ST Official Sequel Trilogy / Legends / Expanded Universe discussion thread

But it doesn't look as if the Thrawn trilogy is going to be part of the new films' backstory, and the new generation of fans Disney is probably hoping to bring up with their own spin-off material is going to have little interest in a book series that will be more than 20 years old. So fans might demand it, but not enough to make Disney or LucasFilms listen.

 

I don't totally agree with that. Yes, the Story Group will have to take some time figure to out the broad strokes of the continuity, and yes the film makers and the animators busy with Rebels and the ST, so no one's expecting it to happen tomorrow, but we did see younger cameos of OT characters in Clone Wars. Ackbar and Chewie come to mind, so a Captain Thrawn cameo occuring in Rebels at some point would satisfy the old guard in the near term and introduce him to the noobs so that he's not a total unknown when they actually do get around to figuring how to adapt the Thrawn Trilogy for the new continuity later down the road.

 

The difference is that Ackbar and Chewbacca were OT characters whom most people knew about, not characters from a book whom most people have forgotten and need to be reminded of when he's mentioned in the press (by that reckoning, Thrawn already IS a total unknown and was never otherwise). The mistake is thinking that both of those things equate to the same thing, and they don't. Thrawn is NOT the equal of an OT character.

 

Exactly.You have to at least put him on the radar first before you can introduce him properly. A cameo or two in Rebels would do that. I don't think anybody is expecting Lucasfilm to simply throw a bunch of EU content at the audience and expect it to stick, just I think that Thrawn will happen sooner rather than later because he's of the easier characters to import because you can import him more or less as is.

 

I am quite fond of the idea of seeing Thrawn and/or Pallaeon in Rebels. However, just a few cameos won't cut it IMO. Thrawn needs to be presented in Rebels the same way Tarkin was presented in TWC, only better. The show will have to show his tactical ingenuity, but not too much, so if he appears in the ST those fans will know of his tactical prowess. The problem is though, and I have mentioned that in the Rebels thread, that as the show is mainly for kids, Imperial characters like him will be shown incompetent rather than smart. Maybe not directly, but if (Captain) Thrawn is after Sabine during an episode, then he (since she will be one of the protagonists) will be unable to catch. This is done so the younger fans are not disappointed and that the "good guys" win and the "bad guys" lose. So, if Thrawn (or other characters) are be shown in the ST, they need to be introduced before. However, an appearance in Rebels will not, IMO, do them justice.

 

Portray Thrawn as the brilliant young officer, which wouldn't be that hard, but his superiors are all specieist idiots. That way we get a sense of his brilliance, but his superiors are racists and are incapable of tapping or even seeing the talent in their midst.

 

THIS! I like this

Show the prejudice in the Empire that does not allow Thrawn to rise through the ranks and his tactical ingenuity, by proposing solid and good plans but his superiors dismissing them due to racism. That way viewers have someone to blame and Thrawn is off the hook of becoming a scapegoat. Let's hope for this

 

This way the new fans know who he is and the old guard knows that at some point in the post-Imperial era he's going to rise to command the remains of the Imperial fleet and when that happens he's going to get let off the leash and give the good guys a real war.

 

One thing WB does really well is the direct to video adaptations of popular graphic novels. I wish Lucasfilm would take a similar approach. Introduce old EU elements to fill the 30 year gap through a series of direct to video movies.

 

That would be a good idea. I saw the Watchmen Motion Comic Book.a few years ago, around the same time that Zack Snyder movie was made. It was very well done/

 

Putting Thrawn in "Rebels" won't matter much, because the audience for that show is still small compared to the masses going to see the ST. If Thrawn ever gets in, it'll be a spin off or most likely, a novel set after ROTJ and will be much different from before.

 

Just kinda wondering if some of you have heard what has officially happened to the EU or if folks are just choosing to wishfully ignore it?

 

We know it's become "Legends" - but a legend can have roots.

And given that Episode VII begins 30 years after RoTJ, something can fill that gap, at least.

 

You're right, but it will more than likely be something (or many things, to be precise) brand new and unseen.

