There was bad news for fans of the sprawling Star Wars Extended Universe this weekend when Lucasfilm issued a statement saying that the new trilogy, including Episode 7, which is shooting in Abu Dhabi, will not tell the same story as the post-Return of the Jedi Extended Universe has so far.
The Expanded Universe comprises a vast array of literature, comic books, video games and more that have been released over decades since Return of the Jedi, in the absence of any (decent) films, however Lucasfilm states: “While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.
“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. 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.”
