10 Years on,Star Wars‘ Rebooted Canon Was a Cultural Reset

Ten days ago this workweek , the publication ofA New Dawn — a prequel novel meant to tie into the then - upcomingStar Wars Rebels , the first telecasting show made under Lucasfilm ’s ownership by Disney — officially found a revisedStar Warscanon . It was tidings the fandom had known was coming for a while up to that point , with the classic Expanded Universe , now dubbed fable , officially come to its end a few months prior in April 2014 . But now a decade on , the wallop of this decision is not felt so much in the stories being told , but the broaderStar Warsfandom ’s human relationship with them .

This is , of course , in part because of the kinds of stories that are being chosen to recount , and when those stories are adjust . Thereset ofStar Warscontinuitydown to its most basic elements — the then - sixStar Warsmovies and the 3DCGClone WarsTV show — now left a creative canvas as unsubtle as unlike anything the Expanded Universe had realise almost since its inception to tell new stories . But the new canon also come with a ruler the EU had never really played with : everythinggoing forward , include games , comedian , books , television receiver shows , and the new announced subsequence trilogy , would be in narrative lockstep with each other . Outside of a few very specific choice of medium , allStar Warsgoing frontward “ count ” to exploring and filling in this fresh condense canyon .

The Expanded Universe had long operated on a striated approach to continuity . By and large , most case were relatively in sync with each other , but tiers of canonicity could overrule one another , especially with the arrival of theClone WarsTV show as a product created by Lucas himself , leading to several controversial retcons — like the show’sapproach to Mandalorian culture . But even then , the EU had been around for so long at that percentage point , and there had been so many unlike sources for stuff even without Lucasfilm creating new movies or shows beyondClone Warsitself after the prequel trilogy , that some detail often belie each other anyway , giving type old and Modern arcane , complicated backstories that were a incubus to navigate for all but the most seasoned of fan . But this young , all - in feeler to canon — one beholden by the shadow of then - incoming movies sworn to secretiveness — trade that trouble for another . The muzzy good deal of contradictions and 10 of lore the EU had prepare was kick the bucket , but so too was the sheer breadth of storytelling it had almost right away begun to play with .

© Random House

In some agency , this makes sensory faculty . At least in terms of forward impulse beyond the original trilogy , the EU never had a particular issuance with the mentation of more “ official”Star Warson the contiguous horizon like the new canyon did , and forever get to recreate around waiting for that capacity to establish the future of the dealership . The prequels did n’t do until almost a decennary after the EU had officially began in sincere with the release ofHeir to the Empire , but even beforeHeir , Star Warsstorytellers almost immediately start explore stories of what came afterReturn of the Jediin Marvel’sStar Warscomic after it was done adapt the movie itself . When the prequels came along , that only served to push the EU ’s largeness wider . New movies put a few decades prior toA New Hope ? The EU go back to tell the story of the galaxy X before that , and thenthousandsof years before that with the likes ofTales of the JediorKnights of the Old Republic . And when they were done , and gave the EU a whole new playground to mess about in , it still looked before hundreds of years beyond the films with serial likeLegacy .

Meanwhile the last 10 ofStar Warshas had conniption and starts to expound the series ’ apparent horizon across medium , but continuity has by and large stuck to the undefined time frame around the movies , even with the enlargement to nine entries in theStar Warssaga by 2019 . Outside of one major initiative , Star Wars : The High Republic , which began telling tarradiddle several centuries before the time of the movies , much material made since the reset has served to occupy in the game between film , rather than beyond or even largely prior to them . The almost 70 - year period that makes up the the “ Skywalker Saga ” is now stacked with official material , peculiarly the time frame of reference of the prequel and original trilogies . We love , arguably , far more about the events in the 20 twelvemonth spread betweenRevenge of the SithandA New Hope — the periodnow officially live asthe Reign of the Empire — or the year between the original plastic film in official persistence than perhaps any other period ofStarWars , while our knowledge of the 30 - year opening betweenReturn of the JediandThe Force Awakensis for the most part restrain to a few events straight off afterJedi , the general period loosely draw aroundThe Mandalorianand its affiliate shows ( a focus that is an ever - increasing antecedency for Lucasfilm as of former ) . For as reticent asStar Warshas feel to move on beyond this timeframe after the disappointing response toThe Rise of Skywalkerfive year ago , as it now remains an ongoing , perpetually spread out franchise , it ’s conk out to take a mickle more than the 10 years it ’s already take for current continuity to get to the scope of the EU at its height because of that restriction .

