When George Lucas created Star Wars, he could have never guessed the cultural impact that it would have on the world. And what resulted from his original trilogy were thousands of books, comics, video games, and more: which were created to tell the story of the Expanded Universe. But it was common knowledge that this Expanded Universe was never strictly canon; Lucas attempted to bring in elements from the other forms of media, but “made it clear that he was not beholden to it.” This means that the strict canon for Star Wars was Lucas’ six episodes.
But now, President of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy has announced (via starwars.com) that all future content, including Star Wars games, will all be a part of the new canon: and to oversee all the future content a story group was created. Furthermore, this new canon will be established by the new movies and will not take place in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe; this means to preserve a sense of surprise, the new canon will not follow the already printed post episode six stories. However, the company wants to make it clear that this does not mean they will stop selling that content; all “past tales of the Expanded Universe will still be printed, [and] presented under the new ‘Legends’ banner.” Kathleen Kennedy is extremely excited for this new venture and believes that this idea will open up new ways for fans to enjoy Star Wars.
“We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon. We’re set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before.”
A screenshot of Boba Fett from the canceled Star Wars 1313.
This new plan makes the closing of LucasArts more understandable: games like ‘Star Wars 1313’ would have foiled the establishment of an overall canon. But also, the idea that all future Star Wars games will be a part of canon is actually mind-blowing; this means that all future stories could effectively cause ripples that are felt through the movies, games, novels and comics. And this makes me really excited about the future and the possibilities for EA to explore; yes, gamers know that Battlefront 3 is in the works, but what else could they be working on? Could there be games that forever change that Star Wars universe: basically, this announcement has just assured my purchase of future Star Wars games.
What do you think of this huge announcement? Are you excited for the state of Star Wars games or indifferent? Let us know in the comment section below. And for all updates, continue to read Gamer Headlines.
