Throw a couple dissenting Star Wars fans in a room and a heated debate is bound to happen. That's just what happened a few days ago when two friends took issue with a wish of mine for future Star Wars films. The comment that really pushed my buttons?That honor goes to Molly's statement that the "EU [Expanded Universe] books have been DISCREDITED!"
Thirty plus years I’ve been a devotee of Lucas’ space saga. Thirty years of watching and rewatching the films to the point of killing VHS tapes upon which they were recorded. Thirty freaking years of absorbing all the information provided by films, cartoons, comics, video games, and, very importantly, the cast-aside Expanded Universe novels.
Also, acknowledging the countless debates and arguments between friends as well as online groups, I say that fair amount of my life’s attentions have been devoted to “a galaxy far, far away.”
I remember the 2014 bombshell from Kathleen Kennedy, current president of Lucasfilm, that the EU is no longer accepted as canon. Not that I was profoundly upset, but other's love for the EU warrant consideration. I also saw it for what it is: Disney scrapping known lore in a blatant attempt to make more money. Kennedy said, “We’re set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging.
This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before.” Translation? GIVE ME ALL THE MONEY YOU DESPERATE ADDICTS! ARGUE ALL YOU WANT, BUT YOU'LL EAT IT UP ALL THE SAME!”
Kennedy wasn't wrong. I ate it right the hell up. I watched “The Force Awaken” four times in theaters. At nearly $10 per ticket, I’d guess that’s equivalent pricing for a fix.
In all, I dropped coin on post-TFA novels, comics, and even more than a few extras (toys, shirts, etc). And the whole time, I knew what was happening; something that made fans happy for years was discarded just so to sell more product.
Eventually, after my Star Wars high subsided, I saw more objectively what irritated me. It was claimed that the EU is no longer canon, but I saw enough inspiration from the EU that it made me want to go full wookie and rip someone’s arms off. Not that I’m opposed to pulling ideas from the EU, but I felt as though I was - the fans were - lied to.
You might be wondering, “Andy, what specifically did you see that vexes you so?” Since you're wondering, allow me to elaborate:
Han and Leia’s son turns to the Dark Side
Hardly straying from the EU, the newly minted canonical continuity features a son of Han and Leia embracing the Dark Side. True, he embraced it a bit more fully in the practically defunct novels, but the occasion still felt too familiar for my liking. It’s almost like being promised an entirely new action figure only to receive a similar figure with a different color palette.
Ben Skywalker, Ben Solo; y’all sound the same to me
A Ben of the Skywalker bloodline made an appearance. True, this Ben was spawned from Han and Leia’s loins rather than descending from Luke, but it was nevertheless cheap.
You couldn’t have named him Carl or Steven of something other than Ben? I get the impression it was either an attempt to appease longtime EU fans or a maybe even light slap in the face.
An Empire by any other name…
C’mon! We had an entire trilogy devoted to the rise of the Galactic Empire. We had an entire trilogy devoted to the downfall of the Galactic Empire. Now we have an entire trilogy positioned to be devoted to the downfall of the Empire rechristened as the dreaded “First Order.” This wouldn’t be a problem, except there are dozens upon dozens of books featuring the remnants of the Empire still plaguing the galaxy.
Starkiller ≠ Sun Crusher? You say tomato, I say tomahto
Due to some reaching, I’ll let this one slide, but hear me out anyway. Granted, the Sun Crusher was no larger than an average starfighter, but its primary function was the destruction of…(wait for it)….suns.
Through the destruction of a system’s star, the entire system faced a cataclysm from which there was no chance of survival. If one reads behind-the-scenes information regarding Starkiller base’s destructive capabilities, it’s learned that the planet-sized super weapon annihilates not just planets, but whole systems. Oh, yeah, that doesn't sound similar at all.
As I’ve already said, connecting the EU Sun Crusher to the Death Star 3.0 requires some reaching, but the end is the same. And if the Starkiller base is a natural evolution in the line of Death Stars, the writing is just plain lazy.
Star Wars is a beloved franchise that, I fear, is plagued by the need to make money. Instead of inventive storytelling, we’re served up dressed-up leftovers from as long as 40 years ago. Sadly, enough is changed that I’ll step up to my local cinema’s ticket counter and make it rain with the fervor of a junkie with both the cash and a craving.
From whence did this diatribe come? It followed a discussion with a couple Star Wars super fans in which they criticized my desire for Rey to be Luke’s daughter.
Admittedly, it would push the likely Reylo theory into a sickening incestual territory, and the family-on-family action is prevalent enough in “Game of Thrones” that another fandom featuring familial intimacy is highly unnecessary. However, that’s discourse for another time.
Another criticism that prompted this response is my fellow creators' acceptance that the EU is no longer canon. While I’m not arguing what we’ve all been told, I’m merely firing back with, despite being told the contrary, elements from the EU are insidiously seeping into this “new” canon. As an über Star Wars fan, I expect better storytelling.
Nay, I deserve better storytelling. We all deserve better storytelling.
Oh, and if you’ve stayed with me this far, allow me one more indulgence: the prequel trilogies are more deserving of forgiveness than the weaker storytelling of first denying the EU only to borrow from it so thoroughly.