Star Wars Expanded Universe - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas

George Lucas

George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...

. The expanded universe

Expanded Universe

The term Expanded Universe is generally used to denote the 'extension' of a media franchise with other media...

includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...

, television series, toy

Toy

A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...

s, and other media. This material expands and continues the stories told in the films and, excepting where it contradicts the films, is generally considered canonical. However, George Lucas has viewed it as a separate canon from his movie series.

Development

The early development of the Expanded Universe was sporadic and unrefined, particularly because there was so little official material for the creators to build on. For example, the "Expanded Universe" is generally considered to have begun with Alan Dean Foster

Alan Dean Foster

Alan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...

's February 1978 Star Wars spin-off novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye

Splinter of the Mind's Eye

Splinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...

(although technically it began with Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

' Star Wars #7 in January 1978). This novel drew inspiration primarily from an early draft of the Star Wars script and was conceptualized as a possible filmed sequel. Furthermore, while George Lucas

George Lucas

was given sole writing credit for the original Star Wars novelization, Alan Dean Foster actually ghost-wrote it, contributing heavily to the Universe in the process. While he worked on the novelization, he was given a copy of the working script and a tour of the production.

Much of the early EU material from the early 1980s contained analogies to the real world, rather than embracing the holistic fiction of the Star Wars films. Much of this material now seems rather detached from the rest of the EU.

A turning point was reached when West End Games

West End Games

West End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...

began publishing the Star Wars Roleplaying Game in 1987. In order for players of the roleplaying game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

to create new adventures, West End Games needed to provide supplemental material describing the Star Wars universe in previously unknown detail. For example, the Aurebesh alphabet was originally a random piece of set dressing in Return of the Jedi. Stephen Crane copied those symbols and turned them into a complete and coherent alphabet (which would later be used in the feature films). Developing details like this in a consistent fashion turned West End Games' Star Wars products into a de facto reference library for the Star Wars universe, to the point where Lucasfilm actually sent copies of the game supplements to other EU developers to use as source material.

Shortly thereafter, in the early 1990s, Bantam

Bantam Books

Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...

published Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy

The Thrawn trilogy

The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a series of best-selling novels written by Timothy Zahn. The novels are set in the Expanded Universe of the Star Wars galaxy approximately five years after the events depicted in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the...

. Widely publicized as the "sequels which were never made", Zahn's novels reignited Star Wars fandom and sparked a revolution in Star Wars literature. Around this same time, Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy, including the very popular Dark Empire

Dark Empire

Dark Empire is a Star Wars comic book metaseries produced by Dark Horse Comics. It consists of a six-issue limited series written by Tom Veitch and drawn by Cam Kennedy , followed by a second six-issue limited series by Veitch and Kennedy and a two-issue limited series written by Veitch and drawn...

stories.

All this development began to feed back on itself: West End Games was producing roleplaying supplements detailing the material from Dark Horse's comics and Zahn's novels. Novelists and comic creators were using West End Games' supplements as reference material. Sequels to the novels were being published as comics and vice versa. The scope of the Expanded Universe grew at a prodigious rate.

To date, the bulk of the Expanded Universe has detailed the Star Wars universe after the end of Return of the Jedi, as numerous topics, including the rise of the Galactic Empire, the personal histories of Anakin Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine

Palpatine

Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...

, and the Clone Wars

Clone Wars (Star Wars)

The Clone Wars are a series of fictional intragalactic battles in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. The conflict is first mentioned in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , but no details are given , and the wars themselves are not featured until the series' fifth and sixth...

had been declared off-limits by George Lucas prior to the development of the prequel trilogy.

It was decided in the late 1990s that using the Empire

Galactic Empire (Star Wars)

The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...

as the villain

Villain

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...

s had become repetitive and monotonous. Hence a new threat, the Yuuzhan Vong

Yuuzhan Vong

The Yuuzhan Vong are a group of fictional characters from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. They rise as a threat to the New Republic in the New Jedi Order series of novels....

, was introduced in The New Jedi Order

The New Jedi Order

The New Jedi Order is a series of nineteen science fiction novels, published from 1999 to 2003, set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The series revolves around the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy 21–26 years after the events depicted in Return of the Jedi...

, more specifically, in the first book of the series, Vector Prime

Vector Prime

Vector Prime is a science fiction novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore and published in 1999. It is the first installment of the New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars universe.-Summary:...

The Expanded Universe and the prequels

Prior to the release of The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

, Lucasfilm specifically prohibited development of the time period prior to A New Hope in the Expanded Universe (with the exception of the Tales of the Jedi series which took place thousands of years before the movies). The release of Episode I, however, created an entirely new storyline for writers to work from.

Since The Phantom Menace was set in a time of peace, it was hard to invent any kind of threat for the hero

Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...

es to fight against. Thus most material that built on The Phantom Menace was either set before or during the film, rather than after.

Attack of the Clones

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

, on the other hand, introduced another fresh conflict - one which fans had wanted to see for over twenty years. Aside from being explored in comics and novels, the Clone Wars

Clone Wars (Star Wars)

would be given their own animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars

Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003 TV series)

Star Wars: Clone Wars is an Annie Award-winning American animated television series set in the Star Wars galaxy. The series chronicles the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic under Chancellor Palpatine, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems under Count Dooku.Chronologically, the series...

, which would serve to lead up to the release of Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....

. In this series, many battles throughout the galaxy are shown, with the Force shown to seemingly its full extent in fantastic fights, such as Mace Windu

Mace Windu

Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, most famously portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel films. However, Windu has also been voiced by other actors in assorted video game and animated projects....

single-handedly destroying a whole droid army, without even using a lightsaber. The first (2004) season of the series concludes by introducing the newest villain, General Grievous

General Grievous

General Grievous is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, an antagonist in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Matthew Wood...

, an important character in Episode III. Grievous was also a main player on episodes 21-25, released in 2005 and leading directly to Episode III. Following the release of Episode III, events between the two trilogies are now being elaborated, like the Great Jedi Purge

Great Jedi Purge

The Great Jedi Purge, or Order 66, is a major event in the Star Wars storyline. It is officially documented as a plot element in the 2005 film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and is further referenced in the Star Wars Expanded Universe...

.

In addition to adding new possibilities, the prequel trilogy contradicted a number of statements involving the Clone Wars in existing novels. In Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, for example, the dates given for the war were inaccurate. This was since retconned by explaining that the dates were given using the Noghri calendar. Also, the character Admiral Pellaeon makes a specific statement about fighting clones in the Fleet (presumably under the Republic) and that the early clones were "unstable, sometimes spectacularly so." This completely contradicts the prequels, but was later addressed in Karen Travis's Republic Commando books by the addition of the Nulls. And again, in book three, True Colors, Pellaeon makes his first chronologically appropriate appearance as a fresh Republic officer. As well, with all six films officially released, more and more ties between the prequel and original trilogy eras are being made. Rogue Planet

Rogue Planet (novel)

Rogue Planet is a 2000 novel set in the Star Wars galaxy. It is a prequel novel occurring after the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The book was written by Greg Bear. The cover art was by David Stevenson...

's introduction of Zonama Sekot, for example, was both an important tie-in to Episode II and part of the resolution for the New Jedi Order series. And Outbound Flight

Outbound Flight

Outbound Flight is a novel set in the Star Wars galaxy that was released on January 31, 2006. It is written by Timothy Zahn, bestselling author of the popular Thrawn Trilogy, to which this novel is a prequel. The book was released by Del Rey, first in hardcover, then in paperback in January 2007...

linked The Phantom Menace with several Zahn novels (the Thrawn trilogy, Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future, and Survivor's Quest).

