Many of you by now have heard of the news of how Lucasfilm will be handling Star Wars canon.
In short, Lucasfilm is reaffirming that the movies and Clone Wars series are the only ironclad Canon. Yet at the same time, all new content will be Canon as well since the company will make a better effort to keep things aligned than it ever has before. All previously published Expanded Universe material will be rebranded as Star Wars Legends.
The up to recently used continuity that has been in use is known as the Holocron continuity.
Until further notice however, this does not change the current environment of role-playing at Star Wars RP. Many Writers already use arguably non-canon material in their role-plays that are from Star Wars branded works. Many Writers also heavily use original content not found anywhere in Star Wars works.
As new Star Wars material is released though, Wookieepedia will be updating itself accordingly. Four novels are to be released within a year - and any material that it contains will overrule any previously published Expanded Universe material.
However, this will be just as how Clone Wars was produced. Much of what was created in the old Expanded Universe will be re-used in the upcoming and new Star Wars Expanded Universe. Yet, it will not be exactly as it used to be.
Above all though, don't panic. The role-play environment will not change until after Staff has done extensive deliberation - if we ever see the need to do so. Plus, we can expect to have no headaches with canon in Star Wars from now on - and as fans, that's something we can look forward too.
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EDIT:
Keep in mind, this is not a sudden change practically. Not even the Lucasfilm Story Group is sure on how to play things out in the future. Essentially, the continuity of what was the Expanded Universe will be gone. With the new movies coming out, the history of post-ROTJ Expanded Universe will naturally be wiped out. Yet, a lot of the things and planets and species from the Expanded Universe will be adapted into the new, singular Canon.
Bottom line: Legends is not simply disappearing. This move is to allow for new licensed Star Wars material to go forward in creating new material without having to worry about meticulously following a conflicting and disjointed Expanded Universe. Legends is now a resource to pull ideas from for future Star Wars material - but not a part of the continuity itself.
An example of this would be Yuuzhan Vong and Thrawn appearing in the new trilogy yet the events of Heir to the Empire and New Jedi Order never happened according to the movies.
With Star Wars RP Chaos being set in a time after a massive dark age, this works well for us. Characters would logically not know much about the history of the galaxy before the Gulag Plague, yet a lot of the planets and species from the Expanded Universe are still out there for us to use.
We will know more about how Lucasfilm will be treating the new Canon when the upcoming novels come out. We will also know in the upcoming months for sure whether or not everything in the Expanded Universe will be branded under Legends - Lucasfilm officials at the moment are erring on the side of caution and telling people to assume everything will be Legends.
Understand, too, that this decision and many of Lucasflim's decisions aren't directly caused by Disney. I find it hard to believe that Disney's executive board cares about what is and isn't canon. Their goal is to make money off of licensed Star Wars works and merchandise. Kathleen Kennedy, the President of Lucasfilm, probably doesn't even care. This is a decision brought forth by the Lucasfilm Story Group and those a part of the group - one of whom was always a strong supporter of the idea that the films and TCW are the only ironclad Canon and that Expanded Universe is simply a resource for them.
In short, Lucasfilm is reaffirming that the movies and Clone Wars series are the only ironclad Canon. Yet at the same time, all new content will be Canon as well since the company will make a better effort to keep things aligned than it ever has before. All previously published Expanded Universe material will be rebranded as Star Wars Legends.
The up to recently used continuity that has been in use is known as the Holocron continuity.
Until further notice however, this does not change the current environment of role-playing at Star Wars RP. Many Writers already use arguably non-canon material in their role-plays that are from Star Wars branded works. Many Writers also heavily use original content not found anywhere in Star Wars works.
As new Star Wars material is released though, Wookieepedia will be updating itself accordingly. Four novels are to be released within a year - and any material that it contains will overrule any previously published Expanded Universe material.
However, this will be just as how Clone Wars was produced. Much of what was created in the old Expanded Universe will be re-used in the upcoming and new Star Wars Expanded Universe. Yet, it will not be exactly as it used to be.
Above all though, don't panic. The role-play environment will not change until after Staff has done extensive deliberation - if we ever see the need to do so. Plus, we can expect to have no headaches with canon in Star Wars from now on - and as fans, that's something we can look forward too.
____________________
EDIT:
Keep in mind, this is not a sudden change practically. Not even the Lucasfilm Story Group is sure on how to play things out in the future. Essentially, the continuity of what was the Expanded Universe will be gone. With the new movies coming out, the history of post-ROTJ Expanded Universe will naturally be wiped out. Yet, a lot of the things and planets and species from the Expanded Universe will be adapted into the new, singular Canon.
Bottom line: Legends is not simply disappearing. This move is to allow for new licensed Star Wars material to go forward in creating new material without having to worry about meticulously following a conflicting and disjointed Expanded Universe. Legends is now a resource to pull ideas from for future Star Wars material - but not a part of the continuity itself.
An example of this would be Yuuzhan Vong and Thrawn appearing in the new trilogy yet the events of Heir to the Empire and New Jedi Order never happened according to the movies.
With Star Wars RP Chaos being set in a time after a massive dark age, this works well for us. Characters would logically not know much about the history of the galaxy before the Gulag Plague, yet a lot of the planets and species from the Expanded Universe are still out there for us to use.
We will know more about how Lucasfilm will be treating the new Canon when the upcoming novels come out. We will also know in the upcoming months for sure whether or not everything in the Expanded Universe will be branded under Legends - Lucasfilm officials at the moment are erring on the side of caution and telling people to assume everything will be Legends.
Understand, too, that this decision and many of Lucasflim's decisions aren't directly caused by Disney. I find it hard to believe that Disney's executive board cares about what is and isn't canon. Their goal is to make money off of licensed Star Wars works and merchandise. Kathleen Kennedy, the President of Lucasfilm, probably doesn't even care. This is a decision brought forth by the Lucasfilm Story Group and those a part of the group - one of whom was always a strong supporter of the idea that the films and TCW are the only ironclad Canon and that Expanded Universe is simply a resource for them.
