New Star Wars Trilogy Not Tied to Expanded Universe!

The future of the Star Wars galaxy is no longer the future we once knew. According to a Lucasfilm announcement made earlier today, all future films will not make use of the existing Expanded Universe characters or storylines. This news isn’t really surprising, but it’s still kind of disappointing to more than a few Star Wars fans, especially those who grew up reading the Timothy Zahn novels or Dark Empire comics as their only way to experience more of the Star Wars galaxy after the original trilogy came to a close in 1983.

Considering that the expanded universe of Star Wars has given us hundreds of books, comics, video games, etc., it’s left a lot of fans wondering if any of the EU matters at all anymore. According to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, the existing Expanded Universe stories and characters are not being erased from existence as fans will see some of those elements they love so much being implemented in the new Star Wars Rebels animated series. Basically, the existing two trilogies, all future films, and the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series are the only stories that are considered canon from here on out. When it comes to the films, cutting ties to the EU will give both the filmmakers creative freedom in bringing new material to the screen while giving audiences an element of surprise, since many Star Wars fans already know the Expanded Universe material inside and out.

All future editions of any Expanded Universe properties will be placed under a “Legends” banner, including the Timothy Zahn novels, treating them as potential “alternate reality” offerings of our beloved galaxy far, far away. Watch the video above to see how the creative folks at Lucasfilm feel about the EU or read more about their plans for the future of Star Wars on the official site.

Image: Lucasfilm