. Much like opinions on Episode VII, it’s a divisive issue. There are those who are firmly on one side or the other of this debate,as well as those who are conflicted. Even if you weren’t the biggest fan of the film, (I personally loved it and that only increases with each subsequent viewing) a case can still be made that wiping the slate clean needed to happen.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I was an avid reader and fan of the old EU. There were certainly some amazing stories, including ones that I will always hold dear in my heart. In the end though, they’re exactly that, stories. So, even if they don’t technically count anymore in the grand scheme of things, there’s nothing wrong with picking up a Legends book and finding yourself immersed in that galaxy far, far away. While I do think that the new canon should be considered as such, there really is absolutely nothing wrong with having your own version of the saga in your mind. Just don’t expect everything to line up (naturally).

Certainly, the biggest reason for the EU being ousted shouldn’t be ignored. Disney spent a ridiculous amount of money on the timeless franchise and understandably didn’t want to be beholden to adventures that would limit their storytelling. Yes, they also wanted return on their investment ten-fold. However, I don’t buy the argument that this was the only motivation. They still could have raked in the big bucks without the reset, it just would’ve been a lot trickier. With that being said, this brings me to my first (non-financial) point …

 

Episode VII Needed to be Accessible to All 

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Can you imagine how difficult it would have been to decide where in the timeline to begin telling the story, all that while filling in everyone not in the know on the important events that had already occurred? Such an undertaking would’ve required a tremendous amount of exposition and would possibly have alienated new fans. It’s also quite possible that the EU fans would have been unhappy at changes made in adapting say, the Thrawn trilogy.

So much had happened in the EU, which would’ve really tied the hands of anybody trying to create a new story. With the board wiped clean, any fan of the franchise was now afforded the chance to be surprised. Disney needed to be able to keep a hold of their long time fans, while being able to connect with a newer generation. Episode VII did raise more questions than answers provided. However, these will surely be addressed in the coming parts of the trilogy and via books, cartoons, comics, etc. The idea here is that both new and old fans get the feeling like they’re coming in on the ground floor.

 

Inconsistencies

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It’s understandable that such a massive story, being told by so many different people, would lead to contradictions. George Lucas should always be beloved by the fans for creating this great universe. Yet it’s clear that he wasn’t all in when it came to the books and other forms of media. That’s not to say he had no interest, he just didn’t put everything on the same level, hence the tiered-canon.

Of course, as the story gets longer and the moving parts grow in sheer number, it will become increasingly difficult to keep everything cohesive and tied up in a nice bow. The difference this time around is that there is a specific group dedicated to just this. One that seemingly has greater creative control than previous iterations of the Star Wars storytelling brain-trust. This makes a huge difference. The fact that they are enormous fans also is incredibly important. People tend to be more effective at what they do when they love it.

To be fair, the old EU actually kept most inconsistencies in check and used some clever retcons to clear up the few that did exist. Most of the glaring ones were actually created by Lucas himself, in the sense that he didn’t behold himself to the EU when making the Prequels. Nor did he seem to look over his own scripts from the OT carefully enough when writing the PT, for that matter. Some of the big ones include Obi-Wan seemingly not recognizing Artoo, (since retconned in the YR novel re-telling A New Hope) Leia having memories of a mother who was only alive for mere moments after her birth (retconned via Leia’s Force-sensitivity in the Princess Leia comic miniseries).

Both The Clone Wars and Clone Wars cartoon series also led to a bulk of the contradictions, having characters die off more than once. This list includes both Even Piell and Adi Gallia. The Nightsisters were vastly different and even wiped out on the show, despite the fact that they ended up appearing in The Courtship of Princess Leia.

In the end, this is probably the weakest of the points, considering how well such a wide array of writers were able to keep the narrative consistent. A lot simply comes down to timelines being a bit off. As of this moment, there are no glaring contradictions. Only time will tell if that remains true. The major takeaway here is that Lucas was the source of a lot of these occurrences, as he clearly made the stories he wanted, without giving much weight to the novels and other forms of media. With people such as Pablo Hidalgo, who is essentially a walking Wookiepedia, I have no disturbing lack of faith.

 

Bad Material 

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This is another reason that may not seemingly hold much water over time. Heck, some would even make said argument now. There were some really fantastic stories in the EU. Surely what is considered a good story and a bad one is strictly a matter of opinion. While, I’ve heard many a fan bemoan the quality of the New Jedi Order series, I personally, really enjoyed it. Another series that is perhaps on the more loathed list would be the Jedi Academy trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson.

There have already been quite a few gripes directed both A New Dawn and Heir to the Jedi‘s way. Realistically, when you churn out as many stories as the old canon did, (and the new canon is quickly making up ground) you’re bound to find at least a few rotten eggs.

 

Story Group 

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The brightest beacon of hope in the whole canon change is that there is now a more influential, dedicated group to ensure that everything remains on the same level and fits into the big picture. This was probably the biggest failing of the EU. The main go to guy to solve any issues was Lucas and it became clear that while he respected the other stories being set in the galaxy he created, tying them into the onscreen media wasn’t at the top of his list. That’s not saying he went out of his way to push them down a rung on the ladder, it’s just that he wasn’t worried about fitting them in.

That being said, he certainly borrowed a lot from the EU, including the names of several planets (Coruscant and Kashyyyk among them). Now we have a group that lives, eats and breathes all forms of Star Wars at the helm … and that makes at least this fan very happy. Not every Star Wars fan is going to have the time or desire to consume every single piece of canon available. The ones that do however put all the time and money into this passion, deserve to have a cohesive story.

 

Connected Universes are the Thing Now

We’ve certainly seen it with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and now we’re beginning to see it with DC as well. Connected universes are fun and it’s been proven that they can be done in a way that both rewards the hardcore fans, while not alienating the more casual ones.

For instance, the Marvel films are tied in with several TV series, in addition to comics. I’ve only actually seen the films so far and feel none the worse for wear by missing out (for now) on the rest. Yet, if I feel withdrawal symptoms, I could always add to the experience by digging into more stories that tie in, enriching my overall experience.

I’ve really enjoyed the new material that Disney has been churning out since the big change. After seeing the Force Awakens, it’s very clear that while my overall time in the GFFA has been enhanced, nothing was lost had I not read the novels or seen Rebels. The easter eggs that might come along are a nice present for those that have the dedication to go the distance.

 

Again, I wanna make it clear that I did enjoy the old EU. I’ve read at least 40 books from this era. In the beginning, I was a bit surprised at the drastic change. However, after some thinking and getting to be immersed in the new canon, I’m happy with the decision. My main concern at the time was how much world-building was going down the drain. Then I thought about The Clone Wars animated series and remembered how much was made canon there.

How much less exciting would TFA have been had it just been a redo of Heir to the Empire or had to follow all the serpentine turns the novels had taken? Would there have been the same sense of wonder or surprise? I, myself don’t think so. How about you? What glaring inconsistencies did you notice from the Legends stories? Was the canon wipe really worth it? What stories did you love in the EU? Despise? Which characters/stories should Disney mine or reuse in the future? What’s your take on the new canon so far? Sound off below in the comments below.

 

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277 thoughts on “Editorial: Why Disney Made the Right Call Wiping Canon

  • December 24, 2015 at 7:19 pm
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    They’ve already been grabbing ideas left and right from the EU for Rebels, the comics and Episode 7 in ways that make them new to both characters and fans alike, whether they knew about them from the EU prior or not. I mean, I was definitely bummed out that they dropped the EU, but when it comes down to it, if they hadn’t they’d just be making movie versions of the books, and that’d be boring for many longtime star wars fans. Have that, we cannot.

  • December 24, 2015 at 7:28 pm
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    The old EU sucks. I’m like George Lucas: The movies are important, and nothing else. I’m a big fan of the movies, but I don’t watch childish TV shows or read Star Wars comic books.

    • December 24, 2015 at 7:32 pm
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      You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but you’re missing out on some fantastic stories.

      “but I don’t watch childish TV shows or read Star Wars comic books.”

      • December 24, 2015 at 8:17 pm
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        The same could be said about the people who are missing out on some fantastic stories outside of the SW universe.

        Just because I choose to get my reading entertainment elsewhere, for instance, that doesn’t I’m missing out on anything. Because the stories I read are just as amazing to me as SW is on film, let alone the EU novels and comics. It’s all a matter of personal taste/preference.

    • December 24, 2015 at 8:29 pm
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      I respectfully accept your opinion but you definitely shouldn’t label Clone Wars and Rebels as “childish TV shows” as they add significantly to the universe Disney is trying to build. Comic books are also fun to read and add to the lore.

      • December 25, 2015 at 1:33 am
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        SW Rebels should be in the dictionary under “childish TV show” sorry

        • December 25, 2015 at 3:17 am
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          I’ll admit, it does have a childish animation aesthetic but the show has a lot of depth and complexity. It also features DARTH VADER 🙂

  • December 24, 2015 at 7:38 pm
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    Just a slight correction: there was a division at Lucas Films that was responsible for continuity in the EU. I know that Dark Horse and Bantam Books (I believe) worked with them and general story lines often needed approving before going further. But I’m sure the the group now responsible for this is much larger or has much more control over what is released.

  • December 24, 2015 at 7:50 pm
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    I know a lot of people loved The Thrawn trilogy (myself included) and wanted to see it brought to the big screen. But lets be real, it would not have made a good movie. The narrative in those novels is not conducive to mass market appeal.

    Also in my opinion, the force repelling animals was the single worse idea that the EU ever had.

    • December 24, 2015 at 8:45 pm
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      The Thrawn Trilogy would have been WAY better then EP7, that’s not to say EP7 is bad, but it doesn’t compete “in my opinion”.

      One of the main reasons they didn’t go with Thrawn trilogy is they wanted to bring back the “old” crew and the only way to do that now that they are old (I feel old writing this) is to have them create a story around the time of EP7, so we get EP7…

      …Bringing them back was pure sales marketing, for better or for worse.

      I can live with them removing EU, well removing EVERYTHING from the New Jedi Order (Yuuzhan Vong) forward as that crap was not star wars. They should of left most things from EP6 until that point NJO in and made it cannon IMO.

      I think they could have kept in most of the first 10-15 years of EU after EP6 and still made EP7 as is with afew changes and it would probably been a better movie for it, especially for the fans.

      But, removing everything after EP6 means they can write more books and sell more books, so that is what they did.

      Either way, as a fan I will adapt and move forward regardless.

      Hopefully EP8 wont make several of the mistakes that EP7 did, such as Seeing the destruction of another solar system from another solar system across the galaxy, Over the top x-wing sequences watching an x-wing turn on a dime kill several tie fighters and several stormtroopers on the ground all in under 30 seconds. Han in the same system as First order and pirate groups all happy and unaware of each other, forget that the First order couldn’t track the MF as it left the planet and was grabbed by Han IN THE SAME SYSTEM NEAR THE SAME PLANET. Force use without explanation/training beating trained force user, and hopefully not ANOTHER Death Star, err Super Death Star…super weapon type thing.

      But to each his own…

      • December 25, 2015 at 5:15 am
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        nope…rey alone beats all the “characters” in the thrawn trilogy abomination

      • December 26, 2015 at 12:08 am
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        Maybe the 8 will not make the mistakes of 7, but he’ll surely do others 😉

  • December 24, 2015 at 7:54 pm
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    Well, since it all happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away it makes since that different versions of the stories will get passed down through time and space to our world…

  • December 24, 2015 at 8:20 pm
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    Good article.

    I’m already seeing the cohesion between stories I’ve read and “The Force Awakens” For example, in “Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company” there is an interesting paragraph in Chap. 29—from a stormtrooper POV. Quote, “Stormtroopers must remain in uniform at all times while in view of the public.” She then removes her helmet in a security office and worries she may get caught. Also, she is beginning to become disillusioned with the Empire.

  • December 24, 2015 at 8:21 pm
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    Personally I would have loved for a lot of the video games to have become canon. Mainly KOTOR, TFU, Jedi Academy and a couple others. I grew up on these games even more than I did the movies and thought a lot of them had amazing stories and didn’t see the harm in keeping some of them canon, even though there were a few duds. The canonization of more recent (pre Disney) novels would have been great also. I don’t understand why the Tarkin novel by James Luceno would be declared canon, while the Plagueis novel wouldn’t be. They’re by the same author and there aren’t any sort of inconsistencies that I’m aware of that would make canonization of both an issue

    • December 24, 2015 at 8:24 pm
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      I’m sad to see that KOTOR isn’t canon when it’s such a phenomenal video game. TFU was also another favorite of mine so seeing those two swept away is depressing 🙁

      • December 24, 2015 at 8:37 pm
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        Theres still hope for KOTOR. They said it’s fine unless they decide to go back in that timeline and do something, but I don’t think they will. The Old Republic era is safe for now.

