What kicked this off is the news that shouldn't surprise anyone is that Dark Horse will be losing their license to make Star Wars comics in 2015 where it will once again return to the arms of Marvel comics who gave us such greats as "Jax and inter-galacitc 8 foot tall green space bunny".
I'm so thrilled.
Yes that was back in the day and I'm sure they'd do a better job then back then (unless it was a battle between Jax and Jar Jar Binks which I would so buy) but it's going to be a sad day when it comes.
Dark Horse has done a fantastic job over the years with Star Wars comics. Sure there have been dudes (most of the stuff currently out right now) but they have given us rare jewels every once in a while that have made it all worth it.
Dark Empire started it all coming out the same time as Timothy Zahn's books and it was fantastic. Many more great books have followed by the President of Dark Horse says he's doubtful any of those titles will carry over once Marvel holds the reigns.
Again I understand why the decision was made and don't fault Marvel comics for this at all. It's just sad to see such a good thing go away.
You saw my Star Wars book collection yesterday on the blog so you know why the expanded universe means so much to me. In fact, I believe it's the whole reason I'm such a huge Star Wars fan in the first place. I think that's why it's a line I can't cross even if Disney chooses to.
Such a wonderful story has been cultivated by the authors it'd be such a shame to throw all that away. In articles I've read recently there's been a misperception about the expanded universe stating that Lucas never recognized them as "cannon"
Not exactly true.
Yes, he intended the story to end at Jedi. He's said that a million times. (though not recently because the jackass changes his mind more than a kid at an ice cream shop) So if these were never considered Star Wars cannon, then why did he take such a strong interest in books?
Did you know Lucas set forth guidelines on what the authors could and could not do during their story making process? Certain story lines were left alone like Yoda's origin, Han's first encounter with Chewbacca and Luke and Leia's parents (before the prequels came out of course)
Lucas was the one who offered Chewbacca's name instead when the author's asked for Luke Skywalker's death and interestingly enough, he offered Han Solo to them first but the author's declined.
When you think about it you have to wonder, why would Lucas care about the "expanded" universe if it didn't fit in with "his" overall story.
Answer: Because it did.
Lucas knew in the back of his mind he wanted to make more films. Look at the zillion YouTube interviews from 1983 with Hamill and other people involved with Return of the Jedi. It seems that making more was always on Lucas mind.
And him offering up Solo's naCme for death in the expanded universe doesn't surprise me either. It's no secret Lucas and Harrison Ford don't see eye to eye. For years Ford's stated that he wished Solo would've died at the end of "Jedi" and had no desire to return to that role.
Lucas knew this and therefore never made him a part of the story when it came to making 7,8 and 9. Therefore it makes sense Lucas would allow him to be killed off in the books and not Skywalker which he obviously had plans for in the next trilogy.
I think the expanded universe meant more to Lucas than he let on. Sure you want to say that it's not the way you envisioned things going but that's because Lucas wasn't smart enough to come up with a story this brilliant in the first place. But you cannot convince me Lucas wasn't a fan of his own expanded universe.
I think Lucas had it in his mind the whole time to bridge the 2 together when 7, 8 and 9 came around. Look at what he took from the expanded universe already from the prequels:
1) Acknowledgment of the assistance of Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos (Dark Horse comics)
2) Appearance of Aayla Secura in Episode 3 (Dark Horse comics)
3) The planet Coruscant (Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire)
4) Darth Maul's double bladed light saber. (Kevin J Anderson's Jedi Academy series)
5) The Boonta Eve races. (Droids cartoon)
6) Moons of Diego where Count Dooku told Jango Fett he was from. (Droids cartoon)
There's probably a few more but those are the ones I can name off the top of my head so you get the point.
Either way, with Disney in the driver's seat now I know all bets are off but it's an interesting thought all the same....
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