Story eras

Unlike the films, which are set no more than 36 years apart, the expanded universe takes place over thousands of years in the Star Wars universe. The earliest work involving the expanded universe chronologically is the Tales of the Jedi

Tales of the Jedi

Tales of the Jedi is a series of comic books that are published by Dark Horse Comics and are part of the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe. They cover the Great Sith War and the Great Hyperspace War and remain the earliest chronological Star Wars stories.The first books released covered the...

comic series, which is set five millennia before the films. The most recent is the Legacy

Star Wars: Legacy

Star Wars: Legacy is an American comic book series set in the Star Wars universe. The series, published by Dark Horse Comics, is written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, and illustrated by Duursema and others, with inks by Dan Parsons and color by Brad Anderson...

comic series, which is set about one-hundred and thirty years after Return of the Jedi

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...

. The timeline below uses the in-universe BBY dating system, based on the years before and after the Battle of Yavin featured in A New Hope

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...

The Old Republic (25,000 - 1,000 BBY)

In this era (set thousands of years before the films), the Jedi

Jedi

The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...

are numerous and serve as guardians of peace and justice. The Tales of the Jedi comics series takes place in this era, chronicling the immense wars fought by the Jedi of old, and the ancient Sith. The Knights of the Old Republic series

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (series)

The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, often abbreviated as KotOR, is a comic book and RPG video game series based on the fictional universe of Star Wars by George Lucas. The first video game installment was developed by BioWare, while the second was done by Obsidian Entertainment per...

takes place during this time, as well as the Darth Bane

Darth Bane

Darth Bane is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. He is first mentioned in the novelization of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and is thereafter consistently referenced in Expanded Universe material. He is a major character in the Jedi vs...

series. The Sith Era takes place during this time.

The Rise of the Empire (1,000 - 0 BBY)

Set in the time around the prequel trilogy this era takes place after the seemingly final defeat of the Sith. In the waning years of the Republic, the Senate was rife with corruption and scandal, and saddled with a bureaucracy so immense that effective governing was nearly impossible. The Sith

Sith

-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...

Lord, Darth Sidious, secretly orchestrated his rise to Supreme Chancellor under the guise of Senator Palpatine and personally engineered the Clone Wars

Clone Wars (Star Wars)

. He promised to reunite the galaxy under a New Order, and destroyed the majority of the Jedi.

The Rebellion (0 BBY - 5 ABY)

With the Old Republic gone, an outcry of resistance begins to spread across the galaxy in protest to the new Empire's tyranny. Cells of Rebellion fight back, and the Galactic Civil War

Galactic Civil War

The Galactic Civil War is a fictional war from the Star Wars galaxy. It serves as the setting for the original trilogy of films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, as well as many novels, comics, and video games in the Expanded Universe.The war was fought between the...

begins. This era begins with the Rebel victory that secured the Death Star

Death Star

The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...

plans, and ends after the death of the Emperor high over the forest moon of Endor. The Rebellion starts to reform itself into a body of government, first as the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and later the New Republic. The original trilogy takes place during this era.

The New Republic (5 ABY - 25 ABY)

Having defeated the Empire at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance

Rebel Alliance

The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....

must now transform itself from a militant resistance force into a functioning galactic government. As Imperial territory is reclaimed, the New Republic

New Republic (Star Wars)

The New Republic is a government in the fictional Star Wars universe.When the Rebel Alliance re-established the Old Galactic Republic after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, it became known as the New Republic, just as the original Galactic Republic had become known as the Old Republic by that...

suffers growing pains, having to fend off insurrections, Imperial loyalists, and wayward warlords. Also, Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...

, the last of the Jedi, begins to rebuild the Jedi Order and train new apprentices.

The New Jedi Order (25 - 40 ABY)

With the Jedi Knights now over one hundred strong the New Republic has signed a peace treaty with the remains of the Empire. The galaxy is finally enjoying a peaceful respite from decades of war. It's in this era that a horrible alien menace invades the Republic from beyond known space. The Yuuzhan Vong

Yuuzhan Vong

The Yuuzhan Vong are a group of fictional characters from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. They rise as a threat to the New Republic in the New Jedi Order series of novels....

lay waste to entire worlds in their scourge, as depicted in the novels of The New Jedi Order

The New Jedi Order

. The Dark Nest trilogy falls at the end of this era. The mysterious Killik encroach upon Chiss-controlled space, inciting a three-way war between the Chiss, the Killik Hive, and the Galactic Alliance, with Jedi falling in on all sides.

Legacy (40 - unknown date ABY)

Having reached peace with the Yuuzhan Vong, the newly formed Galactic Federation of Free Alliances (commonly referred to as Galactic Alliance or GA) struggles to keep itself working as a single government. But many threats from inside are joined by a danger that comes from the remains of the Dark Side, that threaten to give rise to a new Sith Lord more powerful than Darth Vader

Darth Vader

Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

or Emperor Palpatine. The new Jedi Order created by Luke Skywalker faces a new era as the heirs of the Skywalker legacy grow up. Jacen Solo

Jacen Solo

Jacen Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo and the nephew of Luke Skywalker, he is a major character in several Star Wars novels, particularly the Legacy of the Force series. He replaced Lumiya as the main antagonist of the...

has partnered with a nemesis from Luke Skywalker's past, Lumiya, who has promised him only if he becomes the next Sith Lord will he be able to bring peace to the galaxy. The Legacy of the Force

Legacy of the Force

The Legacy of the Force is a series of nine science fiction novels set in the Star Wars fictional universe, taking place approximately 40 years after the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...

novels are set at this time. Following the culmination of the Legacy of the Force novels, a series titled Fate of the Jedi begins, involving Luke as he tries to correct the blemish left on the Jedi Order by Jacen Solo.

Much later in this era, as suggested by the title, is the Legacy

Star Wars: Legacy

comic series. Set one-hundred thirty years after the films, these comics follow the story of Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Luke Skywalker who has to confront a resurrected Galactic Empire under the control of a new Sith Order.

Film and television

The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was one of the first official Star Wars spin-offs, and was directed by Steve Binder. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States and Canada, November 17, 1978, on the U.S...

(1978) was a two-hour television special portraying Chewbacca's return to his home planet of Kashyyyk
Kashyyyk
Kashyyyk , also known as Wookiee Planet C, is a planet in the Star Wars universe. It is the tropical, forested home world of the Wookiees...

to celebrate Life Day with his family. Along with the stars of the original 1977 movie, such TV and music stars as Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...

, Art Carney
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....

, and Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....

appeared in plot-related skits and musical numbers. The content is considered canonical, but the special is reviled by some fans and virtually disowned by George Lucas, though other fans enjoy its nostalgic sweetness and naively misguided creativity; an online petition for its video release has gotten press in New York Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

and other media outlets. The Holiday Special features the first appearance of bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...

Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....

, in an 11-minute animated sequence, and the first reference to Kashyyyk. The general look of the Kashyyyk sets from the Holiday Special formed the basis for the settings used in Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....

(2005).

Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
For the series of road trips travelled by Hamish and Andy see:Caravan Of Courage The Ewok Adventure is a 1984 American made-for-TV film based in the Star Wars setting. It was released theatrically in Europe as Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, and is known by that title today...

(1984) was the first of two films featuring the Ewok
Ewok
Ewoks originate from the Star Wars films. In the series, they are a species of teddy-bear-like hunter-gatherers that inhabit the forest moon of Endor. The Ewoks live in various tree-huts and primitive dwellings. They first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...

s from Return of the Jedi. In Caravan of Courage, the Ewoks help two children rescue their parents from a giant known as Gorax. This and the next film are notable for having their stories written by Lucas himself; one of his few contributions to non-theatrical Star Wars productions, other than his obvious sanctioning of them.