        • December 24, 2015 at 8:40 pm
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          I hope you’re right because KOTOR is an amazing game worthy of more recognition. I think all Star Wars fans should give it a try.

    • December 25, 2015 at 5:47 am
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      I totally agree. Kotor got tons of awards, mostly for the good story.

      I do think that Kotor 2 and the Revan book kind of ruined Darth Revan’s character though. I wish that they’d make Kotor 1 into a movie so that I can share the awesome story with my friends who don’t play video games and wouldn’t play a 30 hour game to get the story. I wouldn’t mind if it recreated the story almost exactly.

      • December 25, 2015 at 4:18 pm
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        I thought KOTOR 2 was good overall. But it could have been a bit better. It just wasn’t always clear how it all tied up with the Revan story, and with the focus on the series ultimately being about Revan, that is an issue. Fortunately, they restored content to digital copies of KOTOR 2 and it’s much better now–I always loved how dark it was in comparison to the first one. As for the Revan book: I liked Scourge and the mystique and story surrounding the emperor, but the ending completely ruined it. So Id be cool if they changed that. What gets me is that this stuff is on par if not better than the skywalker story. It’s almost an injustice to not capture it in film

        • December 26, 2015 at 2:52 am
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          I actually completely agree with you. Kotor 2 is a great game. The only thing I didn’t like about it is how it made Kotor 1 meaningless. I mean you go through everything to save the Republic and save the Jedi and then in the beginning of Kotor 2 all the Jedi are dead and the Republic is on the verge of collapse and eventually you find out that Revan wasn’t evil all along but was just pretending to be bad, making even his redemption meaningless. So, by itself, Kotor 2 is awesome, but I hate what it did to Kotor 1 and Revan.

    • December 26, 2015 at 6:39 pm
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      And maybe make the Prequels non-canon. 🙂 jk.

  • December 24, 2015 at 8:23 pm
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    The old and new EU are both hit or miss. So are the movies 🙂 The EU was, is and always will be second to the movies. If a writer or director gets a cool idea for a future film, they’ll make it. No comic book or novel is going to derail a billion dollar movie. I enjoy the EU stuff for what it is, but I’m realistic about its impact on the larger narrative. To me, it’s always been “true until it isn’t”. Anyway, I think it’s kinda cool that some EU elements show up in the movies — from time to time.

    • December 24, 2015 at 8:32 pm
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      I also think it’s cool to see ideas taken from the EU are stuffed into TFA. They can be nice little references for those who read the material.

  • December 24, 2015 at 8:25 pm
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    I wouldn’t mind so much if the story (TFA) they replaced the EU timeline with was a good one. I know there were really great stories out there in the EU and some very bad ones, and there will be equally good/bad stories in the New EU. They are really all ‘Legends’ at the end of the day. It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. At the moment I feel the story is weak and cliché and I don’t like the Disneyfication of it, so I reckon I will stick to the books where the true meat of the Star Wars universe lies.

    • December 25, 2015 at 1:47 am
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      I bet you already know what’s going to happen to Luke, Kylo and Rey…

    • December 25, 2015 at 5:06 am
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      What Disneyfication, if I may ask?

  • December 24, 2015 at 8:26 pm
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    It was the right call because otherwise the Star Wars saga was over. Yuzhan Vong was the lamest enemy every created in fantasy and there wasn’t much left to tell. Plus, really, outside of a few series the books weren’t that good. Just something to keep us going until new movies came out.

    • December 24, 2015 at 8:30 pm
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      Disney also needed to keep things organized and while there were definitely some interesting reads to be found in the EU, a hefty portion of it was clutter.

      • December 25, 2015 at 5:13 am
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        and the era after ROTJ became beyond boring

      • December 25, 2015 at 11:05 am
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        Yes, clutter is the right word.

    • December 25, 2015 at 4:22 am
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      The post NJO series are wretched too, I couldn’t even get through 1/3 of one of them. Truly terrible.

  • December 24, 2015 at 9:29 pm
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    When I heard Disney was taking over Star Wars I was very happy, because I knew they would expand and build on it. Sure, they wiped a lot of stuff (and old Republic is my favourite era mind you), but they will bring it back slowly, in a more “controlled” fashion.

  • December 24, 2015 at 9:31 pm
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    Not a fan of the Post RotJ Legends stuff but I didn’t see much of a difference to tell the truth and they cribbed the detonator sequence from The Last Command, I think.

    • December 24, 2015 at 9:42 pm
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      two different sequences, the only real similarity is chewie blowing something up.

  • December 24, 2015 at 9:40 pm
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    i still love most of the old EU stuff as there is alot of great material there, but i totally understood when they decided to wipe the slate clean. however, i’m nervous about some of the stuff we are replacing it with. the force awakens? great. aftermath, the first novel replacing the old EU(post jedi)? was a great disappointment. and that is where my main concern lays. that we’re sacrificing some great stories and characters for seemingly mediocre ones that are taking their place.

    • December 24, 2015 at 10:10 pm
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      One of the reasons the new canon novels are weak in comparison to the EU is simply because these current writers are unable to touch upon massively important characters and plots, to avoid spoiling Ep VII-IX. I believe that once the cat is out of the bag, in terms of Snoke, Rey and Kylo’s history in relation to the Big Three, the stories will dramatically rise in quality. The EU writers were (almost) creatively free to do what they please, and it shows.

  • December 24, 2015 at 9:49 pm
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    I still hope shadows of the empire can be squeezed in. It was supposed to be everything but the movie.

  • December 24, 2015 at 10:05 pm
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    Great list! I would add to it:
    1) A Blind Movie-Going Experience: most blockbuster films today are based on a book, comic or other media, so the ability to see a brand new story unfold on screen without knowing what happens is priceless.

    2) The Demands of Real Actors: based on the age of the Big Tree, you’d be obligated to set the story during a certain EU time period (60-70 years old), even if earlier stories are more interesting. If a certain actor only wanted to sign on for one film, you’d be stuck with only one story. A dead Chewie, on the other hand, would rob them of “Chewie, we’re home” moments. Characters in literature cannot simply make the jump on screen without these considerations.

  • December 24, 2015 at 10:10 pm
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    As a fan of the old post-RotJ EU/Legends I was sad to see characters and stories I knew and love go by the wayside. But who couldn’t be happy to finally get a ST and a non-wishy washy take on the post-RotJ SWU.
    I’ve noticed that Kylo Ren in TFA mirrors Jacen Solo from the LotF series. He might have been fighting his own sister in Rey, but he definitely needed to kill his father in order to sever his spiritual and familial ties to the light side. Similar to Jacen’s arc on the way to becoming Darth Caedus.
    I’ve mourned the loss of the old EU and embrace the new order of the SWU. Furthermore, I’m sure we’ll get more vague connections to the legends material in the future.

  • December 24, 2015 at 10:33 pm
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    Most of E.U. is garbage made by dorks who only cared about one aspect of the saga.

    • December 25, 2015 at 5:11 am
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      you can tell…one novel jedi are useless as fuck…and the next they are dragon ball z level

  • December 24, 2015 at 10:33 pm
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    Choose, you must, how to respond to your visions. But, remember, always in motion is the future and many possible futures there are.

  • December 24, 2015 at 10:38 pm
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    instead of disney saying “you know what non of it counts , its all bollocks , we dont care about anything but the films , we are not being held to ransom by shite that dont matter and most people couldnt give a toss about” ….. they used the word “reset” instead so not to offend … bet if a good film story would contradict the new eu theyd do it again … only the films count no matter what anyone says or thinks.

    • December 25, 2015 at 1:45 am
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      but they didn’t, they literally pressed reset after RotJ and they clearly defined what’s canon and what not. Why do you think all the people working on Rebels got jobs on TFA as well?

  • December 24, 2015 at 11:04 pm
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    Thanks for pointing that out.

  • December 24, 2015 at 11:38 pm
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    Talking about canon…..Disney star wars infinity game drops the ball and gives spoiler on a characters lineage

    • December 25, 2015 at 1:44 am
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      that’s also hinted at in the novelization. Also, the infinity trailer already showed rey and finn fightning kylo so..

      • December 25, 2015 at 1:48 am
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        I refused to open the link lol
        But unless there is a new character introduced avery quickly there is only one option for lineage haha

        • December 25, 2015 at 1:50 am
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          The first time KK said this is the story about the Skywalker family, you already know who everyone is.

    • December 25, 2015 at 6:21 am
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      He says “curses”, not ” cousin”.

  • December 24, 2015 at 11:49 pm
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    I always thought that Leia was referring to her adopted mother in that scene with Luke in ROTJ.

    • December 24, 2015 at 11:50 pm
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      It’s a good retcon for her to be referring to her mom on Alderaan. But in the Ewok village Luke and Leia are clearly talking about their common mother. George chose to ignore this in the PT.

      • December 25, 2015 at 12:37 am
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        I thought her description hinted at her having a force imprint of her mother rather than actual memories anyway? That’s what I’ve thought since I was little.

        • December 25, 2015 at 1:43 am
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          that “memory” only started being discussed after they changed their birth in RotS, so that probably means you were a(n early) teen when the PT came out.

          • December 25, 2015 at 5:22 am
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            Nope, sorry. I was in my 20’s when the prequels came out and had that discussion with friends I haven’t seen since the mid 80’s. I’m not talking internet discussions I’m talking about actual conversations that my friends and I had post RotJ.

          • December 25, 2015 at 10:56 am
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            I was always intrigued by the reference to their mother in RotJ – it was so mysterious back then. Offering no reason that only one kid had a memory is simply a wasted opportunity in RotS (and a continuity error). Like Obi-Wan not knowing Artoo. It’s the kind of writing that caused Luke and Leia to kiss a bunch of times even though “somehow she always knew” they were siblings.

          • December 25, 2015 at 11:21 am
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            When did they kiss a bunch of times? It was once.

          • December 25, 2015 at 11:46 am
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            1) Before they swing across (for luck). 2) On the cheek before he leaves for the trench run. 3) The infamous Hoth make-out. 4) When Luke is lying injured after Cloud City. The point is not the kissing itself, but the fact that Luke and Leia are teased in this way at all.

          • December 26, 2015 at 7:55 am
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            Let’s call it like it was: Lucas got disillusioned after ESB (and the beginning of the end of his marriage) and decided to tie up everything in a nice bow. Its as simple as that.

          • December 26, 2015 at 8:10 pm
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            Okay, fair enough. But honestly I just got done watching the movies again over the last couple days and nothing outside of the “make Han jealous” kiss felt like anything at all. In many places kisses such as these are common greetings and such between friends and would be, or are, completely innocuous. The only one I would consider a tease at all in the sense that you’re implying would be the “make Han jealous” kiss which was very specifically meant to make him jealous, not due to an attraction to Luke, that much was even obvious to me as a child.

          • December 26, 2015 at 12:01 am
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            Kenobi says : “Hey you” to artoo in some affective manner. Then he states he never owned a droid. It’s true. Anakin was the owner or R2 and after him Captain Antilles. For me the dialogues are too vague to clearly assum that Obi don’t remember R2.

          • December 26, 2015 at 8:24 pm
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            How did they “change” their birth in Ep. III? “They” i.e. Lucas, never explored it prior to that so there was nothing to “change” in Ep. III.

    • December 25, 2015 at 11:55 pm
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      Same for me, then her adoptive mother died when Leia was still a child.

  • December 25, 2015 at 12:03 am
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    An argument can certainly be made for wiping the slate clean or not. Both have their pros and cons. But here’s the thing, Disney gave us a big reset, and then squandered the opportunity by killing off one of the Big Three, and the other two are likely headed out eventually. Even Artoo and Threepio got back seat. All I know is that this may be fun to watch, but it’s going to feel like a spinoff … Star Wars: The Next Generation. Star Wars was and will always be about the Big Three, seen through the eyes of the two droids. Without them it’s just another movie with lightsabers. Paramount realized that mistake nearly 30 years after Star Trek: TNG and rebooted the franchise to bring back Kirk, Spock, McCoy and NC1701. Here we get a reset but we’re tossing out the baby with the bathwater. They could have gotten new actors to play the roles, starting from right after ROTJ. Look at Pine and Quinto, they made it work and no one’s complaining. Look at James Bond, Daniel Craig is every bit Bond if not more so than Sean Connery or Roger Moore. Maybe no one agrees with me and that’s certainly your right. I just feel sad that my childhood heroes are being shown the door.

