So this happened.

[ladyofleithian]

http://www.dailydot.com/geek/star-wars-expanded-universe-not-canon/



I guess I'm kind of late to the party on this, but I sort of had to make some sort of comment on it. I have mixed feelings about this, to be honest; on the one hand, there are some storylines I'll be glad to see the back of, really, but on the other hand...I don't deny that I'm going to miss some of the EU characters. Stuff like before the movies came out, like the KOTOR characters (especially KOTOR II. Granted, TOR kind of fucked over the KOTOR cast already * but still...hell, the KOTOR games were two of the most influential video games I ever played, especially KOTOR II. Honestly, incomplete game aside, it was one of my favorites, and Chris Avellone...well, the man became my idol) and after the movies, like the Thrawn Trilogy, etc. I'm not going to miss the darker turn that things took afterwards -- because...well, the way I see it, darkness in fiction has to have a point, and the darkness that happened in the EU...some of it had a point, but most of it didn't.

Believe it or not, the EU was actually kind of a part of my younger years. I remember reading the books in middle school and early high school. I kind of have mixed feelings about them now, if only because of certain factors that didn't make sense, but they were a pretty big part of my younger years. I think it helped that I was a major reader then; I remember reading books on the bleachers. So I have fond memories of the books if only for that. And they had their good points -- bits of humor that worked, bits of poignancy that worked, etc. They had their bits that didn't make sense, but they had their good parts too.

As for the movies themselves...I really don't know how to feel about them. I remember bringing it up to my mom and she basically went, "Oh geez, they're making a new Star Wars trilogy? Can't they think of any new ideas than beating a dead horse?" And I really don't agree with that. I think it's what the Star Wars franchise kind of needs. A bit of a revival. That and JJ Abrams being at the helm...Your Mileage Will Definitely Vary on this, but I think he can do this. He managed to breathe some life back into the Star Trek franchise, and he's also very good in terms of likable characters, complex villains, poignancy, humor, and a lot more -- just ingredients that make up a good film. That and his version of Star Trek -- let's face it, most reboots and remakes don't work (call it a Sturgeon's Law thing), but his definitely did. Mostly through an original concept and new takes on the characters that worked. I have faith in Abrams, I really do; I may be a bit uneasy about some of the behind the scenes stuff (and Abrams did say that there is a charm in not knowing, and he has a point, but mostly I want to know that the project's at least going well because in all honesty, for all I'm excited, I'm also fucking terrified. I mean, this is pretty fucking huge) but I have faith Abrams can do it, and that everyone involved in this can do it.

I'm going to miss the EU. I really am. But I am interested in what the future has in store for us. I suppose the best I can do is wait until December 2015 (that's when episode seven is being released; I checked Movie Insider on it. I'm thinking it's just to get the most profit) and see for myself. And for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping it all turns out for the best.


* And really, if you like TOR...more power to you. Seriously. I'm just a little bummed about how it ended up.

Comments

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

A lot of this could be me. It was a big part of middle and high school but then, they started killing everyone off. I always mention Chewbacca but really, Anakin was the last straw.

I'm still more pissed about saying goodbye to the Clone Wars series...I hope future endeavors can have as much female empowerment/involvement...there were episodes that even passed the Bechdel Test.

I should probably do my own post on all of this.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

I just ran out of steam when OMEN came out. For some reason, I just put the book aside and couldn't read any further. I really don't know why. But I think the worst parts were the whole Caedus thing because everything just went so wrong (and I'm not opposed to that, but I think it has to be done well, and in that case it wasn't) and most of the characters were so unlikable -- I think (and YMMV) that Caedus was the most likable character in that whole mess and he was the villain. Everyone else was derailed, unlikable or both. Then there was the Ben slapping Vestara thing in ASCENSION and the torture sabaac scene in CRUCIBLE -- I mean, it was uncomfortable and it didn't feel like Star Wars at all. It felt like something out of a horror movie (and I'm not against horror films at all, but even I just felt uncomfortable throughout that whole thing and not for the right reasons. I think Denning wanted me to marvel at how disgusting the villains were, but mostly I was just uncomfortable). But yeah, I agree regarding Chewie and Anakin. I mean...that was not okay. /sorry, long ramble was long. Sorry.

And Clone Wars isn't going to get thrown out. Far as I know, they're keeping it. Which is good.

And I'm definitely looking forward to it!

[arkan2.livejournal.com]

and the torture sabaac scene in CRUCIBLE

*chuckle* That's one of the few things I actually enjoyed about that book - not so much the fact that Luke Faux Skywalker has now become not just an unrepentant murderer, but an authoritarian leader who makes the prequel era Jedi Council look like a bunch of open-minded hippies, or the conspicuous absence of several prominent characters, or a couple of other things - but that I liked. Sure, it was probably Denning trying to get us to marvel at how disgusting the villains were (*yawn*), but it also showed how hardcore Han was for playing their game when they have every advantage (including sheer intelligence) over him, and still managing to get the best of them, even if only in a small way. I found it pretty cool, to be honest.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that part was pretty cool. It was one of the parts in the scene I actually liked -- that and the bad guys (I can't remember their names off the top of my head) sort of having some psychological warfare against Han. That was interesting.