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 made-for-TV movie set in the Star Wars galaxy. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the little girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned, joins the Ewoks in protecting their village and defeating the evil...

(1985). In this second Ewok film, Wicket, Cindel, and the Ewoks ally with a hermit named Noa to defeat Marauders who attacked their village.

Star Wars: Droids
Star Wars: Droids
Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...

(1985–1986) was an animated series following the adventures of C-3PO and R2-D2 between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It featured Anthony Daniels as the voice of C-3PO.

Star Wars: Ewoks
Star Wars: Ewoks
Star Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....

(1985–1987) was an animated series featuring the adventures of the Ewoks prior to Return of the Jedi and the Ewok movies (despite being released after).

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003 TV series)
Star Wars: Clone Wars is an Annie Award-winning American animated television series set in the Star Wars galaxy. The series chronicles the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic under Chancellor Palpatine, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems under Count Dooku.Chronologically, the series...

(2003–2005) aired on the Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (United States)
Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...

, as well as Teletoon
Télétoon (Canadian TV channel)
Télétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...

, and depicted events between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The series received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

and introduced the character of General Grievous
General Grievous
General Grievous is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, an antagonist in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Matthew Wood...

.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...

(2008) was a theatrical film released to promote and kick off a new animated television series based on the Clone Wars era, and featured the voice talent of several cast members from the live-action films.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)
-Production:At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve...

(2008–Present) is a fully 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

CGI, half-hour length series being produced by Lucasfilm Animation
Lucasfilm Animation
Lucasfilm Animation is an animation studio founded in 2003. In 2008 it was officially launched after the premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars...

.

An untitled live-action series
Star Wars live-action TV series
The untitled Star Wars live-action TV series is a planned space opera television series, set between the events seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope....

set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope has been discussed but is currently on hold. It is thought to focus on minor characters from the Star Wars galaxy, with the possibility of cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

s by some of the main characters.

Lucas has mentioned a second Star Wars animated series that is currently in development, potentially titled Squishies. It will be the fifth animated series in the franchise overall. On April 5, 2010 it was announced that a new comedy series would be produced by Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...

creators Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...

and Matthew Senreich
Matthew Senreich
Matthew Ian "Matt" Senreich is an American screenwriter, television producer and director, best known for his work with animated television series Robot Chicken, which he co-created with business partner Seth Green. Senreich and Green together run the production company Stoopid Monkey...

.

Radio and audio drama

A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

author Brian Daley

Brian Daley

Brian Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.-Biography:...

and directed by John Madden

John Madden (director)

John Philip Madden is an English director of theatre, film, television, and radio.- Biography :Madden was educated at Clifton College. He was in the same house as friend and fellow director Roger Michell. He began his career in British independent films, and graduated from the University of...

. It was followed by adaptations of the next two films in the original trilogy: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The radio adaptations were notable for including background material probably created by Lucas but not used for the films. Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill

Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...

, Anthony Daniels

Anthony Daniels

Anthony Daniels is an English actor. He is best known for his role as the droid C-3PO in the Star Wars series of films made between 1977 and 2005.-Early life:...

, and Billy Dee Williams

Billy Dee Williams

William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...

reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

, C-3PO

C-3PO

C-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...

, and Lando Calrissian

Lando Calrissian

Lando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...

, respectively; John Williams

John Williams

John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...

composed an original score; and Ben Burtt

Ben Burtt

Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...

, who designed the sound for all of the Star Wars movies, did the same for the radio adaptations.

In 1983, Buena Vista Records released entirely original Star Wars audio drama, Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell. Like the radio adaptations of the films, Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell was written by Brian Daley.

For more than a decade, Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell was the only Star Wars drama not adapted from a feature film. Then, between 1995 and 1998 more than a half dozen audio dramas were released as audio tapes and CD's. These audio dramas were adapted from Dark Horse comic books, and include: Tales of the Jedi (1995), Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (1995), Dark Empire (1996), Dark Empire II (1996), Empire's End (1997), Dark Forces (1998), and Crimson Empire (1998).

Adaptations of the prequel films have not been made at this point.

Books

Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first movie, with the 1976 novelization of "A New Hope" (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster

Alan Dean Foster

Alan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...

and credited to George Lucas). However, Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye

Splinter of the Mind's Eye

Splinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...

, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between the movies, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series.

Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original series (1977–1983), but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1991, however, Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...

's celebrated Thrawn trilogy

The Thrawn trilogy

debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam

Bantam Books

and Del Rey. The books have covered most key timeframes in the Star Wars universe, but most works have focused on the time period following Return of the Jedi and on the events of the Clone Wars. Select books have helped fill in the gaps between the original trilogy movies (e.g., Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...

, Death Star

Death Star (novel)

Death Star is a 2007 science fiction novel by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry that is set in the Star Wars galaxy. It deals with the construction of the Death Star, a massive weaponized space station which first appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.The book was originally published in New...

, Tales

Star Wars Tales

Star Wars Tales was a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, beginning on September 29, 1999 and completing its run on July 13, 2005. Each issue featured several unrelated stories from various eras of the Star Wars timeline. All stories from Issue #20 and before have been retroactively...

series).

Other notable books in the series include the X-wing series by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston

Aaron Allston

Aaron Allston is an American game designer and novelist of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for several role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's...

, the Jedi Academy

The Jedi Academy trilogy

The Jedi Academy trilogy is a trilogy of novels set in the Star Wars galaxy. The series was written by Star Wars author Kevin J. Anderson. The books are a part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and occur around seven years after the events of Return of the Jedi, in 11 ABY...

trilogy and Young Jedi Knights

Young Jedi Knights

Young Jedi Knights is a Star Wars series by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta. The series covers the Jedi training of Jacen and Jaina Solo, the twin children of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo...

series by Kevin J Anderson, the Republic and Imperial Commando

Star Wars Republic Commando series

There have been several spinoff novels and short stories from the computer game Star Wars: Republic Commando, known as the Republic Commando Series. Although there is a degree of intertextuality between these stories, they can be split into several defined story arcs that can be read individually...

series by Karen Traviss

Karen Traviss

Karen Traviss is a science fiction author, and full-time novelist from Wiltshire, England. Originally from the Portsmouth area, Traviss worked as both a journalist and defence correspondent before turning her attention to writing fiction. She also served in both the Territorial Army and the Royal...

, and the multi-author New Jedi Order

The New Jedi Order

, Legacy of the Force

Legacy of the Force

The Legacy of the Force is a series of nine science fiction novels set in the Star Wars fictional universe, taking place approximately 40 years after the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...

, and Fate of the Jedi Series.

Comic books and strips

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Archie Goodwin

Archie Goodwin (comics)

Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...

, Howard Chaykin

Howard Chaykin

Howard Victor Chaykin is an American comic book writer and artist famous for his innovative storytelling and sometimes controversial material...

, Al Williamson

Al Williamson

Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...

, Carmine Infantino

Carmine Infantino

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...

, Gene Day

Gene Day

Howard Eugene Day was a Canadian comic book artist best known for Marvel Comics' Star Wars licensed series and Master of Kung Fu...

, Walt Simonson

Walt Simonson

Walter "Walt" Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist. After studying geology at Amherst College, he transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1972. His thesis project there was The Star Slammers, which was published as a black and white promotional comic book...

, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont

Chris Claremont

Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...