    • December 25, 2015 at 12:07 am
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      well there are still 30 years of stories even before this. Plenty of time for books, games, comics for backstory. U weren’t going to get much more out of the Big 3 on the movie screen due to the age of the actors. So “The Next Generation” was needed. Plus JJ had to establish new characters so known ones needed a back seat considering they’ve already been in several movies

      • December 25, 2015 at 12:10 am
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        I realize that, which is why new actors to play the Big Three could have been an alternative, otherwise it’s basically a spinoff,

        • December 25, 2015 at 4:19 am
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          That would have been a huge risk. And the EU got really over-bloated because they continually had to refer back to the original characters instead of getting past it. The best EU stuff occurred while filling in things that weren’t explored in the PT and towards the end of the Dark Horse comic run when they were centuries past Luke, Han and Leia and they could just embrace their new characters without wasting time updating us on how old Luke and Leia and Han were getting.

    • December 25, 2015 at 12:09 am
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      I feel you … but, I’m pretty sure we got Harrison only because of a promise that Han would die. It’s what he wanted in Ep. 6. His immensely large contract only highlights the fact that Disney wanted him more than he needed them. I’m pretty sure Disney would have been happy to keep him alive until at least the end of the trilogy. They had a choice one more dance for the BIG bucks, or nothing with Captain Solo

      • December 25, 2015 at 12:13 am
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        Yeah.. I know.. I gotta remind myself that fans are more fond of the characters than the actors are. At least they’re keeping the Falcon

      • December 25, 2015 at 12:37 am
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        I’m probably the only one but I wouldn’t mind if Han wasn’t in TFA. It would free up space for the new characters – and 3P0 and R2. Could be interesting, as an example, if Poe Dameron was the new owner of the Falcon, with Chewie in tow. Now I didn’t mind Han in the movie but the leading role and all that rings a little false to me in the sense that the story seems to have been reshaped by Ford’s presence. I thought the new blood was doing just fine without him

        • December 25, 2015 at 11:53 pm
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          Yeah but nah. i was happy to see Solo for the last time. His death was sad though. Killed by is own son ! But it serves the purposes that Ren will never get out from the dark side

    • December 25, 2015 at 12:36 am
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      I also feel sad, especially since the new ones taking their place are mediocre at best.

      • December 25, 2015 at 3:36 am
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        I couldn’t disagree more with you two. No offense at all. The new characters have so much promise. And are brilliant actors. Never has a bad guy in Star Wars been acted so well. Kylo ren is an amazing character and I like how they didn’t wanna rehash him as another vader.

        Sure at first you think he is and they even set you up to believe he will just be another vader. But he is the complete opposite. For someone to grow up and be convinced that the lightside is evil and he wrestles and hates himself for having it in him. Then it comes to a moment where he can redeem himself and just completely SHITS on it, was awesome.

        Now there’s no redemtion and everything feels upside down. And the only redemption in the movies can be Rey and the resistance. Plus Han Solo and the big three are tired. We can’t have more Star Wars and just rely on them. It’s just pure realism. They are old actors and the story has been told. Time for the new. Which I’m personally glad that the best parts of the movie involved the new people. It was nice seein the big three but that’s about where it stopped. Although I can’t wait to see what luke is really like now, AND can DO! Can’t wait

  • December 25, 2015 at 12:05 am
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    When Disney announced that the EU was Legends, i was mad for a second because that was seemingly a lot of time/money wasted. But the move makes sense cause the EU was really packed and convoluted. Plus seeing Kylo Ren act like Jacen Solo, and (SPOILERS?) when Han yelled Ben, that was like seeing the EU come alive for me. Plus Chewie lives!

    • December 25, 2015 at 5:48 am
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      thank you for stating it correctly- when people say the EU is dead or wiped that is absolutely the wrong way of saying it.

  • December 25, 2015 at 12:08 am
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    I wasn’t able to get into any of the EU. I had a good friend who was into it and would, whether I wanted to know or not, give me reports on the storyline(s).

    With all of these new books and comics, I’m feeling the same way: can’t get into it. No offense to anyone else, I’m sure it can be fulfilling. I do see why they would have to erase much of the old stuff from the old storylines for logistical purposes going forward with the new storylines.

  • December 25, 2015 at 12:09 am
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    Most of the EU stories were junk. The Jedi Academy ones were a good example.

    However, the Thrawn trilogy is perfect storytelling and a lot better than what TFA delivered.

    Yes, simply making a movie on the base of this novel may have been less surprising, but in this day and age surprise is worthless. For one, trailers give away all the designs and action setpieces anyways and it took the internet about 5 minutes after the premiere until spoilers showed up detailing the entire plot.

    The Lord of the Rings movies are a great example. Everyone knows the plot, but they still go to see the movies.

    When you sacrifice a good story for the illusion of being able to “surprise” the internet, then you have no place working in movies.

    What really happened, was: The guys at disney got together and said “we need to appeal to more demographics and the novels are 99% about white people. So we need a female luke (rey) a black lead (finn) a female villain and since Thrawn was too complex and didn’t use a light saber, we need a vader clone and a shriveled up old guy as the final boss. Oh and we need a superweapon that blows up planets.

    Disney more or less ruined Star Wars. Maybe they can get their act together and deliver some good sequiels after this, but I doubt it. They only care about money and marketing.

    • December 25, 2015 at 12:21 am
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      if Disney wiped out the EU to not limit themselves, why are they copying ANH so closely with VII and dedicating Anthology films to characters and timelines already explored?

      • December 25, 2015 at 1:40 am
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        yeah, I remember luke’s lightsaber fight with vader, han solo blowing up the death star and c3po escaping the empire. Also, darth vader being in continuous conflict with himself and the whole galaxy united to fight off the pure evil that was the totalitarian control.

      • December 25, 2015 at 5:09 am
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        the thrawn trilogy makes twilight seem decent

        • December 25, 2015 at 5:14 am
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          No, just no dude…

    • December 25, 2015 at 12:21 am
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      I wrote a review on TFA and had it published earlier this week, saying just what you said, plus the total absence of familiar aliens, bland locales, no new starships to speak of, and no coherent plot. They fixed everything that was wrong in the prequels and dropped the ball on everything else. Has J,J,not seen the original trilogy? TESB? The Falcon used to break down when you sneezed near it, Here it crashed into everything on the screen and still flew. And don’t get me started on the plot holes.

      • December 25, 2015 at 12:27 am
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        Do start on the plot holes, I haven’t noticed any.
        And the Thrawn trilogy is so boring I never bothered finishing the third book. For a story based on a fast-moving movie trilogy stuff certainly simmered…and simmered some more.

        • December 25, 2015 at 4:16 am
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          The books were better as comics because SW is inherently a visual experience. There are some authors that do it well and leave stuff to our imaginations (Claudia Grey, Christine Golden) and others that try to get into too much detail (Chuck Wendig). We look back on the Thrawn trilogy with rose colored glasses because it was the first new stuff in years and the ‘title’ character was fascinating, I can’t deny that, but the subplot with the clones and everything would have been laughed at in a theater, not to mention a pregnant Leia running around the galaxy and Force-stopping animals.
          That stuff would have not played well in a movie.

          • December 25, 2015 at 5:16 pm
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            They could have adapted the story and changed some things. The idea of a luke clone and Mara Jade killing him was actually pretty good. Many great sci fi stories deal with evil doppelgängers.

            It was far more interesting than what we got.

            Speaking of Mara Jade, she would have made a far more interesting character than Rey. Thrawn was a much better villain than Snoke, who looked and sounded ridiculous. Jorus C.Baoth as a “dark jedi” was also a great villain. Pellaeon was a great imperial officer, especially since he was absolutely not evil. Much more interesting than the one note General Hux.
            In fact, all TFA characters were one note. Even those with some sort of a character arc (Kylo Ren, Finn).

            The more I think about it, the more frustrated I am by how much Disney fucked up Star Wars

          • December 26, 2015 at 7:34 am
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            All that is too cult-classic science fiction, which is not Star Wars.

            We don’t know what type of villain Snoke really is.

            Characters like Pellaeon would get seriously short changed in a 2 hour movie – it would likely be a choice between him and Kaarde being developed. He’d be Admiral Piett. And everybody would complain. Nobody’s ruined those stories.

            And a Mara Jade character might still be coming.

      • December 25, 2015 at 3:17 am
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        I agree with most of that but the problem was that the aliens weren’t familiar but boring looking. Even Clone Wars did a far better job of coming up with original ones.

        • December 25, 2015 at 5:45 am
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          the aliens at Maz’s house were awesome. He just didn’t do anything with them other than sit there and look cool.

          • December 25, 2015 at 8:24 am
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            All bipedal though. Nothing even truly out there like that living snake in Jabba’s Palace. Tired of humanoid ones, Especially since they have the technology to really push the limit now.

          • December 25, 2015 at 8:35 am
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            I agree with that and it even a quad-ped or an octo-ped would still be boring if they didn’t give it a character- JJ is all about cool- the huge guy with the girl laying on him…. Cool but pointless. Where did that guy go as the building was blowing up? how did he go? how did he even fit through the front doors of that place?

          • December 25, 2015 at 12:14 pm
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            Apparently her story is told in some e-book which isn’t very surprising at all. Johnson has no experience with directing sci-fi films other than Looper but neither did Kershner, So it could be a perfect fit.

          • December 25, 2015 at 1:36 pm
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            Brick to me has a huge sci-fi feel to it- it basically has the tone of another world. Looper really came out of the gate strong and then it feel apart in the 3rd act, if felt like he convinced himself he could make the movie on xx.xx dollars. I have faith in him- he has vision. Colin Trevorrow, not so much.

          • December 25, 2015 at 3:14 pm
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            I agree. Looper’s problems had a lot to do with the budget which should not be a problem here so I have faith in him. I think Trevorrow will be the Story Group’s puppet in the way that Marquand was Lucas’s. Could go either way.

      • December 25, 2015 at 5:43 am
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        The first thing JJ thinks is….is it cool?… is it awesome?..” He is afraid of something being labeled nerdy. If it jumps out and slaps you as in the face as cool, then he thinks he did his job. That is ultimately why he is a good but not great storyteller. Lost was cool. Alias was cool. Neither had a long term plan and ultimately failed. Trek 09 was cool, fun, big, and ultimately stupid, but the cool, fun and big were so good that the stupid was overlooked. 95% of the people who saw TFA bought that and thought it was cool. The other 5% who actually thought about the movie have been disappointed. Unfortunately for us it’s not cool to think the movie had issues. 6 out 10.

        • December 25, 2015 at 9:25 pm
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          No, it’s not cool to make mountains out of molehills and get all worked up when your opinions aren’t matched by others. The people who liked it are guilty of the latter sometimes, but I find the fans who didn’t like it are a lot more vocal about their negativity and much quicker to make up reasons not to like it to justify the rather weak reasons they initially found. A good example is the “retreaded” story, which isn’t a retread if you are at all familiar with storytelling as a tradition. There are seven story archetypes, all of which have been done before. And if we’re going to be angry at TFA for using similar story elements to A New Hope, how about we get angry at A New Hope for using the same plot points as Dambusters and The Sword in the Stone? It’s a very weak thing to attack a story as being similar to other stories, because while it’s true that there are infinite ways to use the English language, remarkably few of them can turn out an original movie – mainly because a movie has severe restrictions that a book simply isn’t bound by – and have it be anything resembling entertainment.

          • December 25, 2015 at 9:29 pm
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            I absolutely agree with you on it not being a retread- but at the same time the story is very weak and predictable. People calling it a retread is as lazy as people calling it awesome- band wagon thoughtless opinions.

    • December 25, 2015 at 8:08 am
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      Are you seriously comparing the Zahn trilogy to the Lord of the Rings? I enjoyed the Zahn trilogy when it was released, especially because it was the first new Star Wars story since Return of the Jedi with the exception of the horrific Droids cartoons. But it is baseless to suggest that people would flock to see the Zahn novels made into films the way they did to view Tolkien’s classic stories on the big screen. Also, how do you get around the major incongruity of Zahn’s portrayal of the Clone Wars involving defective Jedi clones rather than the clone troopers that Lucas eventually presented in the prequels? Why should Disney be expected to stick to storylines that Lucas himself obviously felt no compunction about deviating from?