And dear God, Faux Skywalker. I remember reading and taking notes and at one point thinking, "I really owe the Council in the prequels several apologies." I mean, yeah, they had their flaws, but at the very least, Lucas built it into the story just by showing that they were only human, in the end. Faux-Skywalker...I just don't know.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I never really got past the original trilogy, but I do know the feeling when a creator says that a large chunk of some part of your fandom is definitely not canon.

The EU will always be there, though, and whether or not it's officially canon, no one can tell you whether or not you consider it such. That's the bright side of something like this. You can now ignore the stories you didn't like as not having happened, while holding on to the ones you do like.

That's pretty much what I fall back on, when there's a bad movie adaptation or remake of something I love. The original is always there, and anything good made is still there to be enjoyed. :)

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Very well-said! Seriously. :) And thanks. *Hugs*

[arkan2.livejournal.com]

Just got around to seeing this ... I guess I'm mostly surprised that this is being treated as a new thing; I thought it was pretty clear from the first few months post-announcement that they weren't going to be adapting the original Zahn trilogy or anything else from the EU, and, well, if you're not doing an adaptation, you pretty much have to jettison some or all, and it's probably easier and more politic to ditch it all. (Though there is some ambiguity in the official announcement about how much of the pre-RoTJ stuff is getting tossed; if it's staying, of course, that leaves them with the problem of all the foreshadowing of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion in e.g. Rogue Planet and Outbound Flight.)

Like you, I feel very conflicted. I first got into Star Wars via the original Zahn trilogy back when I was about 6 - that and "The Hobbit"/"Lord of the Rings" were the two biggest influences for me in terms of fiction from a young age, and they continue to hold cherished places in my overall fandom.

On the other hand, negating the continuity of the stories I love seems a far more gentle treatment than shanking them eight ways from Sunday (which was my experience of reading Star by Star and Legacy of the Force, and the 2nd and 3rd-hand accounts I'm getting of Fate of the Jedi), or even just kicking them in the shins and spitting in their eye (which was my experience of reading Star Wars Legacy). (No offense intended to fans of the above stories - I'm not saying they're without merit, and I know some people really enjoyed them, but I, personally, absolutely didn't.) I think losing the rest of the EU as official canon may be worth it to have the more noxious elements of those stories (character derailments and rampant character deaths) dumped over the side.

And as they've said, they can still incorporate elements of the EU into the new official canon without importing the stories whole. This leaves me with the forlorn hope that we might still get Mara, Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, Thrawn, Pellaeon, and some other minor characters imported into the new continuity. I say forlorn hope because in Mara's case, at least, there's too much backstory and character development which would have to take place before this movie even starts - there's no way they're going to go to the work to make that all fit. Thrawn, likewise, is just too important and complex a character to include without having him dominate the story - though at least in his case, I suppose they could just throw in a reference to him as someone they defeated years earlier; that would satisfy me. I know I'm going to walk away from these movies disappointed to some extent by Mara's absence if nothing more, because (starting with the original Zahn trilogy as I did) she and the other characters mentioned above are as integral to my idea of Star Wars as Leia, Han, Luke, Chewie, the droids, or Lando (on which note, why the hell hasn't Billy Dee Williams also been brought on board?)

I'm also going to be kind of annoyed if they just drop all the story-lines the EU has been setting up - not so much the ones involving the Abeloth and the Lost Tribe of the Sith, but the comic story lines (I'd even like Legacy to have an actual conclusion) and I do have some morbid curiosity what sort of bollocks Paul S. Kemp was setting up with the clone of Jaden Korr in Riptide. (I also note that Kemp has been signed up to write a novel about Vader and the Emperor between Episode III and Rebels. Lovely.) I don't want all those ongoing story lines to be left hanging, canon or no.

(I've had fun with the Star Trek reboots, but I also have issues with them which are issues I really don't want to have with a Star Wars sequel trilogy, so my enthusiasm for Abrams as director is pretty tepid. On the other hand, I don't see him pulling a Star by Star/Legacy of the Force stunt, so you could definitely go much worse.) That said, I'm still extremely excited for the new movies.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Very well-said!

And oh dear. Paul S. Kemp is onboard for that novel? At the risk of sounding cliche, I have a bad feeling about this.
(Seriously, maybe I'm biased, but Matthew Stover would be a lot better. That and from what I read in your reviews about Paul S. Kemp...yeah)

And yeah, I know what you mean.

[arkan2.livejournal.com]

Why thank you.

Seriously, maybe I'm biased, but Matthew Stover would be a lot better.

I tend to concur.

That and from what I read in your reviews about Paul S. Kemp...yeah

My sentiments exactly.


Oh, and on another note of unambiguously good news about this - not that I was ever as cut up about it as I was about several other elements of the New Jedi Order/Legacy eras - Chewbacca's back!

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.

And seriously, he'd be amazing! He already did great with the character development in the Revenge of the Sith novelization, so I think he'd do a great job with Vader and the Emperor.

And heck yes! So glad Chewie's back. Seriously.