, Whilce Portacio

Whilce Portacio

William "Whilce" Portacio is a Filipino-American comic book writer and artist. Noted for his work on such titles as The Punisher, X-Factor, and the Uncanny X-Men. Portacio was also one of the seven co-founders of Image Comics, though he did not become a partner in the company.-Early life:Portacio...

, Jo Duffy

Jo Duffy

Jo Duffy, sometimes credited as Mary Jo Duffy is a comic book editor and writer, known for her work for Marvel Comics in the 1980s, and DC Comics and Image Comics in the 1990s.-Biography:...

, and Ron Frenz

Ron Frenz

Ronald Wade Frenz is an American comic book artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well-known for his 1980s work on Amazing Spider-Man, and more recently, for his work on Spider-Girl...

.

Serialized Star Wars comic strips, featuring original material written by Roy Thomas

Roy Thomas

Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...

, also appeared in Marvel's late-'70s youth-oriented magazine Pizzazz

Pizzazz (magazine)

Pizzazz was a magazine published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1979, for a total run of 16 issues. Aimed at the youth culture, Pizzazz mostly contained articles about popular movies, rock stars, et cetera, as well as comic strips and puzzles...

. As the earliest of these strips were published before original material began to appear in Marvel's Star Wars comics (which began by directly adapting the 1977 film) and before publication of Splinter of the Mind's Eye, these strips hold the distinction of being the first Star Wars material in print that was not adapted from one of the films.

In the 1980s, as part of its Star Comics

Star Comics

Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and continued to publish comic books until early 1988. Titles published by the imprint were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys...

line aimed at young children, Marvel also published the short-lived series Ewoks

Star Wars: Ewoks

Star Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....

and Droids

Star Wars: Droids

Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...

, based on the two Saturday morning cartoons of the same name.

Star Wars was also a daily newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

comic strip

Comic strip

A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....

from 1979 to 1984. Among the creators were Goodwin, Williamson, and Russ Manning

Russ Manning

Russell Manning was an American comic book artist who created the series Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such newspaper comic strips as Tarzan and Star Wars...

. Dark Horse has also published the newspaper

Newspaper

comic strip

Comic strip

A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....

in a collection entitled Classic Star Wars.

In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch

Tom Veitch

Tom Veitch is an American writer, best known for his contributions to the Dark Horse Comics line of Star Wars comic books, primarily Dark Empire and Tales of the Jedi. For DC Comics Veitch wrote Animal Man, along with two Elseworlds series featuring Kamandi and an elder Superman...

and Cam Kennedy

Cam Kennedy

Campbell Kennedy is a Scottish comics artist. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, especially the flagship titles Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.-Biography:...

. However, Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics

published this story - titled "Dark Empire" -instead, when Marvel's license on the Star Wars property lapsed. Dark Horse has gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. These include: Star Wars Republic, Star Wars Empire, Star Wars Tales and Star Wars Tales of the Jedi. Dark Horse has also published the Marvel series in a collection entitled Star Wars: A Long Time Ago. In addition, the company has reprinted several Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

-interpretations of the films, including Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Yoshiki Kudo and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by Shin-ichi Hiromoto.

Computer and video games

Since 1983, over 120 video games have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600

Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...

by Parker Brothers

Parker Brothers

Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...

. Other early titles include the Star Wars

Star Wars (video game)

Star Wars was released in 1991 by JVC for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, Game Boy and Sega Game Gear.-Summary:...

Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

game (published by JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

) and three other titles for the Atari 2600.

Atari

Atari

Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

produced arcade game

Arcade game

An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

s based on the original trilogy, beginning with Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, which were both 'flight sim' style games that utilized vector graphics

Vector graphics

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...

. The third, Return of the Jedi, used more traditional raster graphics

Raster graphics

In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...

.

Star Wars has also opened the way to a myriad of Space-flight simulations that take the space wars of the saga in a more serious manner, teaching the player to fly various Star Wars universe starfighters along the lines of more traditional Modern Aircraft flight simulators. The first among these were X-Wing

Star Wars: X-Wing

Star Wars: X-Wing is the first LucasArts DOS computer game set in the Star Wars universe, as well as the lead title in the X-Wing computer game series. It simulates the experience of combat in the A-wing, X-wing, and Y-wing starfighters of the Rebel Alliance...

and its two expansions, B-Wing and Imperial Pursuit, dealing with the Rebellion's side of the war, taking place in the period right before, and up to, the destruction of the first Death Star. The second was TIE Fighter

Star Wars: TIE Fighter

Star Wars: TIE Fighter, a 1994 space flight simulator/space combat computer game, is the sequel to Star Wars: X-Wing, and the first game of the series that puts the player on the side of the Galactic Empire....

, dealing with the Empire's starfighters at the time prior to Episode VI. Both games were released for DOS and Macintosh. TIE Fighter also had an expansion disk, "Defender of the Empire". In addition, both the original X-Wing and TIE Fighter games saw two collector's edition releases (one for DOS and another for Windows 9x) which featured enhanced graphics quality and added missions. Newer simulators are also available, with X-Wing Alliance

Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance

Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance or XWA is the sequel to both Star Wars: TIE Fighter and the multiplayer-focused X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. XWA presents the story of the Azzameen family, a family of space traders...

in the lead.

The first Star Wars first person shooter, Dark Forces

Star Wars: Dark Forces

Star Wars: Dark Forces is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1995 for DOS and Apple Macintosh, and in 1996 for the PlayStation. The storyline within the Dark Forces is set in the Star Wars fictional universe and follows the character Kyle...

, was introduced by LucasArts

LucasArts

LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...

in February 1995. Telling the story of Kyle Katarn, Imperial soldier gone mercenary, the game featured a little over a dozen levels where the player explored various original and familiar settings. Featuring an original and interactive soundtrack by renowned game composer Clint Bajakian

Clint Bajakian

Clint Bajakian is an American video game composer and musician.-Biography:Bajakian was born in Massachusetts, United States. He was linked with music since age of 8. In middle school Bajakian played in marching bands, and also played in range of rock bands...

using the iMUSE sound system, along with state-of-the-art graphics, the game succeeded in capturing many gamers' imaginations. The 1997 sequel, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is a first person shooter computer game. It was developed and published by LucasArts and released on October 9, 1997. It was made available on Steam on September 16, 2009. It is based on the Star Wars franchise and is a sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces...

, was notable for having a few cut scenes which were made up of live-action footage of certain Expanded Universe characters, such as Kyle Katarn

Kyle Katarn

Kyle Katarn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, the protagonist of the video game Star Wars: Dark Forces and its sequels....

.

Rogue Squadron

Rogue Squadron

Rogue Squadron is a starfighter squadron in the Star Wars science fiction saga. Many of the pilots that will join Rogue Squadron are initially members of Red Squadron, the X-Wing attack force that Luke Skywalker joins during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...

was a cross-platform title on Nintendo 64 and PC which allowed the player to experience a more arcade-action version of the same gameplay in X-Wing and TIE Fighter. The game consisted of piloting several different Star Wars vehicles through missions on planet surfaces and in space. Rogue Squadron saw two sequels, both on the Nintendo

Nintendo

is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

GameCube

Nintendo GameCube

The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...

system.

Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Rebellion is a real-time strategy game released in 1998 by LucasArts and set in the fictional Expanded Universe of Star Wars.-Overview:...

allowed players to compete in the Star Wars universe on a larger scale, focusing more on the strategic aspect of handling (or defeating) a rebellion, with resource management and agent-allocation, as well as large-scale conflicts between entire fleets of starships.

Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. It was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and on September 7, 2004 for Mac OS X. The Xbox version is playable on Xbox 360 with its...

by BioWare

BioWare

BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...

, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a role playing video game released for the Xbox and Microsoft Windows. The Xbox version of this sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was released on December 6, 2004, while the Windows version was released on February 8, 2005...

by Obsidian Entertainment

Obsidian Entertainment

Obsidian Entertainment is an American video game developer founded in 2003 after the disestablishment of Interplay Productions' Black Isle Studios, for PC and console systems...

are recent additions to the EU, and take place in the Old Republic era, right after the Mandalorian Wars.

Other games are: Battlefront

Star Wars: Battlefront

Star Wars: Battlefront is a first and third-person video game based on battles in the Star Wars film series. It was developed by Pandemic Studios and LucasArts and released on September 20, 2004 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, the same day as the release of the Star Wars...

, Battlefront II

Star Wars: Battlefront

, Battlefront Renegade Squadron, Star Wars battlefront elite squadron, Galactic Battlegrounds

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy computer game set in the Star Wars universe.Players have a choice of factions and campaigns. The factions in the original game include the Wookiees, Royal Naboo, the Trade Federation, the Empire, the Rebels, and the Gungans...

, Republic Commando

Star Wars: Republic Commando

Star Wars: Republic Commando is a first-person shooter Star Wars video game, released in the US on March 1, 2005. It was developed and published by LucasArts for the Microsoft Windows and Xbox platforms. The game uses Epic Games' Unreal Engine...

, Episode III: The video game

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (video game)

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is the official LucasArts 2005 video game based on the movie of the same name. It centers around Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker as the Clone Wars come to an end. It was released on May 5, 2005, for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance and...

, LEGO Star Wars

LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game is a video game based on the Star Wars themed toy line by the Lego Group and the first game in TT Games' Lego videogame franchise. It takes place during the prequel trilogy , with a bonus segment from A New Hope...

, LEGO Star Wars II, Jedi Outcast

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, often abbreviated JK2 or JO, is a first- and third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision. The PC version was released in March and the Mac OS X, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released in November...

, Jedi Academy

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a first and third-person shooter action game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by Raven Software and published, distributed and marketed by LucasArts in North America and by Activision in the rest of the world. Jedi Academy was released in...

, Star Wars Galaxies, and Empire at War

Star Wars: Empire at War

Star Wars: Empire at War is a 2006 real-time strategy game developed by Petroglyph Games and published by LucasArts. Set between Episode III and Episode IV, it focuses on the fledgling struggle between the Empire and the Rebels. It uses Petroglyph's game engine Alamo. The most recent patch was...

. Also released were Rebel Assault and Rebel Assault II which are considered by many to be more interactive movie than actual video game.

On September 16, 2008, LucasArts

LucasArts

released Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...

which bridges the events from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, to Episode IV: A New Hope. The game centers on Darth Vader's secret apprentice who goes out to destroy the last of the Jedi.

In the Fall of 2008, it was announced that The Old Republic (a Massively Multiplayer Online Game) was being developed by BioWare

BioWare

for the PC, it is intended to be a sequel to the very successful Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) games, also produced by BioWare. Fans of the series were told to expect The Old Republic to be KOTOR 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9...alluding to the massive content the game is supposed to be planned to launch with.

Board and roleplaying games

In a 1996 game from Hasbro

Hasbro

Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

, entitled Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game

Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game

Star Wars: The Interactive Video Game Board was a board game created by Hasbro in 1996. It is notable for including a VHS tape of newly shot scenes of Darth Vader walking down the halls of the Death Star.-Includes:*1 60-Minute VHS videotape...

, which is set during the era of the original trilogy, new live-action scenes were shot of Darth Vader

Darth Vader

Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

on the Death Star

Death Star

around the events of Return of the Jedi

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

. The footage was made available on a special VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

tape, included in the box of the game. When playing the board game, the players could put in the tape, which would play while they were in a game. David Prowse

David Prowse

David Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...

reprised his role as Vader, and James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...

returned as the voice of Vader. Some of the original crew for A New Hope

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

came back to shoot these scenes.
A Star Wars board game was also released by Ravensburger

Ravensburger

Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH is a German game company. It is a leader in the European puzzle market.-History:The company was founded by Otto Robert Maier with seat in Ravensburg, a town in Upper Swabia in southern Germany. He began publishing in 1883 with his first author contract...

in Germany in 2002.

Several editions of the Star Wars role playing games have been published. The 1st edition (a d6 version) was published by West End Games

West End Games

West End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...

in 1987. The 2nd edition was published by West End Games in 1992. The 2.5 edition was published by West End Games in 1996. In late 2000, Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...

released the 3rd edition (a d20

D20 System

The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

version). In 2002, Wizards of the Coast released the 3.5 edition. Bill Slavicsek

Bill Slavicsek

Bill Slavicsek is a game designer who served as the Director of Roleplaying Design and Development at Wizards of the Coast. He previously worked for West End Games and TSR, Inc., and designed products for Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, Alternity, Torg, Paranoia and Ghostbusters.-Biography:Bill...

worked on all the editions. He included a conversion table (from the previous d6 versions to the new d20 version) at the end of the 3rd edition that helped Star Wars RPG players adapt to the new d20 version.

On June 5, 2007, Wizards introduced a third d20 version of the game, dubbed the Saga edition. This edition was updated to include setting information from all six movies in the main series, as well as the events portrayed in the New Jedi Order novels. In addition to setting updates, the book also included a greatly revised version of the d20 system, adapted to work better with the fast pace and heroic feel of the Star Wars movies.

In 2005, Hasbro

Hasbro

developed and released a DVD TV Game based on Star Wars and utilizing the Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...

game-play format.

Multimedia projects

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...

(1996) was an ambitious multimedia project created by Lucasfilm. Dubbed "a film without a film", Shadows of the Empire told the story of the events between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and introduced a new villain named Prince Xizor. Utilizing all previous types of media that have been used to present the Expanded Universe, the project included a novel written by Steve Perry
Steve Perry (author)
Steve Perry is an American television writer and science fiction author.-Biography:Perry is a native of the Deep South. His residences have included Louisiana, California, Washington and Oregon...

, multiple comic book series, a soundtrack, a video game, concept art, action figures, and the like.

The Clone Wars
Clone Wars (Star Wars)
The Clone Wars are a series of fictional intragalactic battles in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. The conflict is first mentioned in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , but no details are given , and the wars themselves are not featured until the series' fifth and sixth...

(2003–2005). Using methods similar to the Shadows of the Empire project, Lucasfilm directed a widespread project to tell the stories of the Clone Wars. This project was made up of films, novels, video games, comics, action figures, and even its own animated series (described above).

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...

(2008). Described as "the next chapter in the saga", The Force Unleashed follows the pattern set by the Shadows of the Empire and the Clone Wars projects, consisting of several elements commonly associated with the marketing of a feature film, including a video-game, tie-in novel, action figures and a comic series, and along with the upcoming television series, will bridge the gap between Episode III
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....

and Episode IV
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...

.

Comedy

Return of the Ewok
Return of the Ewok
Return of the Ewok is a 1982 American mockumentary short, written, produced and directed by David Tomblin, first assistant director of Return of the Jedi, starring Warwick Davis as himself in a fictionalized account of how he got the role of Wicket W. Warrick...

(1982) was a 24-minute fictional mockumentary-style movie, focusing on Warwick Davis' decision to become an actor and act as Wicket in Return of the Jedi.

R2-D2: Beneath the Dome
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome is a 2001 American mockumentary short, directed by Don Bies and Spencer Susser, starring Kenny Baker as R2-D2 in a fictionalized life story of the robot from the Star Wars film series...