  • December 25, 2015 at 1:02 am
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    Although the EU stories are not that exciting, all trade and mobility, I think the UK should vote to remain in it.

    • December 25, 2015 at 1:16 am
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      I thing there are far to many trade negotiation plot lines in the EU recently.

  • December 25, 2015 at 1:13 am
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    I was not surprised at all when they wiped the EU. It has happend before. Back to the mid 80s Marvel had already published a whole comic line with 100+ issues. Plus the strips from the newspapers also from the 80s.

    IIRC the whole idea of the books and comics being canon was from the early 90s when dark horse started their comic line and the Zahn books where published, in a time when general interest in Star Wars was pretty low.

    At least Disney was honest telling everyone that they don’t intend to care about the old EU.

    My suggestion is that everony should enjoy the additional material he likes and not worry too much if the stuff is to be considered canon or not. Whatever the marketing department tell you, EU stuff will never carry the same weight as the movies and (to a lesser degree) the TV shows.

    • December 25, 2015 at 3:15 am
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      Except they weren’t. At the press release Iger said they didn’t just buy the IP but “thousands of planets, characters, and eons of backstory” which obviously is not referring to the films.

      • December 25, 2015 at 5:38 am
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        the thing is “wiping the EU” is a misleading thing to say- as with legend status all that stuff is available to become canon at any point and some of it already has become canon again.

        • December 25, 2015 at 8:21 am
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          Reboot, remake, re-imaginaing, re-intrepretation. All phony words created by execs to not call a spade a spade and make a profit off of their own IP.

  • December 25, 2015 at 1:32 am
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    They could have at least deemed some of the books as canon. Like the Han Solo trilogy for instance, that entire story holds up regardless of either timeline.

    • December 25, 2015 at 3:11 am
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      I agree, Everything before Jedi would not have affected anything in VII.

  • December 25, 2015 at 3:14 am
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    I think they partially de-canonized it so that they wouldn’t get sued by the authors for using their ideas in the new trilogy. I just wish they had borrowed the good stuff rather than the bottom of the barrel shit ones.

    • December 25, 2015 at 3:20 am
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      How could they sue Mr Lucas when they are playing in his universe using his ideas?

      • December 25, 2015 at 8:15 am
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        Not Lucas, Disney. Not the canon characters but their own creations. Yeah, They technically own them but that hasn’t stopped others in the past from suing. Taking on the Mouse is as futile as going up against Uncle Sam but I doubt they would the drama or bad PR from that.

    • December 25, 2015 at 9:15 pm
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      They’d have no legal basis for doing so. The creators, every one of them, sold their IP to Lucasfilm when they created their works. That’s how the business works, otherwise you run the legal possibility of a creator deciding to take his work and turn it into his own thing, which would conflict with the first person’s right to produce the work that was sold to them. This is the same reason that you can’t submit ideas for free to companies like Hasbro for a new Star Wars toy. There are all kinds of red tape that gets in the way.

      • December 26, 2015 at 10:17 am
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        But how many baseless lawsuits have we seen lately in the last few decades? Even if they didn’t have a case, Disney would not want any fan backlash even if EU fans are smaller in numbers than other types of Star Wars fans.

        • December 27, 2015 at 9:22 pm
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          No, I mean they wouldn’t be able to bring it before a judge at all. In the legal system, there’s always a hearing where the plaintiff has to present their case to the judge and provide a legal basis for proceeding to a trial, even in something as common as traffic court. If they don’t have a legal basis for their case, then the judge will throw it out and go on with his life. So even if they do bring it before a judge, it’ll die. There’s no possible way they would have a legal foot to stand on, because they sold their rights to the IP to Lucasfilm long ago. Imagine if you were sold a car, then the person who sold it to you decided they didn’t like that you used it to drive to a casino because of their religious convictions. They could try to sue you for it back, but they wouldn’t have a case because they sold it to you in good standing and both parties agreed to the terms of the contract. It’s the exact same process for IP: if both parties agreed to the terms of the contract, then unless the purchaser agrees to sell it back or outright give it back, they can’t be forced to do so under law.

          • December 28, 2015 at 5:52 pm
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            They couldn’t stop them from making a stink about it though as they couldn’t with this whole EU business and I’d think they would want to avoid that if they could in the future.

  • December 25, 2015 at 3:23 am
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    EU hacks….Star Wars is meant to be a MOVIE. Just because Lucas wanted to line his wallet by selling Star Wars licenses to a bunch of fanboy authors doesn’t mean they were meant to be canonized. I’m no EU expert but I haven’t read an EU book that didn’t base it’s stories on people or plot points from the MOVIES which of course came first. Again, the movie came first. Without the movies there would be no EU. I don’t know what your whining about anyway, Disney has not done anything to disrupt the time lines of your precious EU stories (at least not yet). But when they do, don’t go jumping in to the sarlac pit just yet because there will be plenty more material from the new trilogy for would-be authors to piggy back from and form a new EU (providing of course that Disney would be desperate enough to sell those licenses).

    • December 25, 2015 at 4:37 am
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      Don’t forget about Star Wars TV shows. Star Wars movies and TV shows will have equal importance (and equal weight) as they’re both moving pictures.

    • December 25, 2015 at 4:57 am
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      Angry much?

    • December 27, 2015 at 10:32 am
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      Without the Expanded Universe, there wouldn’t be any Star Wars at all past 1989. The Expanded Universe, as a whole, brought in over Six Billion Dollars, which is more than 50% larger than the Ticket Sales or the Video/DVD sales of the Original Trilogy. It was that very income that Lucasfilms relied on and the interest it generated to keep the franchise relevant into the 1990’s. Without the Expanded Universe, Dark Horse would not have become the powerhouse in the Comic Book world that it became when Lucasfilms gave them the rights to make Comics. It even brought about new developments in Gaming and created some of the best games OF ALL TIME and that’s no joke.

      It may have been a “movie” back in 1977, but after that, it became a multi-media franchise that extended into every media format possible, including novels, Role Playing games, Video Games, Comic Books, and even radio dramas. To top it all off, just about every single piece of material produced was approved by Lucas himself and it all melded together into one cohesive universe and it made Star Wars an actual universe.

  • December 25, 2015 at 3:39 am
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    Logistically the EU really had to go. No matter what. It would have been nearly impossible and boring to have had the thrawn series on film. Personally that’s my thought.

    But I REALLLLLY hope they do some movies or a show on darth bane. And since the character is at least technically canon (because he was shown very briefly in clown wars) I really hope they use the material from the trilogy of darth bane. It was probably my favorite old EU novel set so good. And it’d be nice to see a new take and a movie about the old republic. Not to mention a whole movie just based on bad guys. Kinda tired of series being all about good guys.

    • December 25, 2015 at 5:36 am
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      Bane is canon at this point. He was in the Clone Wars. So that could happen.

    • December 25, 2015 at 8:16 am
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      I don’t see a villain centric film ever getting produced under Disney.

      • December 25, 2015 at 1:47 pm
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        Maleficent (2014), anyone?

        • December 25, 2015 at 3:17 pm
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          They sanitized her though. The ancient Sith Lords were characters straight out of ancient religious texts in terms of their barbarism. Only reason they could get away with them in the books and comics.

          • December 25, 2015 at 5:07 pm
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            Good points.

          • December 26, 2015 at 10:11 am
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            TY! It will be very difficult to make whatever order Kylo and Snoke are as evil as the Sith were since a lot of what they said or believed in also had good points which is why I never got sick of reading about them. I just hope we aren’t getting the Sith 2.0 or some lesser knockoff but we won’t really know till the next film.

          • December 25, 2015 at 6:16 pm
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            And even then, she only got greenlit because absolutely all of her evil was being excused as the fault of a greedy, stupid man who ruined a perfect, precious flower of a young woman. Disney loves them some tween girl dollars.

          • December 26, 2015 at 10:13 am
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            Yeah, I should have known it would have had a heavy Misandric bent soon as I saw who was starring in the titular role. Imagine the uproar had the genders been reversed. People would have boycotted or gotten blacklisted.

        • December 26, 2015 at 7:48 am
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          Ugh.

  • December 25, 2015 at 5:13 am
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    Speaking as a major fan of the old EU, I have read all but maybe a dozen of the novels, not to mention most of the comics, I’m fine with the fact that it was relegated to Legends status.

    The fact is, I don’t regret my time spent reading EU stories just because they are no longer canon. Being a big comic book fan as well, I’m used to alternate timelines and universes, plus outright reboots. I’m not threatened by any of those things. The fact that The Dark Knight returns doesn’t line up with current continuity in the Batman comics doesn’t make me love it any less, nor does it make me judge the stories in the new continuity any harsher.

    I feel the same about the stories that I love from the EU, I,Jedi is still a great story and Corran Horn is still one of my all time favorite characters, the fact that it isn’t canon doesn’t change that for me. Additionally, I don’t mind seeing some of the stories I didn’t like get the boot as well.

    The honest truth is, in the old EU, there were some great stories, some good stories, some OK stories, some bad stories, and some awful stories. In the stories set in the new canon we will see some great stories, some good stories, some OK stories, some bad stories, and some awful stories. Their status as canon does not determine the quality of the stories, the quality of the creators determines that.

    Additionally, I do agree with the fact that in order to tell fresh new stories without the confusing fans who haven’t read any of the books, it had to go. For instance, how well do you think most people in the audience would take it if you told them that Chewbacca was dead and that they needed to read Vector Prime for details?

    • December 25, 2015 at 7:01 am
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      this guy gets it!!!

  • December 25, 2015 at 5:39 am
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    The only thing I really want in the new canon is Kotor 1. I also enjoyed Darth Bane and Zannah. By the way, does anyone know if Korriban really is being changed to Moriband?

    • December 25, 2015 at 5:53 am
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      Yep, it was officially changed to Moriband in The Clone Wars.

      • December 25, 2015 at 6:43 am
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        Because Lucas’s ideas are moribund. According to dictionary.com “In a dying state; near death, … not progressing, stagnant.”

  • December 25, 2015 at 5:42 am
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    I read about five of old EU novels. I enjoyed one or two of them, but they were all pretty badly written. I seem to recall GL saying some years ago that the novels etc were canon until he decided they weren’t; with that in mind people shouldn’t get too attached to the authenticity of anything that’s not in the movies.

  • December 25, 2015 at 6:36 am
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    What books have the best stories in the EU besides the Timothy Zahn trilogy?

    • December 25, 2015 at 8:19 am
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      X-Wing, Darth Bane, Han trilogy, etc. all pretty solid stuff that beats what we got now. None of it contradicts the new canon either which is why they idn’t hve to dump the pre-OT books/comics.

  • December 25, 2015 at 8:33 am
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    The beauty of the old EU was that you could pick and choose what you thought was canon kinda like with Star Trek. But now if someone fucks up along the way, The other authors (and filmmakers) have write around their mistake.

    Like the OP said, Not all of these new stories are going to be gold.

    • December 25, 2015 at 10:55 am
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      TFA did borrow from the EU tho. The main story of Luke and Han was exactly EU-like. They even choose a name from the EU (Ben). So I think they did the best job possible. Borrow from the EU, make a new story with new characters, but also please fans and upcoming fans from every age.

      • December 25, 2015 at 12:18 pm
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        Which is why I don’t get the condescending attitude most fans have towards the EU which is even worse than the ones toward PT fans since although also flawed, It suceeded more in many areas. I liked that it was a variety of different creative visions rather than the films which have most been Lucas’s till now.

        • December 25, 2015 at 1:06 pm
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          Im not very familiar with the Eu. I think the pre-prequel era has some very good stories, such as Kotor or Plagueis. Post-ROTJ is however… I dunno, X-wings was very good, I’ve read the books more than 10 years ago but I still remember them. Some choices however feels very lame for me, e.g: cloning the Emperror. Image is JJ and Kasdan had choose to do that. Fans would rage out way more than to Death star 3.0

          • December 25, 2015 at 1:17 pm
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            The Dark Horse comics had a better success rate than the books did and covered more ground in the timeline too.

          • December 26, 2015 at 7:47 am
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            Yeah I think the comics always worked better.

          • December 26, 2015 at 11:24 am
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            Probably since there was no room for the writers to get self-indulgent with descriptions and the films have always been driven by the visuals like sequential art is.

