A New Dawn for The Star Wars Canon

“In fiction, canon is the material accepted as “official” in a fictional universe.” – wikipedia

In the most recent podcast I talked about the Star Wars Canon and how this is the most important thing to happen in the Star Wars world since the announcement of the new trilogy. In case you’re not in the know the release was something like this:

“All previously released Expanded Universe content, would henceforth be considered an alternate universe, referred to as “Legends.” A Lucasfilm story group moving forward will ensure that all new comics, books, games, and other media are all considered canon and valid to the story being told in the films. Content and characters from the Legends (previous EU) may reappear in the new canon.”

But it’s important to note that Lucasfilm and Disney have set up what is known as the Story Group (I call it the Council of Nerds), made up of a number of influential and knowledgeable names in the Star Wars world including Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee. They will help keep the canon on path and even help sort out the old stuff and deem what they need as “canon” and “Legends.” But for now only the movies, the recent Clone Wars series (not the Genndy Tartakovsky one), and the upcoming Rebels series has survived.

This is important to me because I’ve always been a fan of the “fluff” and extra universe building that took place outside of the movies, expanding and adding to them. But the disorder of the EU always turned me off from getting too deep into it. The canon frequently overwrites its self every now-and-again and sometimes wouldn’t jive with the movies, etc. Boba Fett has so many conflicting stories it’s hard to say which version of him I like best! (Really the answer is all of them)

The important thing to note is that the only stories that were officially canon before this were the movies, and the Clone Wars movie and show, so really nothing has changed other than the REAL canon being established! Now there is the confidence that what you’re reading will be the real deal, this is huge. Also Disney has a lot of universe building in its portfolio already, especially with Marvel and what it’s done with its movies, shows, comics, and even 10 min featurettes included in the DVD releases that all expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Much like Star Wars, the Marvel universe has a TON of stories that are considered “canon” just different universes.

I will honestly miss a lot of the new series, like Admiral Thrawn especially. But Disney did give a head nod and a wink that there will still be references to the EU (Legends) in places of the new canon. There is still hope.

They are re-launching the “Legends” series starting with:

STAR WARS: THE HAN SOLO ADVENTURES

Han Solo at Stars’ End

Han Solo’s Revenge

Han Solo and the Lost Legacy

STAR WARS: THE LANDO CALRISSIAN ADVENTURES

Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu

Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon

Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka

The new canon is launching with four new books:

I did talk about these briefly in the last podcast, but I didn’t go into too much detail about the books other than A New Dawn. Let me add a bit of explanation now.

A New Dawn, this book is the lead up for the new Rebels cartoon which is the successor of the Clone Wars Cartoon lead by Dave Filoni, just like the Clone Wars. I love the Clone Wars so I’m looking forward to this Rebels lead in a lot. This is from the Star Wars official release:

“The first novel to benefit from this deeper collaboration is Star Wars: A New Dawn, by bestselling author John Jackson Miller. Set prior to the events of the forthcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels, this novel tells the story of how two of the lead characters of the series, Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla, came to cross paths. To tell this important backstory, Miller benefited from contact with series executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman, who together ensured this tale will be part of the Star Wars canon of storytelling going forward. It is scheduled for hardcover and eBook release on September 2, 2014.”

John Jackson Miller is the author and I said that I didn’t really know his works but I had recently read is last book “Kenobi” which was a great Star Wars book! He also has written a lot of other stories all over the EU.

Heir to the Jedi, this book is a bridge between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. It explores his journey learning how to be a Jedi on his own. You know how he didn’t know much about the force at the end of A New Hope, but at the beginning of Empire Strikes Back he uses the force to grab his lightsaber. This is what bridges that. It also has a possible nod in the title referring to the Heir to the Empire. This is the author Kevin Hearne’s first Star Wars book as well.

Lords of the Sith, here is the blurb about it from the publisher Del Ray:

When the Emperor and his notorious apprentice, Darth Vader, find themselves stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely solely on each other, the Force, and their awesome martial skills to prevail. Created in collaboration with the Lucasfilm Story Group. Coming March 2015. Jacket art by Aaron McBride.

Also the Lords of the Sith is set after the Revenge of the Sith film and before the Rebels television show and features an unrevealed character from the Clone Wars. Paul S. Kemp has written Star Wars before but he mostly writes Sword and Sorcery books so this book is probably just going to be full of epic as we see the Emperor and Darth Vader team up and actually need to rely on each other.

Finally, Tarkin. This is the book I’m most looking forward to of the lot. James Luceno has written my favourite Star Wars books so far and Tarkin is such a devious character which will suit James’ writing style perfectly! If you liked Darth Plagueis you will likely love this one.

About the Author

Andew Dupe Andrew is a web developer and general geek. He likes drawing, programming, table top gaming, video gaming, other general geek things, and of course long walks on the beach. Follow him on twitter @dup3 Favourite Movie: Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi Favourite Game: Halo 2 Favourite Book: Name of the Wind