Today Starwars.com announced in a press release that all previous Star Wars content outside of the six theatrical episodes and the six seasons of the animated series The Clone Wars as Expanded Universe. This of course comes at a time when Lucasfilm, and its new adoptive parent Disney, are in the process of creating a sequel trilogy which is set to take place in an era of Star Wars which has already been documented in novels and comics. So in order to eliminate this issue Lucasfilm’s story group has chosen to streamline by making all future stories in comics, television and novels as canon thus making most everything that has been released in the past Expanded Universe.
We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon,” said Kennedy. “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.
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.
Star Wars first foray into this new canon-aligned Star Wars universe will be next month’s comic series Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, followed by the animated summer debut of Star Wars Rebels. After that we will finally see what 
longtime book Star Wars book publisher Del Rey has been working on in the form of four new novels.
- Star War: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller (September 2nd, 2014)
- Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno (November 4th, 2014)
- Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne (January 2015)
- Star Wars: Lords of the Sith by Paul Kemp (March 2015)
Despite the relevance of all past publications being swept aside its nice to know that they will live under Del Rey’s new banner – Legends.
In years past, the story lines that would appear in print and on screen were developed separately, resulting in an “Expanded Universe” that differed in ways large and small from the filmmaker’s “canon.” These rich stories provide a treasure trove of characters to fall in love with — and deep worlds to explore and will live on in both physical and digital editions, newly-branded as Star Wars Legends.
So being that figures are our core focus here at From 4-LOM to Zuckuss; does this make you feel different about your Expanded Universe Figures? Will they remain in your dioramas or will they occupy a shelf of their own or possibly a storage box from now on? Let us know and join the conversation on our official Facebook page and until next time,