          • December 29, 2015 at 8:09 am
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            *cough cough* Chuck Wendig *cough cough*

          • December 29, 2015 at 9:11 am
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            The best example I can think of why I hate that everything in the new EU is now canon. I don’t think I’d mind as much if they could just decanonize the shit like that.

          • December 29, 2015 at 8:08 am
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            Ugh that would have been a disaster. And sticking to a pre-existing storyline brings just as much baggage if not more to the theater. People will hate the way they portrayed a certain character, just like fanboys and comic book films. We cling to a small amount of characters – Thrawn, Karde, Mara Jade, Solo twins – and that’s about it. There are some honorable mentions that wouldn’t even be explored in a set of movies, which would upset people (like Hawkeye or Black Widow in Marvel – people get upset if they’re not featured ‘enough’).

        • December 25, 2015 at 5:05 pm
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          We’re ALL fans of the films, OT films to clarify. A portion of the fan base embraces the PT, some the EU… The majority of fans either dislike (PT) or don’t care (EU) and that’s just the truth of it. Liking either or both of those things does not make you or anyone else more of a Star Wars fan than anyone else.

          • December 26, 2015 at 10:08 am
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            I seen/read most of it but I prefer some aspects of it over others. Some of the fans have a very hard line approach though and only stick to certain eras regardless, I’ll give anything a try but some just have more repeat value than others. Even if Micheal Bay did the new trilogy, I’d still see it out of curiosity no matter how shitty it was but it wouldn’t mean I’d actually enjoy it or be in any rush to see his other episodes.

      • December 25, 2015 at 11:00 pm
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        You worded everything perfectly my friend 🙂

    • December 25, 2015 at 9:55 pm
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      That’s actually incorrect, the EU as we know it was formed with the beginning of the Zahn trilogy and the Dark Empire comic. Both came out around the same time and that’s when they decided to start an effort to tie things together, whether the authors liked it or not. Zahn for instance thought that the reborn Emperor in Dark Empire was a terrible idea.

      From that point forward, anything in the EU had to match up with everything else. Earlier efforts like the original Marvel comics run were mostly disregarded however, but absolutely everything else was to be considered canon unless it was specifically stated otherwise like in the Star Wars Tales comic.

      This got trickier once Lucas started making the Clone Wars series however. Whereas the EU stories absolutely had to stick to what ever George did, he didn’t bother worrying about events in the EU. Therefore we started to get more and more inconsistencies, and in the case of the Republic Commando series, it was cancelled outright because of George making the Mandalorian people pacifists, which flew in the face of everything established in that series to that point.

      Thankfully something of that magnitude only happened once, but the retcons got messier and messier since the EU wasn’t allowed to be its own thing in the way that say, the Marvel Comics don’t have to hew to what happens in the MCU.

      • December 26, 2015 at 10:41 am
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        You know you’re shit, My man! You are correct but as you stated over time that policy seemed as retconned as the EU was.

        I think the smater thing would have been to keep the more popular EU stories that don’t contradict the new films rather than just the nuke it all at once.

        The Clone Wars is quite an anomaly and I’m sure only got saved since Lucas insisted and they didn’t want to alienate Filoni who they needed. Not a huge Rebels fan but it would suck outright without the Clone Wars references that give it life.

        I have a feeling this won’t be the last reset we get if following the Marvel Method is any indication where they are heading.

  • December 25, 2015 at 9:58 am
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    One thing that I think will really solidify Disney’s commitment to a level playing field for all forms of canon would be to see a character who first appeared in a book, show up in a film or TV series. It seems that we’ve really only gotten it the other way so far. Naturally, characters from the films show up in other types of media. If someone from the books or comics were to appear in a flim, say Krrsantan in Rogue One … this would be give more weight to the books being solid canon. I’m not counting Temmin Wexley, as I’m almost certain he was put into Aftermath with the foreknowledge that he was going to be a new character in TFA.

  • December 25, 2015 at 11:36 am
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    While I was initially dreading it happening, once it did happen, I was surprised: I wasn’t angry or upset, which is weird as I was dreading it happening. I understand why they did it as it would have been impossible to make a new series of films with the old EU without it alienating a ton of people. Also, I like the direction we are seeing. The Force Awakens, very correctly, put the focus on a new generation. The EU had the original characters overly active 40 years after the events of the original trilogy, often overshadowing newer characters. There was never a passing of the torch. Also, I hope that my biggest problem of the old EU is solved: too many Jedi. I find Star Wars always works best where there are a variety of characters. Once you go before Revenge of the Sith or once you hit the New Jedi Order series, it starts being about the Jedi and most of the main characters are Jedi. It becomes Jedi vs Sith for the majority of the EU. It honestly got boring. While the conflict between the two is good, it works better as a personification of the fight between good and evil with a larger battle as the backdrop, which the original trilogy did and it looks like the sequel trilogy is doing the same.

    • December 26, 2015 at 7:44 am
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      THIS!

      “The EU had the original characters overly active 40 years after the events of the original trilogy, often overshadowing newer characters. There was never a passing of the torch. ”

      I loved Jacen Solo’s arc during NJO, along with his sister’s arc with Jagged Fel. But the constant need to take up chapter upon chapter following Han (w/o Chewie) and Leia and the droids around really bogged the entire series down. Once its over 10 books….I mean, c’mon. They should have passed the torch quicker and moved along the galaxy. That’s why I showed more interest in Dark Horse’s last Legacy volumes – until I had to stop when I heard the TFA synopsis.

  • December 25, 2015 at 12:25 pm
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    The new trilogy is more or less aimed at people too young to post on this site or who have not been born yet……

    EU Fans – Pretty much shunned and ignored.

    PT Fans – Similar treatment with podrace flags and podracers serving as the cinematic equivalent of a mercy fuck.

    OT Fans – Got the og cast, vehicles, weapons, etc. as well as a remake of IV but it’s pretty clear that they will be pushed aside more in future films.

    Unlike the OT and PT, The ST was created not for any story related purposes but to sell theme park rides and merchandise to recoup their investment hence the target pre-pubescent demographic, The PG-13 rating was only secured to placate older fans.

    • December 25, 2015 at 1:17 pm
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      That’s a very cynical way of looking at it. I see a group of people who, while wanting to make money of course, are passionate about Star Wars and want to tell great new stories. The way they did it made perfect sense to me, and the result was a great movie, that I’m sure will expand into a new trilogy that has us all enthralled.

      I don’t see how the PG-13 rating should be there for the old fans, Star Wars was never PG-13 for them.

      • December 25, 2015 at 1:20 pm
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        Lucas had no plans post-Jedi which is why he tied up all the loose ends and Disney turned the sale down till they talked him into letting them create more films so they could have their own trilogy.

        Disney used to be about the stories too until Walt died and then they went as corporate as Apple is today.

        • December 25, 2015 at 10:59 pm
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          Disney is a corporation, yes, there’s no denying that. But there are many passionate SW fans over at Disney who want to tell NEW stories and NEW tales of adventure.

          • December 26, 2015 at 3:09 am
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            So let us all tell a new story of our own about the SW universe and by doing so erasing all the previous stuff….what kind of nonsense is this talking?

          • December 26, 2015 at 3:39 am
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            In order to introduce a new generation of fans to the franchise a lot of the fluff needed to be cut away. I’m sorry but much of the EU wasn’t very good (with a few exceptions).

          • December 26, 2015 at 11:15 am
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            But they could have had it both ways. It wasn’t like the galaxy was running out of time to tell stories with nearly a million years of history and growing.

      • December 25, 2015 at 11:33 pm
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        ROTS was PG -13 i think

        • December 26, 2015 at 9:14 pm
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          Ok, but that’s still only one movie. And for most people that love Star Wars today that probably wasn’t the first one they saw.

    • December 25, 2015 at 10:58 pm
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      I’m siding with Disney on this one, the EU was mostly clutter with a few diamonds in the rough but that’s about it. I’m glad all Star Wars fans can start on the same level without needing extensive background knowledge to fully understand what is going on.

      • December 26, 2015 at 10:45 am
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        The key thing was if a story was crap in the old EU then we could all ignore it. Now it’s canon. And let’s face it, The law of averages always kills any winning streak over time.

    • December 26, 2015 at 3:05 am
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      120% TRUE….the EU haters are idiotic when they are recalling some not so successful novels to justify their dislike. EU has more than 100s of novels and graphic books so it is perfectly normal for some stuff to be second class. Do you like all the James Bond stories? NO Do you erase something incredible because it has some rare mediocre moments? NO….Haters will hate ….but the fact is that the EU is alive and it will be for a long long time …probably it will have a vivid fan base even after cinematographic SW will be long abandoned.

      • December 26, 2015 at 10:49 am
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        The Bond analogy is a great one! I own them all and the success rate is even lower than the EU with some truly embarrassing entries in it along the way. The other thing to remember is that even if not all the novels and comics were award winners, It’s pretty stupid to alienate a literate portion of your fanbase who have proven time and tim again to be the most loyal ones any franchise can have. Who will keep the IP alive after everyone has gotten sick of the films? Us book geeks!

        • December 26, 2015 at 10:55 am
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          “That is correct commander”

          • December 26, 2015 at 11:11 am
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            It would cost less to re-release the old stuff than write new material too.

  • December 25, 2015 at 12:44 pm
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    I have 30+ EU books on my shelf. Have no problem with Disney wiping the canon. Some things didn’t work for me in the EU, some things were good. I hope they include/borrow/twist some of the EU characters like Thrawn for example in the upcoming movies.

    • December 26, 2015 at 2:47 am
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      your are dreaming fake dreams….

  • December 25, 2015 at 1:15 pm
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    One last thing to remember is that without the EU there would be NO Sequel trilogy. Star Wars was DOA from 1986-1990 until the Zahn trilogy got Lucas in gear to test the market with the special editions for the PT.

    Fuck, Even the revival of the Kenner and later Hasbro figures would never happened without Heir To The Empire, Dark Empire, and Dark Forces getting fans interestedin the early 90’s again.

    • December 26, 2015 at 2:47 am
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      TRUE 110%….long live the EU

      • December 26, 2015 at 11:10 am
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        The fact that so few reply to reviews about the new EU shows how there’s not enough of a loyal fanbase to continue on past the films.

        • December 26, 2015 at 4:55 pm
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          This guy get it.

          • December 26, 2015 at 5:06 pm
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            I just don’t see anyone clamoring for any more after the films are all done with how few breakout characters and novels there aside from maybe Lost Stars.

  • December 25, 2015 at 1:31 pm
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    The beauty of free will here on Planet Earth, is I don’t need to recognize this new film as “canon” or part of Star Wars.

    Hope, Empire and Jedi are still and perhaps will always remain as part of the greatest movie trilogy in cinema and the best story of a hero that we’ve ever seen in Cinema over three films.

    When crap such as Farce Awakens comes up, you just begin to appreciate what Lucas and the team around him achieved in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

    Star Wars as a future is done and finished, but those three films will live on forever.

    HH

    • December 25, 2015 at 7:45 pm
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      Wow… I would hate to know you.

      • December 25, 2015 at 11:20 pm
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        people these days thinks their opinions is only the one that should counts. What about sit and stay humble ?

    • December 26, 2015 at 12:13 am
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      The beauty of free will is one thing. But it doesn’t change the fact that it IS cannon. What you mean to say is the beauty of free will to choose ignorance, because ignorance is bliss. You can choose whatever you want to believe and close your eyes to the truth which is fine. But this isn’t a subjective question based on opinion. The fact of the matter is objective truth that the old EU is wiped from cannon, TFA is now cannon. It’s like holocaust deniers. They can say its not true and if it makes them sleep better that’s fine, nobody cares. The truth is the truth.

      • December 26, 2015 at 3:00 am
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        No….there are only three true Star Wars films. Sorry, that’s just how it is. All of this new stuff is purely fan fiction.

        • December 26, 2015 at 3:04 am
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          Wish I had the ignorance to be able to lie to myself like you do. I envy you. If I didn’t think so much life would be so easy. You’re lucky.

    • December 26, 2015 at 2:44 am
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      Disney killed STAR WARS …but SW is still alive inside The EXPANDED UNIVERSE the phenomenal and with no match fiction universe in sci-fi chronicles.
      There is no new SW movie…there is only the EU

  • December 25, 2015 at 5:00 pm
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    I would love to see sales figures for all the EU stuff beforehand. I think you’ll find that in terms of Star Wars fans in general probably no more than maybe 10% have ever been invested in the EU to any great extent. I would love to see hard figures though. I think a whole bunch of people who did invest in the EU feel aggrieved but frankly, it affects such a small minority of the fan base in total that Disney made this decision lightly, and I’m happy they did.