And yet , the novel canyon also face a restriction that neither it nor its captain could ’ve ever really controlled : a fanbase that has been trained by changing cultural trend in the last 10 - 15 age toconsume medium and its canyon . The rise ofStar war ‘ persistence reset came neighboring to what was the beginning of the apex of the Marvel Cinematic Universe , and its popularization of the “ all - connected ” share existence as a force to be reckoned with in popular culture . In 2014 , the second phase of Marvel ’s cinematic effort was well underway , having prove that it could draw off this kind of fandom - repay persistence across picture and TV . DC and countless other trade name were already eager to follow causa in their own endeavor to chase Marvel ’s dominance at the box federal agency . But while it would be unjust to say thatStar Warswas one of those steel doing the chasing , the new persistence came at a intersection in pop refinement fandom ( and its ascent asbeing progressively co - optedby corporate entities ) and media , and their shared approach to “ It All Matters ” continuity : placing an importance on the cultivation of fact above any other connective to the narrative .

© Random House

Every time a new issue of Marvel ’s relaunchedStar Warscomic spend , there come a unexampled “ substantiation ” of a fundamental , linear factoid to continuity . Every new Scripture was almost immediately picked aside for the raw information of events , characters , and reference that were now being stitch back into the tapestry of the franchise . With everything wipe clean and so new , every new medium release was a opportunity to learn something that would be the first of its kind in this new age , something that could bemeticulously add up to fandom wikiswithin moment and hours of new material coming out . Everything may have weigh to persistence in a sense that it was all in lockstep with each other , but it became increasingly clear what matter most to a honorable chunk of the audience was not the storytelling itself , but the facts buried within it . Even now , 10 years in , asStar Warsfinds itself in seem to see what story are told next , these attitudes are heavy to give up , with detail and loose aspersions to the expand Universepicked aside and re - integrated backinto the unexampled canyon less for their thematic weight , but because they are a things fans can point at and recognize , and be glorify for doing so .

But neither of these are fatal job facing the currentStar Warscanon . If anything , that things keep expanding 10 years in is a testament to the fact that , despite the ethnical sea change the saga has faced in that flow , there is still plenty of opportunity for newStar Warsstories to be recount . Like we said , Star Warsis presently at something of a crossroads , in ways skilful and tough . Theloss ofTheAcolyteseemingly heralds the slow remnant to one ofStar war ‘ freshest areas of geographic expedition forthe foreseeable future , and its concentration on stories that focus around the success ofThe Mandalorianthreatens to condenseStar state of war ‘ potential and its worldview even more narrowly . But there is Leslie Townes Hope to expand those horizons again in projects like Sharmeen Obaid - Chinoy ’s New Jedi Order moving-picture show , the first canonical stuff to grapple with theStar Warsgalaxy after the effect ofThe Rise of Skywalker , or James Mangold ’s Dawn of the Jedi project , fructify thousands of class in the past ( if either gets to the big screen at all , that is).Star Warsbooks havethrived on this potentialregardless of restraint , giving us story that research differentforms , eras , and approachestoStar Warsthat the live - natural process media has scarce managed to scratch the surface of .

Ten long time into its own lifespan , the expatiate Universe as we come to knew it was stillonly just getting set about . Ten years into this latest era ofStar Warscontinuity , the feeling is much the same — and even with the cultural challenge it has confront , there is still awhole extensive Galax urceolata of potentialout there to explore , a promise that burn down just as bright now as it did a decennium ago .

Want more io9 news ? Check out when to expect the latestMarvel , Star Wars , andStar Trekreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on film and television receiver , and everything you need to know about the next ofDoctor Who .

Expanded UniverseLUCASFILMStar war

Get the best technical school , science , and cultivation news in your inbox daily .

tidings from the future tense , deliver to your nowadays .