(2002) was a 20-minute mockumentary-style movie, focusing on the "true" story of R2-D2's life. It was made as a fun side-project by some of the crew of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but was later deemed suitable for television and for its own DVD.

"LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace"

Star Tours

In 1987, Lucasfilm and Disney

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

, utilizing the power of ILM, teamed up to produce Star Tours

Star Tours

Star Tours is a motion simulator attraction currently operating at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris. The ride is based on the successful Star Wars film series created by George Lucas, making it the first Disney attraction based on a non-Disney produced film.The first...

, an amusement park simulator ride through the Star Wars galaxy. It was to be placed in the Tomorrowland section of the park, in the location of the dark ride Adventure Thru Inner Space

Adventure Thru Inner Space

Adventure Thru Inner Space, presented by Monsanto Company, was an attraction in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was the first attraction to utilize Disney's Omnimover system....

. The ride is advertised as an opportunity to take a tour to the forest moon of Endor

Forest moon of Endor

The second moon of Endor, also referred to as the forest moon of Endor, or sanctuary moon, is a moon in the Star Wars universe. It appears in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi as the home to the Ewoks, and is the body over which the second Death Star is constructed...

via the Starship 3000. The ship is controlled by a robot named Rex (voiced by Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens is an American actor, writer, film producer, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor...

of Pee Wee Herman fame), who happens to be new at giving the tours, and your riding experience happens to be his first time at the controls. Along the way, the rider encounters many mishaps, including run-ins with Imperial Star Destroyer

Star Destroyer

Star Destroyers are capital ships in the fictional Star Wars universe. The Imperial Star Destroyer, which first appears in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , is "the signature vessel of the Imperial fleet"...

s, and near collisions with asteroid fields, until their ship finally makes it safely back into the port. A Star Tours II has been announced by George Lucas, to be based on prequel situations, although exactly when it will begin production or its opening date are as of yet to be confirmed. A limited-run line of action figures is also available exclusively in the Star Tours gift shop, based on droid characters from the ride and the line leading into it.

The ride is currently being renovated under the title Star Tours II, and will now feature elements of both the original and the prequel trilogy.

Toys

In addition, many other toys have been made. The Star Wars toy phenomenon began in 1978 with the original action figures, toy lightsabers and blasters, twelve-inch figures, toy vehicles, and much more products. These toys are known as the vintage Star Wars toys. Today many of these "vintage" figures are quite rare and hard to find. Many are also worth a lot of money. Recently, a toy line called Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Collection, brought back elements of the original vintage toy line, such as vintage packaging. With the coming of Star Wars: Episode I

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

, Lego

Lego

Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

began creating little (and quite large) buildable Star Wars characters and scenes. Recently, the Lego creators have invented light-up lightsabers for their figures. Lego has even licensed these toys in the LEGO Star Wars

Lego Star Wars

Lego Star Wars is a Lego theme that incorporates the Star Wars saga. The first Lego Star Wars, released in 1999, included model 7140, the first Lego X-Wing. Star Wars was the first intellectual property to be licensed in Lego Group history . The first few sets based on the original trilogy were...

video game series (mentioned above).

Many types of toys have been made. Darth Vader

Darth Vader

Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

helmets and voice changers now inhabit the shelves, usually right next to the Ultimate Lightsaber Kit, which contains parts to design and assemble your own functional lightsaber toy. The term "Expanded Universe" was first used with Kenner

Kenner

Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...

's assortments of action figures based on the various Star Wars novels, comic books, and video games. Previous toys based on novels were sold by Galoob

Galoob

Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. was a toy company headquartered on Forbes Blvd. in South San Francisco, California. Best known for distributing the Game Genie, a videogame cheat device, for Codemasters in the US, Galoob was founded by Barbara Frankel and Lewis Galoob in 1954 as an import business. Before...

as "Epic Collections."

In the late 1990s, Star Wars toys reached deep into the Halloween and specialty markets where Officially Licensed Star Wars helmets, costumes and collectibles could be purchased easily from online retailers on the internet and from retail chains. Star Wars fans of all ages could easily purchase like Star Wars costumes for Halloween and plays from online specialty stores. From lightsabers and blasters to robes and helmets, many of today's costumes and accessories are licensed through Rubies Costume Company of New York and sold through independent and retail chain stores. Likewise, companies such as Hasbro have developed and sold toy weapons, action figures and collectibles from the Star Wars series.

With the development of the newest Star Wars CGI movie

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)

and popular TV series, The Clone Wars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)

-Production:At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve...

, even more toys have been developed by introducing new characters and adventures to a younger generation outside of the original Star Wars series.

Continuity and canonicity

The Expanded Universe is intended to be a continuation, and an expansion, on the six Star Wars theatrical films produced by George Lucas from 1977–2005. All EU material, combined with that presented in the films is meant to function as a complete story. However, in order to allow this story to function as a whole, it must be kept under in an order of continuity. Lucasfilm holds this of such high importance that a teams' sole job at Lucasfilm is maintaining continuity between Lucas's films, and the EU, which is written by many other authors and artists, many times out of order, and with many different ideas. Lucas, however, is free to go in any direction he wishes in his films to tell the story he intends. He acknowledges and supports the works of the EU but tells the stories he wants to tell in the six films. When asked in an interview his general opinion on the EU, he replied:

I don't read that stuff. I haven't read any of the novels. I don't know anything about that world. That's a different world than my world. But I do try to keep it consistent. The way I do it now is they have a Star Wars Encyclopedia. So if I come up with a name or something else, I look it up and see if it has already been used. When I said [other people] could make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

, we would have two universes: My universe and then this other one. They try to make their universe as consistent with mine as possible, but obviously they get enthusiastic and want to go off in other directions. - George Lucas, from an interview in Starlog #337

George Lucas has also stated that as far as he was concerned the rule of the Sith ended with the death of Palpatine and freedom and democracy were restored to the galaxy with the Jedi's return, as he symbolized this by including the Senate building and the Jedi temple during the celebratory scenes at the end of Return Of The Jedi. He has stated that although he is aware of EU literature and welcomes its creativity, he has no part in the resurrection of Palpatine and the Yuuzhan Vong invasions (though this would contradict comments by Tom Veitch that it was Lucas himself who suggested they resurrect Palpatine instead of using the original idea of a Vader impostor in the Dark Empire storyline).

George Lucas retains ultimate creative control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the "death" of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing

Lucasfilm

Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....

devotes considerable effort to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across multiple companies. Nothing in the Expanded Universe is supposed to contradict the films or any other part of the Expanded Universe. Upon occasion, Lucas's new films, reedited Original Trilogy films, or statements have contradicted existing EU material, and several retcon

Retcon

Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...

s have been used to fix these inconsistencies.

Some purists reject the Expanded Universe as apocrypha

Apocrypha

The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....

, believing that only the events in the film series are part of the "real" Star Wars universe. This line of thought is supported to the extent that some Expanded Universe material released before Lucas's prequel films drew erroneous conclusions that Lucas later corrected. However, elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films. For example, the name of planet Coruscant

Coruscant

Coruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...

first appeared in Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn

's novel Heir to the Empire

Heir to the Empire

Heir to the Empire is the first book in a trilogy of novels known as The Thrawn Trilogy, all written by Timothy Zahn.-Description:The book is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi...

before being used later in the prequel trilogy (although its pronunciation changed) - though the planet itself, under a different name, had existed in a previous version of the script to Return of the Jedi. Also, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura originally appeared in the ongoing Dark Horse Comics series Republic - apparently Lucas saw the cover which featured her and liked the look of her character so much that he included her in the Jedi battle at the end of Attack of the Clones

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

, played by Lucasfilm employee Amy Allen

Amy Allen

Amy Allen is an American actress and film crew member who is best known for portraying the character Aayla Secura in the Star Wars films. She worked behind the scenes on many different movies, including A.I...