    • December 26, 2015 at 7:41 am
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      I’d guess that a ton of fans bought the Thrawn trilogy, which was cool. But I would also guess that the EU readership plummeted soon after.

    • December 26, 2015 at 11:07 am
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      A lot of them were best sellers actually. There will never be more EU fans than film ones since so few people read anymore in general but after everyone tires of the films and the law of diminishing returns goes into effect, They are what will keep it alive after everyone here is long dead.

  • December 25, 2015 at 6:02 pm
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    It all comes down to this. Everybody loves the original trilogy, every body hates Jar Jar, and the prequels and the EU received varying reactions and TFA is a mixed bag. But any Star Wars, no matter how good or bad, is still Star Wars. Like pizza, no matter how bad it is it’s still better than pretty much anything else on the menu.

    • December 25, 2015 at 11:17 pm
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      i like Prequels. I prefer ROTS than ROTJ. i prefer TPM than ANH. But i prefer TESB than TFA and ATC. Don’t state for my opinion, please

      • December 26, 2015 at 3:41 am
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        Please…I respect your opinion but you DID NOT just say that TPM is better than ANH. My eyes must be tired or something. You think Jar Jar + lame villain + plodding story + child Anakin > ANH?

    • December 26, 2015 at 11:04 am
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      I think the PT reboot will happen after Lucas dies. I’d bet money on it.

  • December 25, 2015 at 11:06 pm
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    Many don’t remember this, but in the “Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell” audio drama from the mid 1980s, Han Solo’s home planet was referred to as “Correll.” It wasn’t until decades later when they were referring to it as “Correllia,” which I like much LESS.

    • December 25, 2015 at 11:13 pm
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      Theres sometimes differences with the planetary system, and the name of the planet itself. Example : Hoth designes a planet and a system.

    • December 27, 2015 at 8:58 am
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      And that’s a fairly minor inconsistency that may have to do with the Universe itself not being well established at the time. It wasn’t until the 1990’s and 2000’s that the universe was organized thoroughly, but, even then, it was a very well organized universe with very few inconsistencies when compared to other franchises out there. Star Trek, for example, is completely all over the place with little to no consistency.

  • December 25, 2015 at 11:19 pm
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    One, old canon was never actually canon. Two, the fact that they are legends still makes them a part of the SW world, and that means that you can still read them as LEGENDS, and the thing about legends is that they have some truth to them and that means that people can pick things to use from them, which has been the case all along. No need to lose sleep over it. I think it was a great decision and a great way to start over, fresh and clean while still keeping the old stories relevant… to some degree.

  • December 25, 2015 at 11:31 pm
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    Disney is recycling the old EU and it’s good to have some elements put in a good way to draw a solid sequel to star wars.

    Luke and Leia have descendants, Rey who is a version of Jaina and Ben, who turned to the Dark Side, obviously inspired from Jacen. Between 6 and 7, Luke tried to build an academy and eventually Rey is born from Luke and “Mara Jade”, John Boyega share a same past with Kyle Katarn, we don’t know if he’s a Force-user but it could but far weaker than Rey. Thje Stakiller weapon is designed from the Sun Crusher, General Hux maybe shares some similarities with Amiral Thrawn i never read the Zahn’s thing) i think we can find more with deep digging

  • December 26, 2015 at 12:15 am
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    I love the EU – I want it to continue even if it is not cannon. I loved the movie but unless they re-instate the EU to continue its own time line I will continue to be conflicted and soured.

  • December 26, 2015 at 12:29 am
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    Long article on the illusion that the old EU was canon. It wasn’t. It never was. It was licensed, but Lucas, on numerous occasions in the Prequels and Clone Wars overwrote the EU without a thought. Example: The Thrawn Trilogy’s concept of the Clone Wars, the origin of C3PO and R2-D2, etc.

    The EU was licensed fan fiction, but it was never officially canon. The movies were canon.

    • December 26, 2015 at 6:47 am
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      Amen to this!

    • December 27, 2015 at 9:05 am
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      Nope, you are so dead wrong that you should be slapped. The Expanded Universe, on numerous occasions, was stated as being canon and, as long as it didn’t conflict with George Lucas’s ideas, then it would be canon. In fact, Lucas actually cared more about the Expanded Universe then what people give him credit for. For example, *every* project that was being produced had to be approved by George Lucas himself and certain things, such as “the big three” dying (Han Solo, Luke, or Leia dying) or the Clone Wars prior to the production of the Prequel Trilogy, would be barred from being released and would not be approved.

      So, even when the Prequels were finally finished, the only thing that was truly “inconsistent” was the timing of the Clone Wars, which was only off about about ten to twenty years in the Thrawn Trilogy. That, however, was more to blame with Lucas himself who continually changed his mind and would change things by the time the Prequel Trilogy came out.

      So, no, the Expanded Universe was always canon and all of it had to be approve by Lucas himself before they went out onto the market.

      • December 28, 2015 at 7:23 pm
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        Perfect! And I don´t even remember how but back in 1991/92 I already knew through my friends that “Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader because of losing a battle and burning on a lava planet”. And bingo, in 2005 we had Mustafar and the high ground.

      • January 5, 2016 at 2:35 am
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        I’m dead right. Now go slap yourself. From the Star Wars official site:

        “While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU
        consistent with our film and television content as well as internally
        consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the
        EU. He set the films he created as the canon.”

        http://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page

        So according to Lucas himself on the official website, the EU wasn’t canon. Can’t put it much simpler than that.

        • January 5, 2016 at 3:01 am
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          You clearly misinterpreted the meaning of that quote. It means that Lucas can change whatever he wanted and was not bound by the Expanded Universe. That does not mean that it was “non-canon.” In every single statement made by Lucasfilms, nowhere does it explicitly states that the Expanded Universe was non-canon. If anything, there’s evidence that suggests that it was canon so long as it didn’t contradict the films (Infinities, for example, is non-canon story lines that don’t exist within the Expanded Universe).

          In a 2001 press release, Leland Chee, the person who was hired by Lucasfilms in order to organize the Expanded Universe, explained that, as long as it [the Expanded Universe] did not contradict the films nor was not marked as Infinities, then it would be considered canon. In fact, Leland Chee developed an entire system of determining what would be considered canon and what would be considered non-canon in a fairly clean and consistent way. The films were the solid rock foundation of the canon. Nothing could not violate them. Then, you had “The Clone Wars” TV series, then you had the C-canon material, i.e., the novels, comic books, and video games, then there was S-canon, which were the stories that had a lot of canon elements in them, but also had some elements that were non-canon and video games that took multiple directions (KOTOR, for example), finally, you had the N-canon or non-canon material, such as Star Wars: Infinities.

          In other words, whether you realize it or not, but the Expanded Universe was canon.

        • January 5, 2016 at 9:13 pm
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          And here, on the most accurate source for Star Wars material other than reading the Holocron itself that was developed by Leland Chee, it does stress that the Expanded Universe was canon and that Lucas simply wasn’t bound by it when he wanted to make new films.

          http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Canon

          I should also mention that, even though Lucas didn’t read much of the Expanded Universe himself, *nothing* could be published without his approval. In fact, a number of the Expanded Universe novel authors, including Timothy Zahn, did work with Lucas and discussed about how to carry out the novels themselves. In fact, Lucas made sure that none of the main three characters, Han, Leia, and Luke, would die in the novels and that none of them would take place nor discuss in great detail the Clone Wars until after the Prequel Trilogy was produced.

          So, yes, Lucas did play a part in the Expanded Universe and, even though he didn’t care that much about it himself, he still cared about it because he knew the fans cared about it. In the end of the day, the Expanded Universe was still considered canon as long as it didn’t contradict Lucas’s films.

  • December 26, 2015 at 1:33 am
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    Let me get this out of the way: I love The Force Awakens. I have seen it 5 times and have already read the novelization. Rey is hands down my favorite character EVER.

    With that being said.

    I am sick of hearing these lame ass excuses on why Disney and Lucas Films canceled the canon. The reason is they were lazy, needed a way to make more money on new books and comics and have no respect for the fans that kept the Universe alive for decades. Any other reasoning is bullshit.

    “It would have isolated certain fans”

    REALLY!!! because there are just as many questions that have to be answered with the new movie as there would have been if they used the existing EU. And how are they going to answer those questions. MORE BOOKS AND COMICS!!! And they are expecting us assholes who bought all the old stuff to buy the new stuff.

    At the bare minimum, the should have had kept the Thrawn Trology and Shadows of the Empire.

    Also there is no reason why Hux could not have been a rebooted young Thrawn. Really you couldn’t have just used the name Jacen???

    If Luke ends up having a wife in the new books, and they don’t use Mara Jade, I think that will be the tipping point for me.

    Unless they announce they are adding old books as canon, I don’t think I will ever get over them shitting on it.

    • December 26, 2015 at 1:52 am
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      i liked your post. i’m getting used with names but would prefered they kept the Eu names they would be trolled for re-hash tnen IMO (rey still could turn to be Jaina or Ania, Ren turned to be Ben Solo) . but it’s also good to have the surprise on the whole plot in a star wars film. Completly agree with Disney & money things. but it’s the purpose of the job. Even i disagree.

  • December 26, 2015 at 1:52 am
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    No Chewbacca in the EU….

    • December 26, 2015 at 2:36 am
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      BRAVE but DEAD DEAD DEAD

      • December 26, 2015 at 7:43 am
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        While opiniins about Star Wars are certainly welcome here … please don’t attack people directly or their nationalities, races, etc. That is not welcme. Don’t be making baseless threats … hapoy holidays!

        • December 26, 2015 at 10:52 am
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          Read carefully…and look behind the lines…i am not attacking i’m defending and answering to quick but without certain logic thinkers..
          Also the reference to USA was not offensive at all…read carefully

          • December 26, 2015 at 12:54 pm
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            Well, perhaps I misread it. If that’s the case, then my apologies. Either way, no matter where you stand on this issue, it certainly makes for a good discussion!

        • December 26, 2015 at 10:58 am
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          I don’t see any threats unless someone here edited his replies or deleted them?

  • December 26, 2015 at 2:35 am
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    BULLSHIT…..DisWars fans by their choice or because they are simply making money out of this buzz, are bullshitting people about the new canon abomination, the new film which can be easily been accused about plagiarism and how excused is disney because it wants to milk the new cash cow. You are pathetic.

    • December 26, 2015 at 3:44 am
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      Is there really a need to use foul language to get your point across? Your previous comments really shows your personality so I think it’ll be much better the sooner you leave us all alone.

      • December 26, 2015 at 10:48 am
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        NO we were here before you GET IT….you came around later and supported dis abomination like real mindless stormtroopers….like the ones hailing paranoic Hux. So we will continue to raise our voice and bother your precious disney wars as long we are treated like we were never existed…

  • December 26, 2015 at 3:25 am
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    I am a Greek citizen of Greece….and i can’t understand how there are people in the USA trying to justify disney for what it has done to the EU. For what it has done to all of these writers and fans who had invested millions of usds or euros or countless time or mentally efforts to create and support this unique and phenomenal universe without which SW would had been long long dead by now. There is no disWars….only the EU.

    • December 26, 2015 at 3:43 am
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      Why must you put down the USA? It shows you are only a troll and don’t really understand the concepts of Star Wars. And you’re also a blind EU fanboy looking to stir up trouble, so no thanks 🙂

      • December 26, 2015 at 10:38 am
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        Because USA is the born country of the SW universe moron… and because your artistic community has ethic laws and rules and is sensible to issues like plagiarism and is also sensible to fascism.
        And what disney did with SWEU is fascism ….and if you are wondering why..then go and study the history of fascism sround the globe.
        Also i am not a blind fanboy KyloBabytears i am a fan since 1977 when most of you were not even born I was already 9 and i have spend since several thousand usds to support SW when SW was fading while many of you were milking mothers milk. Do not call me blind because i am here for 38 years as an active and supportive fan and i can easily distinguish the fake from the real…the true passion about SW from the fake one which usually fades away when the buzz calms down.
        You all EU haters and disney lovers are blind, blinded by the lust for another optical pleasure…another SW movie, even if you must sell tour conscience and ignore the true future of SW as a cash cow without limitation.
        All of you EU haters you are pathetic. You claim you know about EU but many of you are liars and you haven’t really followed this unique universe while it was developing its phenomenal sci-fi culture through time.
        So yes many of you are ignorant about EU so you are the real trolls the blind followers the lust slaves….while we are free inside the pages of the best sci-fi universe ever created.

