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Lucasfilm Announces Break With Star Wars Expanded Universe
RogueyWon writes: "A recent blog post from Lucasarts had confirmed that the new Star Wars movies planned for release by Disney will formally break continuity with the Expanded Universe novels, comics and video games. They say, 'In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe.' The news is unlikely to be a surprise, given George Lucas's previous pronouncements on the issue."
We found out that by keeping the time- and storyline, we could not cram enough cuddly merchandising crap into the show. Expect a lot more fluffy aliens, cutsie droids, and if you thought that Episode 1 was an overblown trailer and ad for the podracer computer game, we have a big surprise for you in Episode 7!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I cannot claim to be much of a Star Wars fanatic and haven't read a Star Wars book in years, but I remember reading Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire along with the rest of the Thrawn Trilogy as a child and wishing that someday that would be adapted for the big screen as future episodes of the film series. Judging from its critical acclaim, I imagine many had the same wish. Strange that Disney would leave that all behind when its storywriting work was already done for it.
Perhaps not enough opportunities for tie-in marketing in existing plot material?
...What about "Children of Star Wars"? What about "Star Wars Messiah"? Does Leia kill herself? Is Luke Atredies REALLY the Kwisatz Haderach?
I realize this is George Lucas' universe, that he "made up myself", but come on, aren't there another nine books of story to tell?
I grew up with the expanded universe, and it was good back then, but at this point it's super depressing. They've killed off a bunch of main characters (both from the films and the EU), and they've sketched out a future that makes it clear that there is no hopeful future in the EU, just an endless cycle of collapse and ruin.
Someone from the future travels to the past, changes something fundamental and the universe slips into an alternate reality from which it can never return and in which no event can be expected to unfold as it did in the original.
Not only will this by definition never be inconsistent with the EU, it will give the writers ways of amusingly rehashing old stories by subtly altering some key elements things, like who gets to die of radiation while saving the crew. Maybe, in Episode VII, Luke will hack off Vader's hand?
What?
Okay, breaking continuity does make it harder to suspend disbelief. Most movie viewers can get over that within a few minutes, and I'm not really watching Star Wars for the dialog, social commentary, or even the technical predictions. I'm there to see the money shot, and hopefully a fun story to keep me from disbelieving while I wait for Luke's X-wing to fly down the trench. You know what impressed me even when I was a teenager? The fact that fast moving objects actually looked blurry, and that the Millennium Falcon was dirty. That was the first interstellar vessel I ever saw represented on film as having grease on the walls. Hell, there were even chrome (fuzzy) dice hanging from the rearview mirror, and it was the first time that I saw such incredible detail - detail which correctly got blurred when the viewpoint moved quickly. I just want the underlying story to not ruin my ability to suspend disbelief, so that I can enjoy the money shot.