, and her demise is later shown in the Order 66 Jedi Purge scenes of Revenge of the Sith. These examples sometimes end up confusing the issue, as they have blurred the lines between the Expanded Universe and "his world".

There are also minor disputes about what is, and what is not, part of the Expanded Universe. For example, the two Star Wars spin-off films: Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

For the series of road trips travelled by Hamish and Andy see:Caravan Of Courage The Ewok Adventure is a 1984 American made-for-TV film based in the Star Wars setting. It was released theatrically in Europe as Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, and is known by that title today...

and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 made-for-TV movie set in the Star Wars galaxy. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the little girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned, joins the Ewoks in protecting their village and defeating the evil...

were written by George Lucas

George Lucas

and are films, but they are not one of the six main films in the series, so they are usually considered to be a part of the Expanded Universe.

Official levels of canon

The Holocron is an internal database maintained by Lucas Licensing for the express purpose of trying to maintain continuity within all licensed products. The Holocron was originally sorted into four levels of canon, reflecting LFL's canon and continuity policies: G, C, S, and N. a fifth level, T, was recently instituted and comprises the CGI series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the currently untitled live action Star Wars television series which has yet to begin any form of production. See the article on Star Wars canon for greater detail.

G (George Lucas) canon is absolute canon. This category includes the final releases of the six films, the novelizations of the films, the radio dramas
Star Wars (radio)
An expanded radio dramatization of the original Star Wars trilogy was produced in 1981, 1983, and 1996. The first two radio series, based on A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, were produced and broadcast by National Public Radio as part of NPR Playhouse...

based on the films, the film scripts, and any material found in any other source (published or not) that comes directly from George Lucas himself. G canon outranks all other forms of canon.
T (Television) canon, which currently comprises Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the as yet unaired live action Star Wars TV series. This level of canon is considered to take precedence over C canon (see below), possibly due to the fact that George Lucas is directly involved with these shows as executive producer, and in the case of The Clone Wars is also on the writing team.
C (continuity) canon refers to the main body of EU work, and is the next most authoritative level of canon. All material published under the Star Wars label that doesn't fall into either G, T, S, or N canon is C canon and is considered authoritative as long as it isn't contradicted by G canon.
S (secondary) canon refers to older, less accurate, or less coherent EU works, which would not ordinarily fit in the main continuity of G and C canon. For example, this includes the popular online roleplaying game Star Wars Galaxies, and certain elements of a few N-canon stories.
N continuity material is also known as "non-canon" or "non-continuity" material. What-if stories (such as those published under the Infinities label) and anything else that cannot at all fit into continuity is placed into this category. "N-continuity" is not considered canon.

Lucas's use of the Expanded Universe

C-canon elements from licensed creators have been known to appear in Lucas' films. Most of these are brief, cameo appearances, almost taking the form of Easter eggs

Easter egg (media)

Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...

(which may have been added by animators or others under Lucas, rather than specifically dictated), but others are more substantial:

Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....

, originally introduced as a villain in The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was one of the first official Star Wars spin-offs, and was directed by Steve Binder. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States and Canada, November 17, 1978, on the U.S...

, was created for The Empire Strikes Back, and quickly became one of the most popular Star Wars characters. He went on to appear in Return of the Jedi and Attack of the Clones, ultimately we witness the first on screen camera time of the adult Boba Fett in Star Wars: A New Hope, Special Edition in the scene where Jabba the Hutt and Han Solo interact in Dock Bay 94 on Tatooine.
The name "Coruscant
Coruscant
Coruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...

" was originally used by Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...

in the Thrawn trilogy
The Thrawn trilogy
The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a series of best-selling novels written by Timothy Zahn. The novels are set in the Expanded Universe of the Star Wars galaxy approximately five years after the events depicted in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the...

of novels. Lucas was going to include the capital world of Had Abbadon in Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...

, but adopted Zahn's name for Imperial Center when presenting the planet in the Special Edition and prequel movies.
Swoop bikes, originally introduced in the Brian Daley novel Han Solo's Revenge
Han Solo's Revenge
Han Solo's Revenge is a science fiction novel set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It was written by Brian Daley and originally published in 1979 by Del Rey, a division of Ballantine Books...

and seen in Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...

, were featured in a scene added to the Special Edition of A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...

. In the sequence introducing Mos Eisley
Mos Eisley
Mos Eisley is a setting in the fictional Star Wars universe. It is introduced as a spaceport town on the planet Tatooine. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi describes Mos Eisley as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy." It is the home of the Mos Eisley Cantina and Figrin D'an...

, a swoop bike scares a ronto. Anakin Skywalker also pilots one of these type swoops during his search for his mother in Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

.
Quinlan Vos. Vos briefly appeared as a background extra on Tatooine, in The Phantom Menace at a Mos Espa café. His character and story was later elaborated upon in the EU. A cameo appearance of this character was witnessed in Revenge of the Sith when you see a tank open fire on him and his "supposed" demise. His name (as "Master Vos") was also mentioned in the film, however, by Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...

in the Jedi briefing room in the Jedi Temple.
Aayla Secura. Appeared as a significant, albeit minor, character in Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

and Revenge of the Sith. She is the second victim of Order 66, as seen in Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
The Outrider and with it, the YT-2400 freighters in general. It has a minor cameo, seen from a distance, lifting off from Mos Eisley
Mos Eisley
Mos Eisley is a setting in the fictional Star Wars universe. It is introduced as a spaceport town on the planet Tatooine. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi describes Mos Eisley as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy." It is the home of the Mos Eisley Cantina and Figrin D'an...

, in the special scenes added to A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...

for the special edition.
Action VI Transports, initially appeared as the Wild Karrde in Heir to the Empire
Heir to the Empire
Heir to the Empire is the first book in a trilogy of novels known as The Thrawn Trilogy, all written by Timothy Zahn.-Description:The book is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi...

, they also arrive at the Theed Spaceport in Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

.
Prince Xizor. Cameo appearance in The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

on a Coruscant landing pad. Also, a Micro Machines
Micro Machines
Micro Machines: The Original Scale Miniatures were a line of toys originally made by Galoob in the mid 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Galoob licensed the idea behind Micro Machines from Clem Heeden, a toy inventor from Wisconsin...

model of the Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...

villain was used to populate the spectator stands at the Mos Espa Arena in The Phantom Menace.
The Force Speed ability, first created for the West End Games
West End Games
West End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...

Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Used in The Phantom Menace by Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to evade droidekas.
The planet Tund, first mentioned in the Adventures of Lando Calrissian series of books, was identified as the planet Ben Quadinaros was from in The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

.
The planet Rishi
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...

, introduced in Dark Force Rising
Dark Force Rising
Dark Force Rising is a 1992 novel, the second book in the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.-Plot:Prior to the Clone Wars, the Old Republic had constructed a fleet of 200 Dreadnaughts that were highly automated. This reduced their crew complement from 16,000 to 2,000 without diminishing their firepower...

, was given a mention via the Rishi Maze in Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

.
Nee Alavar, a background character in Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....

