ST Official Sequel Trilogy / Legends / Expanded Universe discussion thread

I really dislike most of the EU that follows events post ROTJ... So I'll just have to keep it generic and say Luke Skywalker...

 

These responses in the thread make me smile.


Echo-07

I wasn't arguing for Thrawn, but the opposite. A traditional Imperial Commander, if Imperials must be in the film, rather than the Art Critic.

 

Why?

 

They're hilarious.

Basically you and Chiznuk are speaking for my unconscious.

EDIT: Echo-07:

From wookiepedia:

 

That is what they are doing. They want to try and make all stuff going forward part of the official canon. I still think that post-RoTJ stuff is on the chopping block. The simple fact that they have not given clarification says tons.

My tinfoil hat theory is that they want to wait until we are embroiled in some awesome and official news regarding Episode 7 before they drop the axe on the post-RoTJ EU and anger a bunch of fans.

 

I'll admit that I'm bias against the EU but this idea is so absurd I never gave it any credence even before Disney bought LFL. NOW that Disney owns LFL they will undoubtedly want to captialize on every icon they can from SW and that means Chewie as well, not letting themselves be handcuffed by a completely absurd plot twist.

 

Is that what we're getting in The Inquisitor?

Post Jedi EU stuff to keep.........

Have Luke wear the Glove of Darth Vader?

 

The EU is a mess. The best thing to do with a mess is sweep it up and throw it away.

Unless it has the Vong on it. Then, don't take any chances; BURN IT.

 

The fans as fans - I don't want to wade through miles of "I'm done with Star Wars" posts from people whole only will see E7 four or five times just to prove how horrible they think it is for casting out this, that or the other EU element.

 

I haven't read those books in nearly 15 years, but back then I liked the Jedi Academy trilogy with Kyp Durron finding Exar Kun's tomb and I also liked Admiral Daala, as well as that arc about the Death Star prototype at the Maw..., what I always found weird was that it took them nearly 20 years to finish DS1 and only 3 yeras to nearly finish DSII. I would really like to see the secret construction site with several different prototypes taken over by some Imperial commander (Veers)... Other than that, I could live with Mara Jade making an appearance (her backstory could be later fleshed out by the successor to Rebels... Before Rebels was announced, I hoped for an animated series post ROTJ to introduce characters like Jade and spare us a lot of exposition for EPVII...

 

Hmm... interesting question. I'm going to have to go with the aspect of 'what fans in general and enlarge felt was possitive additions to a Galaxy Far, Far Away' (I know, kinda a cop out... but trying to make up for it by including legit stuff most others liked but I hated and not ramming in all the ways I love Mara Jade (only listed her by name as an example of a strong female character while avoiding screaming she married luke. So this list is trying to not be my wishlist but just examples of ideas that worked and cameos that have no need to be cut... sorry again) in otherwords the things that grew beyond a few fan boy/girls into stuff now even casual fans accept as cool ideas who just hear about the ideas of the EU.

In no particlar order and not limited to:

Spoiler

• The general timeline and key characters of the past
• Things like brilliant Imperial comanders who don't need the force to be a threat (either a character named Thrawn or a character inspired by his better traits).
• Imperial warlords if the Empire splinters after The Emperors death
• Other opponents than just the Empire and Sith (example Vong and other alien invaders)
• Dark jedi
• Sith whom try something different than the rule of two (feel free to make it a fool qquest to remain loyal to lucas) and ancient Sith where as numerous as the Jedi
• Strong female characters playing much larger roles (Mara Jade, Lyumina, Jaina Solo, Vestara Khai as examples).
• All the added details about Alien species (example so now Twileks have a name and home world and Hutt is now a species and not a gangster title).
• The Emperor was always using other strong force senstive people as tools (aka Emperor's Hands or something similar, maybe key members of them too being adapted) note: these characters are expendable tools, not his apprentice (as implied by the iquisitor in Rebels, tools of Vader too).
• The Empire not being destroyed over night by the Emperors death (being bold here but if they survive long enough give them Imperial Knights).
• The map of the galaxy and its other worlds.
• The characters who made up the future families of the OT characters (of not only Han, Leia, Luke but Lando, Wedge, Chewie too; now clearly adapted to fit into VII and not their full EU self, feel free to play with any kids birthdates but keep thermatic tie ins to the last two trilogies (ie twin boy and girl for Leia, a Ben Skywalker for Luke) feel free to make some of the kids just be cameos (ie Anakin Solo is alive but not the ST kid of destiny that NJO was setting up (Lucas's issue with him) till they had to reverse which kid died), or even Allana the granddaughter being in the background).
• Popular New Jedi Council Members and their apprentices (even if only for cameos, but no need to retcon the popular ones instead at least allow them cameo's so they can get new stories in novels that tie into VII). Corran Horn, Kyle Katarn, Kyp Durron being the top three masters whom come to mind on the Council for example.
• A Jedi Tempel on Yavin IV... but maybe not their main one.
• Cool Starship and vechiles designs.

