Or: "Tim muses about a franchise that has altogether moved on."
So here we are, four years after Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker brought Disney's trilogy of Star Wars sequels to an end. Whether you like it or hate it, the film brought a conclusion to years of storytelling and, one could argue, opened the door to a new status quo for the Star Wars saga that can, one day, be explored.
Indeed, November 2020 saw the exclusive Disney+ release of 'The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special' as the first piece of Star Wars media to tell a story in the post-Episode IX era, one that Disney is now promising will arrive in cinemas, following a recent announcement of a new Star Wars film to focus on Daisy Ridley's Rey. None of this even touches on the recent four years of Star Wars streaming content that has been busy cataloguing the era between the Original and Sequel Trilogies. With such projects, the House of Mouse is showing a clear willingness to push forward with the Star Wars brand and find out what works.
But here's the thing, I really miss the Expanded Universe!
Hey Tim! What is the Expanded Universe anyway?
In 1977, Del Rey Publishing released the first ever non-movie Star Wars novel: 'Splinter of the Mind's Eye' by Alan Dean Foster. Having ghost-written 'Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope', Foster was allowed by Lucas to create his own story as long as he ensured that it fit into the universe and continuity that Lucas created. This set the precedent for any material that followed.
The Expanded Universe was notable for its wide scope of possibility. Some stories would be set in-between moments from the original Star Wars trilogy; providing context and character arcs for the very briefest of onscreen characters. There was material that would continue the story of the original trilogy after the end of 'Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'. These stories followed and developed the lives of Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie and all the characters that the audience of the films had grown to love and even added new characters, places and species. In short, the original trilogy became a first step into a larger world.
Before the Star Wars Prequels were even created, the Expanded Universe was journeying to an even longer time ago in a galaxy far, far away to discover an Old Republic that was as familiar as it was different. The exploits of Jedi Knights, the machinations of Sith Lords, and the adventures of smugglers, royalty and pilots would be made – through the Expanded Universe – into an ouroboros loop; a cycle of war and fragile peace that became more powerful through repetition.
Sounds interesting, but I'm not much of a novel reader so...
Then why are you reading this? Joking! Or am I? I'm hardly concise...
The Expanded Universe began with novels, which continued to be written, but this was far from the only medium in which it featured. Elements began to appear in comics, video games, board games, action figures, and all manner of other merchandise.
Indeed, Lucasfilm even supported certain stories that were being told in the Expanded Universe by launching multimedia campaigns, as though for new entries in the Star Wars saga.
1996's Shadows of the Empire was one such multimedia project, with a novel telling a story set between Episodes V and VI, but also a limited run of comics that told the story of Boba Fett during the events of the novel, a video game that followed an original character who appeared in the novel, multiple toys and trading cards, and even a soundtrack composed exclusively for the project. "Unlike with film music," Explained composer Joel McNeely, "I have been allowed to let my imagination run free with the images, characters and events from this story. I have also had the luxury to loiter as long as I like with a character or scene. Every passage represents some person, place or event in this story." The result was a movie tie-in multimedia campaign with no movie, a feat that would be repeated with 2009's videogame, The Force Unleashed.
So what happened?
Once Disney purchased the rights to Star Wars in 2012, a purge of prior stories from the Star Wars canon began. A press release in 2014 decreed that any stories outside of the films and the animated Clone Wars series would be consigned to the label of "Legends" and exist outside a new official canon.
Nearly ten years later, five movies, seven animated shows and five live-action shows have been added to the Star Wars franchise, not to mention thirty-nine new novels and hundreds of comics. This doesn't include videogames, board games, or roleplaying games, of which there have been several created since Disney took over.
New characters have been created for the Disney canon that have become popular, and characters or even storylines from the Expanded Universe have been added back into the new canon. With the recent launch of the High Republic era, the new canon is even beginning to go beyond the timeline of the films and explore further back before the prequels.
That doesn't sound too bad...
In many ways, it isn't a bad thing. And I can certainly understand the need for a reset, particularly when the Sequel Trilogy was set to explore the post-Original Trilogy era. The new material since 2014 has been - on the whole - more consistent and better planned than a lot of the original material from the Expanded Universe. There's a sense of everything having its place and none of the 'unapproved' worldbuilding of the original Expanded Universe that later had to be retconned to fit into approved canon - such as with the 'original Clone Wars' as written about before Episode II.
However, this is in many ways my problem. The element of experimentation that existed before has been removed so as to not interfere with corporate synergy. Named characters feel a little too safe - too valuable to future projects to kill in current ones. Nostalgia and cameos govern every surprise reveal both on-and-off screen.
Some of this is more of a cultural issue with the discourse surrounding most franchises today - questions as to whether Liam Neeson would appear in the Obi-Wan Kenobi streaming show are no different to the rumours of an Andrew Garfield cameo that dominated discussions leading up to Spider-Man: No way Home.
I think my problem with current Star Wars media is the 'importance' it ascribes literally everything. Very little is totally stand-alone, or able to function outside of other material. When a new story, concept or character is created, it is both captured in amber so as to not allow change while also being bundled into any other story that can make use of it. This often means that very little is allowed to develop or change - and if such development is allowed, it's usually a sign that it has reached its final story.
If you aren't liking it, why not stop?
Because, on the whole, I am liking a lot of what is coming out. Darth Vader in particular has never been better, with writers, directors and artists who actively portray the danger and fear that his character can and should evoke. The quality of the artistry, storytelling and character development of animated shows like Bad Batch and Tales of the Jedi is second-to-none, and its a real shame that the animated shows have fallen under the radar since Star Wars embraced live-action content once again. But even in the live-action content, good things are there. The Mandalorian has suffered a decline in quality since Season 2, but maintains a comfortable place on Disney+ thanks to its popularity - or that of a certain character - with the general public.
Then what's the issue?
I just wish that creative control of Star Wars wasn't in the hands of the former fans who clearly bought all the toys and kept them in pride of place, all the while never daring to take them out of boxes to really play with them. That very much was the ethos of the Expanded Universe.
Is that really all there is to it?
Well... if I take a moment in this Star Wars retrospective to be selfish (I know, I'll never forgive myself either), I miss the characters, places, and development of the Expanded Universe. Not everything was perfect, not everything was even good, but it's the storytelling I grew up with in terms of Star Wars, and to have that ripped away makes coming back to the new stuff particularly tough.
Having said all that, everything I love - the old stories, books, games and so on - it's still there. I have the stories I enjoy in one format or another, and still occasionally add 'Legends' material to my collection, as it's still being released under that banner. So who knows if this is truly the end or not. As a greater Tim than I once said: "It’s not gone. It’s kind of in storage. Think of the Expanded Universe [as if] it’s been frozen in carbonite for the moment. But, you know, Leia could come along at any moment and unfreeze something."
And hey! There's always The Old Republic keeping the Expanded Universe flame alive. At least for now.
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