10 years ago, the Expanded Universe became Star Wars Legends
The EU is still full of Star Wars stories. They have not been erased or forgotten.
Legends are still Star Wars stories
Ten years ago, on April 25, 2014, the Expanded Universe of Star Wars literature was rebranded into Legends. It was a historic and controversial moment in the fandom’s history. But despite the backlash from rebooting the Star Wars canon, the former EU is still alive and well a decade later.
These are still Star Wars stories. They have not been erased or forgotten.
I’d argue that Legends books and comics have grown in popularity in the decade since the rebrand — thanks largely to nostalgia, new Star Wars readers, and the Essential Legends Collection reprints.
Personally, that nostalgia and the Essential Legends Collection have turned me on to reading more of the EU books. My favorites so far have been the first two Rogue Squadron books, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Heir to the Empire, and Outbound Flight. I’m currently rereading Darth Plagueis via audiobook and plan to finally finish the original Thrawn trilogy with The Last Command soon.
In the 2014 announcement, Lucasfilm said that while the franchise “always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, (George) Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU.”
“While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe.”
That sentiment remains true 10 years later. So many characters and story beats have been brought into the new canon from the EU. That includes big ones like Thrawn and the Chiss Ascendancy, and most recently Mount Tantiss seen in The Bad Batch and the original Thrawn trilogy.
Despite a decade of new Star Wars stories, there are still many people who remain upset by the move to rebrand the EU — essentially de-canonizing beloved books, stories, and games.
I didn’t start reading Star Wars books until after this happened, but I empathize with the sadness, frustration, and anger of fans who grew up with these stories. I’d feel the same if my favorite Star Wars books were de-canonized.
But Star Wars continues to fulfill its promise not to discard or forget the EU. You can still buy newly printed copies of these books with the new Legends banner in the mass market paperback format. Even better, Random House Worlds (formerly Del Rey) has been reprinting these stories with new cover art in a reader-friendly trade paperback format as part of the Essential Legends Collection.
The Essential Legends Collection boasts 30 books with more to come and no end in sight. There are over 100 books published in the EU, so I wouldn’t be surprised if all of them get an Essential Legends revamp.
The next Essential Legends Collection wave arrives on June 4.
Imperial Commando: 501st by Karen Traviss
The Lando Calrissian Adventures by L. Neil Smith
X-Wing: Iron Fist by Aaron Allston
All this to say, again: The EU, Legends, or whatever you’d like to call it — it’s still Star Wars. You can still read and enjoy them for what they are — legendary and foundational Star Wars stories.
Want to see all the Essential Legends Collection books released so far and preorder the next ones? Check out my list on Amazon.
Share your thoughts: Say something nice about Star Wars Legends — your favorite book, a character you’d like brought over to canon, weirdest story, etc.
This week’s Star Wars releases
April 23
Star Wars (2015): Gillen & Pak hardcover omnibus
Doctor Aphra (2020) Vol. 7: Dark Droids trade paperback
Return of the Jedi: A Visual Archive
April 24
The High Republic Adventures (2023) #5
Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1
Jango Fett #2
Gotta I've got maybe 10 Legends books waiting on my shelf. I only started reading SW properly post-Aftermath. The few Legends books I read were maybe MG young boba fett adventures, featuring Aurra Sing I think. I remember when I first watched Clone Wars it was good to see that relationship reinforced on the screen. The same with the few comics I had - a Jango Fett graphic novels and some 2003 era Clone Wars tales. And now Durge is in comics and Clone commandos feature mutch more heavily in Bad Batch. Its a good time to be a SW fan
I love the Karen Traviss Clone Commando books. Wish there was some more of that storyline in TCW canon. A series about Commandoes during the war would be so good.