Threat these like the Clone Wars threated the EU it used, aka feel free to radically adapt EU they choose to add in, I'm in no way arguing this long list must remain as is... just this list is a lot of the right EU stuff to add if they so choose to add it. But as Disney's CEO said (paraphrashing) 'character, locations, timeline... to inspire their writers'

Note this isn't a list of things I like, something here I actually dislike a lot in fact but I know I'm in a minority on those popular points. That said this is a list of things that casual fans will likely accept and much should be in general apporved by them too, while also capitalizing on the pool of ideas of the EU and easy bones to throw to EU fans to avoid alienating them.

Clearly though avoid the bad choices (viewed in large) so no killing Chewie... no superweapon of the week, no Luuke, etc...

 

Grand Admrial Thrawn. The guy is one of the very few EU characters that I think would fit in well with the next trilogy.

 

I know, kinda a cop out... but trying to make up for it by including legit stuff most others liked but I hated and not ramming in all the ways I love Mara Jade (only listed her by name as an example of a strong female character while avoiding screaming she married luke. So this list is trying to not be my wishlist but just examples of ideas that worked and cameos that have no need to be cut... sorry again... maybe I'll spoiler tag the list in an edit

I honestly was trying to go for ONE aspect... just didn't know how to phrase my thought well enough in a way that didn't list examples. I'm not saying all the examples either... they're just examples of what fans in large liked of the EU. So example stating family I'm not implying shrink the universe down to the family, just having them as cameos is good enough... so I wasn't listing how to use any of it, just examples and I kinda let it get out of hand

 

Oh, just remembered Crimson Empire... I would love to see what became of his Excellecy's royal guard (and would love to see them in action, the way Yoda took them down in ROTS was kinda letdown and in ROTJ they did nothing, other than to leave the Throneroom).

 

I agree with you about the Skywalker/Solo family remaining intact. Keep Ben as Luke's son and Jaina as Han/Leia's daughter.

If you'll allow more suggestions...

I would like the Jedi of the New Jedi Order to be featured in the ST. That is to say Cilghal, Saba, Coran, etc.

I expect there to be many changes, but I would also love to see the great characters created within the EU be used on screen. Regardless of whether this happens or not, or would like to know for certain what characters they will be using, so I have time to mourn the loss of characters I have come to know and love (Should that happen).

 

Zeltrons. Definitely Zeltrons.

Seriously though, it would be the name Mara Skywalker. Doesn't have to be the EU background, but I always like the name.

 

The one thing I would keep from post-ROTJ EU are 2:
Grand Admiral Thrawn. Though not necessarily as an alien.The problem I have with that is that aliens that look like humans except for a little makeup, in his case, blue skin and red eyes, is too much like Star Trek. Just make him all human or all alien. And omit the art critic part...
Luke's New Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. This has been established solidly in both novels and video games. Keep it!

Ooh and.. NO BEN SKYWALKER, please... that sounds like we're getting a Ben Kenobi / Luke Skywalker hybrid and can be confusing to the casual fans. Yes to a Luke's son, but heck no to the name. (As if we had a say on this matter.. lol )

 

The essence of the New Jedi Order series, which I would define as non-Sith invaders, a balance of old/new generation heroes, and perhaps above all a boldness to redefine the formula a bit. Traitor is my favorite Star Wars story above any of the films because of the manner it took the heroic trial aspect of Luke in Cloud City and expanded this conflict to encompass an entire work. It proved to me that Star Wars at its best is about the emotional and thematic ride of a hero finding their way, not a checklist comprised of obligatory romances, cantina visits, OT dialogue callback moments, appropriately garbed darksiders, etc. And that is why the work and the NJO overall will stay with me as "real" Star Wars regardless of what direction Disney takes.

 

I would keep Kyp Durron.

Luke Skywalker shouldn't be the perfect grandmaster, a know-it-all perfect being. Those are boring ... and not very likable. People like characters with some flaws.

Enter Kyp Durron, who is pretty much the opposite of Luke. Use him as a foil, have him challenge Luke's decisions, have him be right occasionally and have Luke be wrong occasionally. Have them become angry, maybe to the point of slinging insults when things are heated.

Luke Skywalker and the story would benefit greatly from it.

He could be the Magneto for Lukes Charles Xavier, just not evil (man, I read too much X-men).

 

The EU eventually clarified that many of them are "splinter groups" of humanity- in Thrawn's case, the humans that would eventually become blue-skinned and red-eyed, crashed on an ice planet 20,000+ years before A New Hope.

It's better at least than having them look like humans purely through "convergent evolution" the way so much other sci-fi tends to do.

 

Sum-Wan said:

I have to disagree with your opinion here, and I am not sure how you arrived at it. Obviously nothing says TPTB will actually use Ben Skywalker in the ST, though I hope they do, but it remains to be seen if they will. In my opinion, Luke naming his son Ben is a good way to pay homage to his first Jedi mentor. Furthermore, I give people/casual audiences far more credit than to mistake one for the other, and believe that Ben would be his own man, not a mere hybrid of Luke/Kenobi. Perhaps a hybrid of his mother and his father, but that's it. In the EU, Ben Skywalker has been developed very well and we would be provided a treat if we were to see him be one of the next big-screen heroes in the Skywalker line.

 

Darth Krayt or Luminaya as the second in command to a new near-immortal Sith Overlord, who has been mentioned in ROTS during an opera scene...

 

Sorry, but Luke naming his son Ben to honor Kenobi is absurd, there are other, better, ways he can do that. I would much rather original names in the franchise. We'll agree to disagree there.