        • December 28, 2015 at 7:17 pm
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          Best post ever on this site. The moderator can close this topic now.

      • December 26, 2015 at 10:56 am
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        He wasn’t putting down the US though. Merely mentioned that people here are okay with what was done which is all true.

  • December 26, 2015 at 4:18 am
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    At first, I was upset Disney through out the EU. However, I’m glad they did. I loved most of the EU. I was 8 years old when ANH hit theaters, but never watched a SW movie until my husband bought the VHS tapes of the originals from a bargain bin after the Special Additions came out in 1998-99. Then I bought the DVDs of the first 2 PT movies. Until TFA, the only SW movie I saw in the theater was ROTS. I actually started reading the EU in order (chronologically to story time, not in order of publication.) So I read the Prequel/Clone Wars novels first before I ever read the Thrawn series. Over a period of about 18 months, I read over 150 novels and two comic book series. Let me say, if someone reads the EU like this, he/she can easily find the inconsistencies in the overall story.

    As I said, I loved the EU… HOWEVER I hated where it was going. I disliked the Swarm War series so much I didn’t read more than a few chapters in the first book. I tolerated the Legacy of the Force series–barely. I Totally hated the senseless murder of Mara Jade. I liked the Legacy comics for the most part, but despised that whole mess called Fate of the Jedi so much that I actually gave up reading the books.

    The Disney reboot allows for new stories to happen. Will of them be liked by everyone? No. But for those of us who loved some of the books more than the movies (for me it was the Zahn books and The New Jedi Order-mostly), this allows for those of us who devoured the books to have more stories to enjoy.

    May the Force be with you…. And Happy Holidays, too!

    • December 26, 2015 at 9:29 am
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      Want to sell me some of those novels?

    • December 26, 2015 at 11:09 am
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      Have you wondered if there is a sinle EU fan who liked all the stories?…I do not think so. I didn’t like them all either. Does this fact justify what disney did? NO….Disney is a corporation without a face…and money will bring only artistic fascism and finally the death of SW. Many of EU fans are mistaken when they support this new canon and film making. This mistake will reveal its true nature through time…

    • December 27, 2015 at 9:09 am
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      The thing is, though, Disney isn’t original in the slightest. They’ll just rehash the old stories in such a way that, for people who even have a basic grasp of the Expanded Universe, it’ll be painful to even look at. Also, after the unmitigated disaster that was “Aftermath,” I am confident that they won’t be able to produce any memorable stories and that the franchise will just go down hill.

  • December 26, 2015 at 8:11 am
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    Excellent points brought up in whole. Some people really ought to take to heart these points and realize that Disney is doing the right thing here and they should stop with these endless and fruitless protests. I’m looking at you “Alliance to Preserve the Expanded Universe” aka the spoiler jihad group. Did you know that one of their members actually spoiled the movie for a friend of mine? It’s a wonder that they haven’t been banned by Facebook yet.

    • December 26, 2015 at 8:15 am
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      I agree wholeheartedly with regards to the group you mention.

    • December 26, 2015 at 8:23 am
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      Oh yeah, I think somebody should issue a cease and desist, especially if they’ll ruin Rogue One or other movies.

    • December 27, 2015 at 9:12 am
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      Coming from the guy who:
      1. Tells people to kill themselves.
      2. Stalks people on numerous troll accounts and harasses them (something that is *highly* illegal in many First World nation).
      3. Spread around the fabrication of a “spoiler jihad,” even though it never happened to begin with.

      Why should anyone believe in what you say? You’re a liar and a creep.

  • December 26, 2015 at 8:25 am
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    I agree with a lot of the points here especially the Clone Wars cartoon argument. I mean Asajj died and then she’s ok? There’s your contradiction EUphoric fanboys.

    • December 26, 2015 at 10:53 am
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      Nothing ever suggested she was dead and she’s still canon even though she’s an entirely EU creation.

      • December 26, 2015 at 5:19 pm
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        ” That’s correct commander”

        • December 27, 2015 at 4:57 pm
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          Everyone thought she was dead but it never meant she ever was.

    • December 26, 2015 at 11:16 am
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      Are you trying to justify disney’s artistic fascism?… EU contains 100s of stories. EU is the biggest fantasy universe ever created from so many different creators. Do you really understand what that means? and the artistic value of it?

      • December 26, 2015 at 1:18 pm
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        EU fans are pretty fascist too. Those 100’s of stories contradict and have gotten too bloated. Grow up.

        • December 26, 2015 at 5:18 pm
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          I am a grown up dude..in mind and soul and because of this i can appreciate things you can’t…. And i am perfectly fair…in order to do so i seen the new movie 3 times. In contrast i am almost sure that you haven’t read more than a couple EU novels. EU has superior stories and characters..BUT you as many others know probably nothing or almost nothing about EU. You are just mumbling the same things about contradiction but you cannot support a serious case except the ones which Filoni and his hate upon old EU created. SO maybe its time for you and your kind to grow up and see behind the curtain….

          • December 26, 2015 at 9:58 pm
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            Maybe you should grow and realize you are no longer relevant. Nobody gives a shit about you EU fans anymore. And what’s funny is that you contributed to the Thousands the movie made.

          • December 28, 2015 at 7:00 pm
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            well sir, what an asshole you are. Apparently, you are not mature enough to respect the opinion of others and can’t respect the money and dedication that the EU fans spent and invested. EU fans know that these Disney stories will never be as good in our opinion. But we don’t care, we only want Disney to continue our books as an alternate time line.Now go back to your bridge, or back behind the mouse house desk.

    • December 27, 2015 at 9:13 am
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      That’s because Feloni wanted to be a special snowflake and got Lucas to make his show a higher tier of canon than the Expanded Universe, which means he could do whatever he wanted.

    • December 28, 2015 at 6:56 pm
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      Dave Filoni created all the inconsistencies. And he is still making a mess, but no one but casual fans exist to notice.

  • December 26, 2015 at 8:28 am
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    I’m personally glad the lot of it is gone. Three cheers to Disney!

    • December 27, 2015 at 8:43 am
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      You make as much sense as having a heavy tank that can barely break 20 km/h scout for enemy tanks. None.

  • December 26, 2015 at 8:35 am
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    It’s so good that I can quite easily keep up with the Star Wars canon these days. I mean it would take a lifetime to learn all that bloated canon that was Legends. Thanks Disney. On top of that we got a movie that was a critical and financial hit. I don’t think any novel in the EU will ever truly have that kind of success.

    • December 28, 2015 at 6:54 pm
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      The EU books alone took in over 4.9 billion in revenue and at the very least give us original stories. While I understand that this was a commercial hit and popular with the average fan. It is my opinion that this was the weakest SW story that I have seen to date. They could have easily done this kind of money with an EU story and kept everyone just as happy.

  • December 26, 2015 at 8:48 am
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    If they were to re-purpose stuff from the EU, wouldn’t it be great if they had an Episode of Rebels where Ezra beats the spirits of old Sith Lords like Naga Sadow, Marka Ragnos, Darth Revan and Darth Malak and many more old EU Sith Lords all in one go in a big epic duel? Or what if instead of Kyle Katarn they get Kanan and Ahsoka to find the valley of the Jedi? Those sorts of episodes are automatically better than anything in the EU! 🙂

    • December 26, 2015 at 8:50 am
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      10/10 would pay money to see that and reactions after from fans, especially the ones from Ezra beating all the Sith Lord spirits.

  • December 26, 2015 at 11:00 am
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    Obviously everything Post-Jedi had to go which was my least favorite part of the EU and I didn’t mind seeing go, However! They could have kept the good stuff before Episode VI that did not directly contradict anything in the new trilogy. A lot of that material gives some much needed backstory that makes some of the films more enjoyable (the OT) or tolerable (The PT).

    • December 26, 2015 at 11:01 am
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      Fuck! They could even have taken a fan vote on which was canon and which was not.

      • December 26, 2015 at 2:39 pm
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        LOL a fan vote, what a cluster fuck that would be.

        • December 26, 2015 at 4:08 pm
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          I’m sure the results would be as rigged as any other but at least they could have at least the slightest semblance of a democracy.

          The stuff that contradicted the films would all be ruled out too.

          • December 29, 2015 at 7:59 am
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            “The stuff that contradicted the films would all be ruled out too.”

            That’s just means more confusion that is ever thought possible.

          • December 29, 2015 at 9:09 am
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            Not really. 99 percent of it was in the stuff that took place after Jedi which no one will miss,

      • December 27, 2015 at 9:25 pm
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        If ever there was a dumb fan idea, this would be the number one dumb fan idea…

        • December 28, 2015 at 5:48 pm
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          It worked for the old Hasbro figures even though most of the results were picked ahead of time but at least it gave them the opportunity to choose.

  • December 26, 2015 at 5:45 pm
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    The facts are not lying for the opposition between EU and discannon aka new movie (so far )
    1.Revan vs Kylo Ren…..hahahaha = bad ass vs baby tears with anger management issues.
    2.G.A.Thrawn vs General Hux….hahahaha = genius dominate warlord vs hysterical ass@@le
    3.Jacen Solo vs Kylo Ren…. hahahaha = Serious disturbed young man with war traumatic experiences vs seduced spoiled kid with fake anger
    4.Jaina Solo vs Rey ….hahahaha = Sword of the jedi best pilot vs who’s that girl….ARE YOU SERIOUS????
    5.WE HAVE….Cade Skywalker – Darth Krayt – Darth Talon – G.A.Pellaeon – Mara Jade – Talon Karde – Kyp Durron – Kyle Katarn – Corran Horn – and and and a very long long list… we will see what you will present in the dark dis years to come.

    • December 27, 2015 at 9:28 pm
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      I think you confuse “fact” for “opinion”. And so far, your opinion is in the minority. A *vocal* minority, but a minority, nonetheless.

      • December 28, 2015 at 7:09 pm
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        But he stated facts: EU has lots of established characters which could not been “killed”, erased, so easily as Disney did. Also, if his opinion is in the minority (I am with him), it is so concerning to state that very few people realizes what Disney did. The majority is behaving as mindless, easily-convinced people who has not (or wants not) to rationalize with a critical view over the facts.

  • December 27, 2015 at 1:30 am
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    ‘Needed to be Accessible to All’ the movie jumps 30 years in the future from where Return of the Jedi left off. ‘Filling in everyone not in the know’ question Who are Rey’s parents? Why would Finn’s parents let the First Order take him? Why is there a Resistence if there is a New Republic? How did Han and Chewie lose the Falcon? and Why is 3PO’s left arm red? I’, not in the know on this questions, yes there are theroies on some of this, but does anyone really know. So what is the diffference for those fans who just watch the films and tv series (Casuals) and fans of the EU (Hardcore). ‘Tied the hands of anyone trying to create a new story’ what did you think the authers of the EU materials did when they started a new arc in the EU, you think they didn’t do any research to see what happened before. No, the Star Wars EU was so great because it was a united canon. Was it perfect? No. Where there Recon to make sense of certain things? Yes. But in the end it was still one canon and there were few fanchised that keeped there canons after the films or series ended. What Disney has done is killed the EU so that they can pick at it’s bones because they know how great it was and with it died they can pass off the pieces of the EU as their own and give the Casuals ‘something new’. I saw The Force Awakens and was surprised by how unorginal it was. Kylo Ren was three EU characters put into a blender, Revan, Jacen Solo, and Ben Skywalker. The Starkiller Base superweapon was mostly a mix of the Star Forge and the Sun Crusher, both EU superweapons that were better then the Starkiller Base.

    • December 27, 2015 at 5:25 am
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      Some nice points. We are all asking these questions. If Disney had used the old EU, there would have been questions, but not across the board ones that you listed.

    • December 28, 2015 at 7:05 pm
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      Nice points! Agree totally!

    • December 28, 2015 at 9:25 pm
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      And I just found out yesterday that for a while ‘The Force Awakens’ was titled ‘Shadow of the Empire’. Which was very similar to the EU book ‘Shadows of the Empire’ which filled in some things that went down between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Like were Leia got the outfit she wore in Jabba’s palace and why Chewie’s fur looked different and Luke constructing his lightsaber. Yes the last one had a deleted scene in Return but he could have just been tinkering with it before storing it in R2. ‘Shadows of the Empire’ was a perfect example of how the EU helped the films and how Disney would have had little difficulty creating a story in the EU canon, but they ‘Chose the quick and easy path’.