 

[quote="
The difference is that Ackbar and Chewbacca were OT characters whom most people knew about, not characters from a book whom most people have forgotten and need to be reminded of when he's mentioned in the press (by that reckoning, Thrawn already IS a total unknown and was never otherwise). The mistake is thinking that both of those things equate to the same thing, and they don't. Thrawn is NOT the equal of an OT character.[/quote]



You mean to say IMO just because Thrawn was not in OT does not mean he would not make a great character for canon. He is past ROTJ and has not had the chance to go toe to toe with the big three on the big screen. IMO there are alot of characters who could be great on the big screen but because Lucas has been wishy washy about doing anything post OT the past 30 years and about his Star Wars their Star Wars. I love Lucas but he is the reason why this whole mess with canon not canon. He should have said all movies and EU and anything else he endorsed should all be Star Wars period. I understand when a movie is to be written not all things from EU will make it and I'm cool with it but to dismiss it all together rubbish.

 

I agree EU fans clamoring for a Thrawn trilogy adaptation wouldn't be enough to make it happen at all. However, there is a bunch of potential in the "Legends" EU to stripmine for the "new" Star Wars continuity. To basically copy & paste from a post I just made on the Lit board:

draw cool characters that are popular amongst a minor audience (EU fans) and rescue them from the canonless void of "Legends EU" and introduce them to a larger audience (Star Wars movies and TV shows). How Marvel comic book movies work is the example of Disney-era Star Wars should emulate, mostly. If there are great elements that are now banished away to "Legends" then draw from there to build the new Star Wars universe. Otherwise, the LEU becomes dusty locker tossed away into a well. The LEU should be a closet that's readily opened and tailored for the new Star Wars. Along with a healthy dose of new things. But something borrowed adds to the ensemble. Since the LEU isn't canon, it makes it easier to pick, choose, reformat and fit various LEU elements into the fabric of Disney era.

As that video and press release pointed out, all of that 35 years of content is there. Lucasfilm owns every damn thing about it. That is a hellova lot of IP to just submerge forever when it's readily available to be cherry picked from. which is exactly what Rebels is doing right now with the various EU-originated elements that are in the show.

The Legends EU shouldn't be shut off and boxed off and forever done with and never looked at again and never referenced ever like a deformed bastard twin brother. Sure, new *stories* set in the Legends EU might not happen anytime soon but there's a hellova lot of content you can take inspiration from and adapt into the new Disney era Star Wars.

 

Agreed. His answer to status of the EU should have been, Star Wars logo=canon. That would have saved lot of weeping and gnashed teeth.

 

Yep thats what he meant...Thawn was crap...and I agree...those three books were crap. The only reason they did so well is we were starved of star wars at that point and rumours of new movies were floating.

At that very most he will be a cameo. At the very best him and his stupid lizards will be well forgotten

 

That is your opinion and I respect it; but I think Thrawn would be excellent as a villain in the ST.
The reason behind my logic is that every single villain that Star Wars has thrown at us is either a very powerful Force User (and thus stands a chance against the heroes) or is a mediocre Force User, but has a huge army with him.
For me, this process is tiresome and not original. Thrawn was the exception to the rule. He was neither a Force User and (at the time) his Imperial army was not as big as the New Republic. In other words, he had the disadvantage against heroes like Luke. However, it was his mind that gave him even the slightest chance against the New Republic and the Jedi. His ingenuity as a military commander was the reason he survived that long in the novels and did not die like many other Imperials.

This should be the new generation of villains; the ones that use their heads rather than their brute force all the time. It just makes for a far more realistic and mature approach to SW.

 

You're right about this. Disney will release books set in between ROTJ and the sequel trilogy which fleshes out the 30 years time gap. Then, some writer/director will have a brilliant idea for a movie set between ROTJ and the sequel trilogy which will contradict the established canon.

 

The Thrawn trilogy was hands down better than the last three films, it needs to be adapted

 

I agree. IMO, if Thrawn's trilogy was adapted and done into another trilogy, somewhere around 1990, it would have surpassed the PT's by far. Considering that it was done properly

 

Not to mention, they will continue hiring the same novellists who wrote for the 'old' EU - who will likely continue dropping in their favourite characters, planets, etc. even though they no longer have roots in an official canon....

 

^
Well if the old EU writers who are writing new books canon going forward, use EU characters and there back stories in any new books will have their roots in canon going forward.

 

True, but you can't just recycle the characters and plots of the previous books...It's completely unoriginal

Having another trilogy about Bane's Rule of Two won't cut it..