Dominator Star Destroyer (Skin WIP) image

Oh, O.K., I see.

Considering how much utter garbage is in the EU, I don't blame them for wiping the slate clean. Of course, nothing in the EU will ever equal the suck that was the prequel trilogy, and that trash is canon to everything, unfortunately.

O.K., that's not true. It's an often-repeated statement, but it's absolutely false. Leland Chee did a great job keeping the majority of EU consistent in continuity. The overwhelming bulk of stories were well-written as well (Shatterpoint, Outbound Flight, KotOR, The Thrawn Trilogy/Duology, etc.). In-universe retcons de-canonized absurd things like the reborn Emperor and Waru anyway (and Chee helped direct this).

The PT and Disney's new movies are only possible because of a resurgence in popularity of SW due to the EU (it was a waning franchise until the early 90s). Extraordinarily insulting to the loyal fans, authors, and to Lucas himself to wipe it clean (and Lucas did a damn decent job of staying consistent to the EU, regardless of what people may incorrectly think). They bit the hand that feeds.

Besides, even if all of the above was not true, who is to say DisnEU is going to be any good? Their works have been very sub-par by all accounts so far. The decision was made due to corporate greed - nothing more, nothing less. Easier for them to maximize profits and attract new/younger fans without having them feel "left out" of stories already told for decades.

TruEU reigns.

Commandos series is epic also I'm angry that they got rid of the EU but ehh they shouldve kept most of it considering a lot all are on a linear path and what not.

You mean the series that is largely Karen Traviss schlicking herself to Mandalorians ad nauseum and not much of the actual stuff most people cared about? It could have been an infantry equivalent of the X-wing series. Instead I'd rather just replay Republic Commando for the umpteenth time.

I think the issue is that they really couldn't have made the new movies on the old EU.

The vast majority of people who would watch the movie wouldn't have read any of the EU material, and so wouldn't know who any of the characters or settings were prior to watching the movies. The movies would have to re-introduce those characters, therefore requiring them to strictly adhere to the books' stories or end up retconning, which would defeat the whole point.

It would be extremely tricky to find a resolution that would be interesting for both people who have read the books AND who hadn't. Many EU fans have gotten very upset about all this, but unfortunately we're in the minority and they can't cater to us without neglecting the majority who wouldn't want to (and shouldn't have to) read 20 books to understand the nuances of characters in the movie.

It really surprises me that anyone could have been caught off guard by this decision when it happened - it's simply not viable from a financial standpoint to spend a huge effort to work a movie into a universe that most viewers wouldn't care about or know anything of.

No, they could have. The Thrawn Trilogy was widely seen as the Episodes 7-9. Whenever rumors spread about new movies everyone expected that series to be the focal point, and LucasFilm itself commented that while there wouldn't be such a series, if it were, The Thrawn Trilogy would have been a viable contender. Regardless, it's not hard to make a reasonable estimate of the most followed series by analyzing book sales, toy sales, and community chatter. Hell, the FotJ series used a poll on the official SW website to determine the name of Darth Caedus. That's a false argument to say they couldn't have made a series of movies based off the EU (or without materially-violating it).

Strictly adhering or retconning aren't the only options at all either - minor modifications or a different story altogether (which didn't trample on the biggest EU stuff - galaxy is a big place) were more than feasible. If DisnEU and their new pretender movies to the franchise were able to stay within major bounds of existing EU, I wouldn't have an issue with it - go ahead and make a new story up with new characters. Nothing wrong with that. Plenty never covered. But to **** on an entire legacy is something else.

And so what if the viewers hadn't read everything? There are myriad easy ways to have new folk acquainted with new stories and characters. So many franchises have dealt with this issue more gracefully without forcing newcomers to read anything. Many of those franchises even created new stories - but they didn't discount prior stories as "not canon" (look at Marvel - it legitimized all prior stuff as canon as a nod to loyal hardcore fans). What Disney did was lazy, greedy, and insulting.

Moreover, I think the elite hardcore minority always, in every franchise, deserve the bulk of the voice and control - they're the ones who truly care about the franchise in question, who have kept it afloat, and who have invested the most time/money. Yes, you should pander to the minority. It's both grateful for keeping a series alive and a reward for loyalty. It's just. Raw capitalist concerns ought never trump that.

Especially when the EU was official canon. It was the official story. None of it was fandom. Mark Hamill starred in advertisements for novels. George Lucas wrote prologues to novels. Billy Dee Williams lent his voice/acting to the games.

And who said anything about being caught off guard? The moment Disney acquired LucasFilm I was furious, because I expected these kind of shenanigans. My heart sank when the announcement of more movies came - the movies are hardly the best part of SW - the books and games have always been superior. I expected Disney and J.J. Abrams to make a mess of the best franchise on Earth.