  • December 27, 2015 at 4:14 am
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    I’m stoked about the potential of the cinematic universe. You mentioned not watching the Marvel TV shows but Agents of Shield is worth it. Watch all the movies and that show in proper order if you ever have the time. The biggest payoffs are right before and after the biggest movie of the year (Avengers, Captain America, etc.) as they directly lead you in and out of those films. The movies never end, instead you just tune in next week. I can’t wait for the new Star Wars canon to get to that level.

  • December 27, 2015 at 8:29 am
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    While I loved the “Heir to the Empire” trilogy, and some other EU stuff, I’m glad Disney took control of the Star Wars Universe. It was becoming too big and sometimes too weird. Now we have a universe that’s more accessible and more level (as far as stories go) to get to know…

  • December 27, 2015 at 8:53 am
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    And then it turns out Episode VII was just a rehash of the Original Trilogy with some Expanded Universe elements sprinkled on top. So much for that “creative freedom” Disney was screaming about for the past year or two.

    Honestly, Disney could have handled this far better by doing what Star Trek did when they wanted to do a reboot of the franchise. Instead of just throwing out all of Gene Roddenberry’s work out the window, they kept that canon and, instead, decided to go for an “Alternate Universe” perspective. Both Universes are canon in their own right, but it offers room for new stuff to be produced while material in the old canon could be continued and conform to that universe.

    What Disney did, instead, was they just burned the Expanded Universe on a massive pyre, picked at the remains, and then told everyone “you buy what we want for you to buy whether you like it or not” without actually saying it. It was with this very problem with handling the franchise that has caused so much conflict between fans. It’s the fact that Disney removed everyone’s ability to choose what they wanted that has people so angry. It’s as if a restaurant pulls off the vast majority of its diverse menu and tells everyone to buy and eat what they produce from now on and what they are producing is, not only sub-par to what was being produced before, but is rancid and rotten.

    In other words, it was a bad decision on their part and it’s already making them suffer needlessly.

    • December 27, 2015 at 10:04 am
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      thats a pretty cynical view, I just don’t know where you can get that level from, the old canon is still there and loved, I don’t see any problem at all!

      • December 27, 2015 at 10:21 am
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        Simple, when a corporation decides to destroy what you have and, inadvertently, encourages people to insult what you loved, you don’t exactly view them in the same light anymore. After what Disney has done, my entire viewpoint on them has completely changed. I use to like them a lot, but what they did with Star Wars sewed the seeds for my distaste for them and it’s only grown as I’ve found out just how dirty Disney truly is.

        Anyways, even if the Old Canon is there, they’ve discontinued it entirely and have, basically, committed a franchise genocide on the old material by devaluing it. I’m a strong believer this quote by Ray Bradbury:

        “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

        The fact that Disney devalued the novels and has completely discontinued them is enough to destroy the universe itself. This is why so many people are so angry and why I view how Disney handled the Decanoization as the wrong way of handling the franchise. If they had let both universes continue and co-exist as being canon, then everyone complaining about Disney wouldn’t have been complaining at all.

        • December 27, 2015 at 10:29 am
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          They kinda do with ‘the old republic’ and a couple of other things, I think thats quite nice, my coworker that plays it is pretty happy with that. I never read a bunch of the EU stuff but I did like shadows of the empire, read the han solo trilogy and thrawn is something everyone tells me i need to read and will. I don’t think its as epic as you say, they weren’t really continuing the old canon *really*. I read darth plagueis while the new canon was in effect and I had a great time. Everything is still canon until the new canon tells otherwise is my method of thinking. You have to realize the reasons they had to let EU go, it would be too hard to please super fanboys at the sacrifice of story freedom for the millions who saw and enjoyed ‘the force awakens’ and the new canon which I’ve been enjoying being able to keep up with now.

          Just some thoughts from the other side for you to consider!

          • December 27, 2015 at 10:41 am
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            Actually, “The Old Republic” is the *only* thing that has been continued. Dark Horse was disenfranchised from Star Wars and it was given to Marvel (setting them up to be a monopoly again).

            The thing is, though, most of everyone would have been happy just to have the Expanded Universe continued. It’s the fact that they screwed everyone over, made them feel like all their money was completely wasted, and then proceeded to tell everyone to buy their stuff with little to no options at all that causes issues.

            I’ve pointed out that they could have had their way and also could have kept the core fanbase happy as well by doing what Star Trek did with the J. J. Abrams films. They consider the films to be an alternate timeline that is, for all intent and purpose, just as canon as Roddenberry’s original universe, but Roddenberry’s universe is also considered canon with both being open for future expansion.

            If Disney had done that, then everyone would have won and then people would have had the ability to choose what they wanted to get into while also getting new content as well.

    • December 27, 2015 at 1:43 pm
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      That’s exactly what I said. And to boot, they’re throwing away the baby with the bathwater. OT Star Wars was about Luke, Leia and Han, and though I’ve read every one of the 150 plus novels, not to mention the comics, I always forced my way to get through the stuff that wasn’t about the Big Three just so I’d understand references made in other books. Point is, sure we associate Hamill, Ford and Fisher with the Big Three, but since they’re resetting and the actors have aged, like Star Trek did they could have found actors about the ages they would have been right after Jedi and kept the focus on Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, Artoo and Threepio. Instead we got “Star Wars: The Next Generation” about characters I couldn’t care less about. If you take out the lightsabers and the Falcon it could be any other sci-fi movie. We could name it “Star Orphans,” “Wanted in Space,” or “Who’s Your Daddy?” Seriously, without the Big Three what part of the movie is Star Wars? Different worlds (a set of stairs, the Abu Dhabi desert with some props lying around, a snow-covered forest in Canada, a castle in a forest and a parking lot, wow) no new ships except for a box that deploys stormies, no familiar aliens (plus all the aliens in TFA look like mutants from Harry Potter), a villain that’s more like Dark Helmet than Darth Vader and more plot holes and absurdities than I can count (Finn suddenly realizes that he’s a janitor for really evil people after years of service, then defects and is readily given access to Leia. In what universe would that happen? And how did Poe get from by crashing in the desert to the cockpit of an X-Wing? Rathtar’s? Really? I was expecting Son of Jar Jar to appear at any moment. What a total trainwreck. Disney and Abrams totally ruined Star Wars. They also lost a fan of 40 plus years, and I’m guessing I’m not alone. Way to demolish a cinematic icon.
      And why is everyone so defensive of TFA when the screw-ups are there for everyone to see? Are you worried that Disney has agents that it can send to your house? Or maybe ban you from ever seeing another Star Wars movie? Or maybe other fans will excommunicate you? FFs we are the people whose money they rely on to make their films a success. It’s not a bloody charity, we’re paying our hard-earned money, so we should get what we want.

      • December 27, 2015 at 8:20 pm
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        And this is where my Customer Service senses go off. Customers like to have choice, they like to be able to choose what they desire. That means having a variety of different things means that you feel more comfortable about not being forced into something you don’t want. The same applies with any Franchise that does this sort of Alternate Universe. You need to ensure that you present the customer the ability to choose what they want and to be able to cater to their desires.

        Disney just is not doing that with how they’re handling the franchise. Basically, they’re telling everyone to buy what they want you to buy and to not complain about it. When you do that, then you shatter the person’s notion of having a decision on the matter and, as a result, they stop buying from you.

      • December 28, 2015 at 1:59 pm
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        I am with you, Disney Canon is trash. For me the true sequel to Ep6 is Thrawn Trilogy and rest of EU.

    • December 28, 2015 at 4:04 am
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      Right on, brother. You are now my brother in arms. We really need to defend ourselves. Right now, if you didn’t like the TFA, you are branded as sowing disorder. And those who like it are acting like the First Order. And if you don’t agree with the First Order, then you are considered belonging to the Resistance. Well, from that point of view, then I have no problem being branded that way. I just wish they had made a new D-Canon (Disney) that has the same value as the old C-Canon (Continuity). In that way, the G-Canon (George Lucas) would still be preserved. And the C-Canon wouldn’t be devalued since it has the same status of D-Canon. You just have to decide on which revolving door you want to enter after G-Canon. But Disney’s decision to relegate the old C-Canon to N-Canon (Non) is really demeaning. I have been collecting EU merchandise for the last 3 decades and all of a sudden, the new ones coming from Disney is being relegated above those original ones that existed for the longest time. Just wished they could have been more respectful of the original C-Canon. I mean it’s not like their pirated or bootleg. They were meticulously researched by their creators and officially licensed by Lucasfilm (even if George Lucas didn’t read them). Inconsistencies will always arise even with the creation of the new Star Wars story panel board headed by Leeland Chee. They could have just tweaked it to jive with the new stories they want to create. It’s really sad when new things are replace by old ones and no proper respect is given for their bench mark pioneering trailblazing work. Old ones are just considered postscripts.

      • December 28, 2015 at 12:31 pm
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        Yeah, guys! I am with you both!! I just can´t believe people are so easily buying this atrocious that Disney just created.

        People bashed the EU about the lack of consistency, but Disney is doing the same by throwing us ideas like Rey being more powerful in one day (fighting and piloting) then Luke in years of training… Or putting Finn, a Stormtrooper, to handle pretty well a lightsaber in a minute. Or creating a new masked villain with no reason for a mask (besides mimicking Vader)…

        Disney is spoiling all the “Star Wars rules” that G-Canon and even the C-Canon used to follow. This is unacceptable for a truly Star Wars fan (man, how could they crash so much the Falcon without scratching it? Jump out from hyperspace just in the surface of a planet???)

  • December 28, 2015 at 3:39 pm
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    I own over 50 EU novels, most of them being the post-Jedi material leading up to the NJO series, which I never got into. I have a great appreciation for those works and still enjoy them from time to time. There have been some fantastic stories and characters over the years and some of which, I am sad to say may never again make their way into the official Star Wars universe. That being said though, I’m glad for the reset. I mean, in the old EU, for every “Heir to the Empire”, there was a “Children of the Jedi” or a “Tatooine Ghost”…for every “Shadows of the Empire” there was a “The Crystal Star” or a “Truce at Bakura”.

    A lot of these stories (like the X-Wing series, Knights of the Old Republic, and pretty much anything by Timothy Zahn) will always hold a special place in my nerdy heart, but I’m willing to sacrifice canonicity for a more cohesive SW universe without the extra dead weight that is (IMO) the majority of the EU. I have enjoyed the new Canon so far, and even though we will no doubt get some lemons along the way, I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the new material. The only novel I absolutely cared nothing for (Heir to the Jedi) was actually commissioned before the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm. Most everything published under Disney has been pretty enjoyable IMO, although admittedly some less than others. But considering we have really only had one solid year of expanded universe canon material, the fact that we have been graced with such titles as Lords of the Sith, Dark Disciple, and Lost Stars bodes well for the new direction that Lucasfilm has under Disney.

    I don’t understand the mindset that says, “Disney has declared something I love obselete and now I can’t enjoy it…” I get the gripe…I do…to continue with future stories, we are now forced to buy in to the Disney universe if we want new material. But, what else could they have done? They have a plan, and they want to move forward with it, and a little shedding of some dead weight was necessary. The idea that the EU books now have no value because of this is kind of absurd though. I will keep my collection of EU (legends) paperbacks, and may even add to it in the future. Enjoy the ones you love for what they are and give the new management a chance to really find their footing and hit their stride with the new material.

  • December 28, 2015 at 7:06 pm
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    Bad decision. Any EU story would have been better than the rehash that was just released.

  • December 28, 2015 at 10:11 pm
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    Just make Dash Rendar canon again in the comics and all will be forgiven Disney. Please and thanks.

  • December 28, 2015 at 10:55 pm
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    I think some stories were good but yes it needed to be done to give everyone a chance to start new. I do really like that Kylo is named Ben solo

  • January 8, 2016 at 2:26 pm
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    I liked the EU, but what im really glad is no longer Canon is The Force Unleashed Video games!!! thank the Force!!! Vader gets his ass whipped like a chump by his secret apprentice and i hate that!! it makes a mockery of the greatest Villain of all time!!! those game designers and story tellers had no love for Vader! bye bye Force unleashed!!!

  • January 8, 2016 at 7:22 pm
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    Nothing I have seen produced by Disney makes me thing canning the EU was a good thing. Disney is good at buying art and whoring it out for a profit. After the 15th or 16th movie comes out, and the casuals are sick of Star Wars, Disney will shelve the franchise. They’ll only drag it out every decade or so for a shitty reboot.

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