, was identified as a Lorrdian. The Lorrdian people first appeared in the novel Han Solo's Revenge.
The double bladed lightsaber (which Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....

uses in The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

) was first used by Sith Lord Exar Kun in the Tales of the Jedi
Tales of the Jedi
Tales of the Jedi is a series of comic books that are published by Dark Horse Comics and are part of the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe. They cover the Great Sith War and the Great Hyperspace War and remain the earliest chronological Star Wars stories.The first books released covered the...

comic book series.
The name of the Wookiee home planet Kashyyyk
Kashyyyk
Kashyyyk , also known as Wookiee Planet C, is a planet in the Star Wars universe. It is the tropical, forested home world of the Wookiees...

first appeared in the EU, although Lucas himself invented the species and the planet.
Though originally developed for the Special Edition of A New Hope, the Sentinel-class landing craft (also known as the "Imperial landing craft") made its first appearance in Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...

. This is the craft seen lifting off in A New Hope when the stormtroopers are roaming Tatooine on the Dewbacks.
In the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye
Splinter of the Mind's Eye
Splinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...

(released in 1978), C-3PO
C-3PO
C-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...

mentions that Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

knows "all the proper code words and commands" to shut him down. This would make sense, given the revelation in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

(released in 1999) that Vader himself built 3PO when he was a little boy. Whether Lucas was aware of this when making The Phantom Menace is unknown.

Lucas has often worked very closely with EU creators:

Lucas wrote the story for The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was one of the first official Star Wars spin-offs, and was directed by Steve Binder. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States and Canada, November 17, 1978, on the U.S...

.
Lucas wrote the stories for, executive produced, and directed pick-ups and re-shoots for, both of the Ewok films from the mid-eighties: Caravan of Courage
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
For the series of road trips travelled by Hamish and Andy see:Caravan Of Courage The Ewok Adventure is a 1984 American made-for-TV film based in the Star Wars setting. It was released theatrically in Europe as Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, and is known by that title today...

and The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 made-for-TV movie set in the Star Wars galaxy. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the little girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned, joins the Ewoks in protecting their village and defeating the evil...

.
Lucas is planning to write, direct, and produce part of the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series
Star Wars live-action TV series
The untitled Star Wars live-action TV series is a planned space opera television series, set between the events seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope....

.
James Luceno
James Luceno
James Luceno is The New York Times bestselling author of three Star Wars: The New Jedi Order novels, Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse and The Unifying Force....

' book Labyrinth of Evil
Labyrinth of Evil
Labyrinth of Evil is a 2005 novel by James Luceno set in the fictional Star Wars universe. The events of this novel occur just before Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, overlapping with the events of the second season of Star Wars: Clone Wars.-Summary:On the planet Cato Neimoidia, Jedi...

is based on background information, provided by Lucas, of what happened right before Revenge of the Sith.
Lucas also gave Genndy Tartakovsky
Genndy Tartakovsky
Genndy Borisovich Tartakovsky is a Russian-American television animator, director and producer. His best-known creations are Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Sym-Bionic Titan...

information on specific events during the Clone Wars, which Genndy then used in part of the series.
In writing the novelization of The Phantom Menace, Lucas informed Terry Brooks
Terry Brooks
Terence Dean "Terry" Brooks is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two movie novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times bestsellers during his writing career, and has over 21 million copies of his books in print...

of the extensive history of the Sith and Jedi before that time period, so he could include it in his book. For example, the character of Darth Bane
Darth Bane
Darth Bane is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. He is first mentioned in the novelization of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and is thereafter consistently referenced in Expanded Universe material. He is a major character in the Jedi vs...

is an original creation of Lucas', and although he did not include information on the character in his films, he informed Terry Brooks of the character to incorporate into the novelization of The Phantom Menace. Lucas also gave Brooks other extensive bits of info of what went on during The Phantom Menace.
Lucas wrote the prologue for Matthew Stover
Matthew Stover
Matthew Woodring Stover is an American fantasy and science fiction novelist. He is perhaps best known for his four Star Wars novels, including the novelization of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He has also written several fantasy novels, including Iron Dawn and Jericho Moon...

's novel Shatterpoint
Shatterpoint
Shatterpoint is a science fiction novel by Matthew Stover set in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars creator George Lucas wrote the prologue to the novel. Its main character is Jedi Master Mace Windu. Stover based Shatterpoint on both Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, and the film Apocalypse...

.
During the production of the Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...

multimedia project, Lucas instructed those involved to base the Prince Xizor character on the Dashade species from The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was one of the first official Star Wars spin-offs, and was directed by Steve Binder. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States and Canada, November 17, 1978, on the U.S...

.

On the other hand, Lucas has been known to ignore C-canon material when creating his films, even when this material is well-established and central to the EU continuity. This has led some to believe that the C-canon material is not, in fact, closely aligned with Lucas' vision. Examples of these inconsistencies include:

While in the EU the Republic has been extant for roughly 25,000 years, based on statements made by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...

, in Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...

, Palpatine
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...

says that the Republic has stood for a thousand years. Taken at face value, this would not only delete the majority of the EU's history, but contradict another piece of G-canon as well. Authors invented the Ruusan Reformation, in which the Republic is reorganized following the defeat of the Sith
Sith
-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...

, occurring a thousand years before the movies, in order to explain, or "retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...

," this statement.
The deaths of Obi-Wan, Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...

, and Anakin Skywalker in the original trilogy made it appear that dead Jedi typically disappeared and reappeared as Force ghosts. Revenge of the Sith revealed that this is in fact a very rare ability only a few Jedi have ever mastered. It is unknown how many Jedi have actually mastered it, but Qui-Gonn appears to have been the first of the most recently known Jedi to do so, and Revenge of the Sith seems to hint that he in turn trained Yoda and Obi-Wan in the way to perform it. No explanation is given for how Anakin managed to learn it due to the utter lack of contact with Obi-Wan for at least eighteen years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, when Obi-Wan confronted Vader on the Death Star, and had no contact with Yoda after he went into self-imposed exile on Dagobah.
Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....

's origins originally named him as one "Jaster Mereel", a Journeyman Protector exiled from Concord Dawn. It was later revealed that Jaster Mereel was merely an alias Fett was using when he was exiled. The real Jaster, whose name Boba used as an alias, was retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...

ned into a separate character.
The Clone Wars as described in Zahn's Thrawn trilogy were, at least in part, a struggle between the Old Republic and an army of insane clones grown and controlled by a number of "clonemasters." Attack of the Clones on the other hand, revealed that the Clone Wars were fought between the Old Republic, using clones, and a Separatist movement, using droids. When writing the prequel trilogy, Lucas changed the dates he had originally given Zahn for the Clone Wars, so Zahn's estimate was at least a decade off. This inconsistency was easily retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...

ed however, since it is the Noghri who give the former date, and this species was using their own unique dating system.

List of Mandalorians
List of Star Wars systems
List of Star Wars cities
List of Star Wars moons
List of minor Rebel characters in Star Wars
List of miscellaneous Star Wars Rebel ground craft
Minor residents of Tatooine
Sectors of Star Wars
Cast of Star Wars
Cast of Star Wars
The following is a list of cast members who voiced or portrayed characters appearing in the Star Wars film series. The list is sorted by film and character, as some characters may have been portrayed by multiple actors.Key...
List of Star Wars books
List of Star Wars comic books
List of Lego Star Wars sets

External links

Official site (Archived)
Expanded Universe databank at StarWars.com
Site of the RandomHouse Star Wars novels.
USA Today: 'Star Wars' books are soldiering on

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Development

The Expanded Universe and the prequels

Story eras

Film and television

Radio and audio drama

Books

Comic books and strips

Computer and video games

Board and roleplaying games

Multimedia projects

Comedy

Star Tours

Toys

Continuity and canonicity

Official levels of canon

Lucas's use of the Expanded Universe

Star Wars lists

Other Star Wars articles

External links