Disney drops EU and goes for its own

[Princess Awinita]

Disney announced through Lucasfilm this afternoon that they are not going with the Expanded Universe as it currently stands and are instead making their own version for the upcoming films, however, the series Rebels will use many elements of the current Expanded Universe as most of it is direct from old sources from the 1980s and 1990s roleplaying and information books

Full details --> Link

Thoughts ?

[mandogater]

This could start some interesting battles among fans. Fan reaction may very well dicate if Disney sticks with this.

[Gatefan1976]

One thought.

DOUSHEBAGS!!

[poundpuppy29]

I am not a EU fan so this does not affect me I only watched the movies and I am a hard core Scifi & Fantasy fanatic just look at my sig so I think this is a wise move the EU of the SW universe now becomes AU that's I see it.

[P-90_177]

I think it's for the best as far as the expanded universe is concerned. I mean by the age of the actors you'd already have to have a situation where they would have to deal with characters like Mara Jade and Jacen and Jaina. And events that would be pretty hard to follow without knowledge of the EU.

[Sakura]

i liked the EU and I was looking forward to the sword of the jedi trilogy.....

they should've let the EU continue as an alternate universe while at the same time releasing new star wars material for the sequel trilogy continuity.....

****ing disney

[Gatefan1976]

I am not a EU fan so this does not affect me I only watched the movies and I am a hard core Scifi & Fantasy fanatic just look at my sig so I think this is a wise move the EU of the SW universe now becomes AU that's I see it.

You sound like a "generic sci-fi" fan, in other words, you like escapist fiction, be it Sci-fi or Fantasy. Nothing wrong with that at all, but don't expect a Trek fan, or a SW fan to agree with you all that much on that perception. EU fans of both have read far, far more than you freely admit you have, and hoped for more from Disney on this issue.
As it stands, the entire EU is being "vetted" to make it part of this new continuity, and if they don't like it, well, lots of really good stories get wasted.

[DigiFluid]

My understanding is that the existing/already-published EU material will continue to be published under the brand "Star Wars Legends," but it will not be the canonical, 'factual' Star Wars universe anymore. Rather, it will exist only as a) a revenue generator; and b) as an idea ground for writers to mine ideas from for future, canon materials.

I wonder how all those authors and creative minds feel about 30+ years of their hard work being reduced to mere 'potential ideas,' just because someone with a bigger purse came along?

For my two cents, this news is as unwelcome as it was expected. I may check out the odd new release out of curiosity, but Disney's blatant disregard for the countless dollars and decades of interest I've poured into Star Wars as it has been, means they will not be seeing any of my money.

I'm sure they're not going to weep into their hands because I won't pony up $10 for a movie ticket or $30 for a new hardcover novel, but that certainly doesn't mean I have to put myself out financially to support a franchise whose future direction I can't get behind.

[P-90_177]

My understanding is that the existing/already-published EU material will continue to be published under the brand "Star Wars Legends," but it will not be the canonical, 'factual' Star Wars universe anymore. Rather, it will exist only as a) a revenue generator; and b) as an idea ground for writers to mine ideas from for future, canon materials.

I wonder how all those authors and creative minds feel about 30+ years of their hard work being reduced to mere 'potential ideas,' just because someone with a bigger purse came along?

For my two cents, this news is as unwelcome as it was expected. I may check out the odd new release out of curiosity, but Disney's blatant disregard for the countless dollars and decades of interest I've poured into Star Wars as it has been, means they will not be seeing any of my money.

I'm sure they're not going to weep into their hands because I won't pony up $10 for a movie ticket or $30 for a new hardcover novel, but that certainly doesn't mean I have to put myself out financially to support a franchise whose future direction I can't get behind.

To be fair if that's all their doing then it's not really any different to the multiple universes that exist within the Marvel and DC comic book continuities. With the MCU and DC films borrowing from their comic counterparts but not stealing outright.

It's a shame for any planned book series that have been axed but I doubt it'll be an all out end completely to the EU as it exists now.

[DigiFluid]

It's a shame for any planned book series that have been axed but I doubt it'll be an all out end completely to the EU as it exists now.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what it is. Lucasarts has been shut down, everything they were working on cancelled and binned. Every comic line being published by Dark Horse is being ended before the license goes to Marvel. Every prior announced novel (the Sword of the Jedi trilogy and the hush-hush Paul Kemp duology) has been cancelled. If it's not from the screen (big or small), or had the blessing of the Lucasfilm Story Group, it doesn't have a future.

The now-former EU is kaput. Existing publications will continue to be published under the Star Wars Legends brand, but everything on the horizon that continued/expanded that universe has been terminated. The only thing that may continue to generate new material is updates to The Old Republic.

[DigiFluid]

A bit more of a point-by-point breakdown; one of the Wookieepedia admins logging his questions and the answers he's been receiving from Jen Heddle, who is the current senior editor for Lucasfilm/Lucasbooks.

Note: that's a user's archive page just to keep track of these things -- please do not edit it.

[Princess Awinita]

More information in the following link, I've highlighted the following however here

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Link

[DigiFluid]

Lip service.

All that says is 'only ours is real, and because we have a bigger wallet than yours, we get to pilfer 'your' ideas as we see fit.'

[Princess Awinita]

Then far as I am personally concerned, Wookieepedia will still be around; as far as I am aware; most of the stuff there is canonical information {regarding characters mostly}

[DigiFluid]

But that's just what's so maddening about all this--next to none of that is canon anymore. Only the stuff from the new 'Disney canon' counts anymore