I was referring to the movies adding new stories to the existing EU - not translating books into movies directly. As for putting the movies into a different story altogether, that's exactly what the new movies are. There's no difference from having a story in the existing universe but separated from it, and having a story in a new universe.

Also, I find it strange that people get so upset about Disney "destroying the EU". They didn't burn books, they didn't steal those stories from your mind. The old EU still exists and is strong as ever. Fans shouldn't be anything but happy that we're getting new stories of post-endor that take a different direction and are able to explore other possible outcomes. (assuming of course they don't make it very similar to the old EU, which isn't unlikely)

Saying that a small group of people are the ones that "truly care" about it is ridiculous. There are far more people who have only seen all the movies, perhaps some of the animated series and love the franchise. They're the ones that make an impactful effort to buy the merchandise, simply because there are far more of them that have disposable income. 1 fan who spends $10,000 a year is still outdone by 200 that spend $55 a year. Star Wars as a whole would be just fine without the few of us who are hardcore fans.

I understand our opinions differ, and that's perfectly fine of course. But it's unrealistic to think of us as a supporting pillar without which Star Wars would tumble.

I don't really have any more to add - if you disagree, that's good. People are different. I just think it's silly that fans of the same thing have to argue over a decision that ultimately just adds more stories and more fun to a franchise. The old EU can live just fine beside the new EU. The fans keep it alive, ultimately corporate decisions have no effect on that.

I don't agree in the slightest. For one, there is a difference when you tell the truest fans that the stories they've been reading aren't the story. That wipe is awful. They could have inserted stories in without trampling on the biggest EU stuff, with ease.

Second, no, they didn't burn books - but they put a hiatus to all material being published in the TruEU world.

Third, that's not ridiculous. The SW franchise was in a financial struggle and a social waning until EU books salvaged it. In fact, Lucas himself acknowledged this as what allowed him to even launch a PT to any kind of popularity - it served as a great litmus test. Moreover, I stand by my comments - the masses should not have a say over the hardcore. They're not as invested.

Also, don't pretend like it's a "few." Many EU books made the NYT Bestseller list, TV commercials aired to promote not only the Shadows of the Empire campaign, but the NJO, toys were made and sold in most toy stores depicting EU elements (even the stupid Sun Crusher thing), nearly every SW video game (which are always among the most popular games in the entire gaming industry) includes or substantially uses EU elements, and there even now exist hundreds of communities of thousands of angry EU fans lobbying Disney consistently. Is it a minority? Yes. Is it a tiny minority? Absolutely not.

I would agree with your last statement if Disney didn't put a moratorium on TruEU materials - for that alone they've lost me. Besides, I don't believe in having "alternate" universes or stories - only one unified canon. I won't be following their Fake Star Wars nonsense.

Pardon me while I add my two cents.

I will reserve judgement until I've actually seen the new film.

If Abrams does to Star Wars what he did with the Star Trek reboots, I will ignore the new films and continue to have the EU events set in my head as the true story of the post-Endor Star Wars universe.

If, however, the films are decent enough to even approach the quality of the original trilogy, then I'd be happy to have them replace the EU. In my opinion what happens on screen trumps what happens on paper, unless what happens on screen is terrible.

I'm not as well versed with the expanded universe as some, but what I've experienced I've enjoyed. That said, I think we should give the new trilogy a chance.

Also, with new Star Wars films on the way, I think it's sadly safe to say that we've seen the end of the existing expanded universe.

I suspect the Abrams movies will be fine, since the root problem of his Star Trek reboots is that they wanted to be action-adventure stories, which isn't what Star Trek is fundamentally about. His Star Trek was trying to be Star Wars. Now he's doing actual Star Wars, which is clearly what he wanted to be doing all along.

I'm firmly on the side of Chimera and Orion in regards to the new canon/new films vs EU. However, I greatly enjoyed the EU (hence why I'm getting this mod and Thrawn's Revenge for FoC) and it's so nice to see this difference of opinion handled in a civil manner for once. I've seen arguments over this derail so fast you wouldn't believe. ._. Kudos to you guys for keeping it civil. :D
GREAT job on this and IcW Corey and Co, you guys are inspiring. Keep up the amazing work!

I'm afraid we have very different definitions of 'well-written'.

Insulting to Lucas himself? You do realize Lucas didn't care in the slightest about the EU, right? He's said so numerous times over the years that it has nothing to do with his movies. Hence the prequel trilogy's Clone Wars being different from what was mentioned in the Thrawn Novels.

Ascendancy: Now with full frontals! Wait... That doesn't sound right.

I'm too late?