ST Official Sequel Trilogy / Legends / Expanded Universe discussion thread

Yes.

Disney paid 4 billion for the movies, not those books. They will just use their old hired horses as writers for the novels.

Haha, my lack of faith was disturbed by too many mis-characterizations and such in the past. But I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt for now. Watch were the journey will take us and such.

 

The books are still a $2 billion source of revenue, much of it spiking after movies and dropping as time between the passes to a certain degree. So logically book sales will be higher now when movies are getting released endlessly, its the same reason Marvel created Marvel Studios since they sold a ton more comics right after movies but couldnt rely on Fox or Sony pumping out a movie every year.

Further many of the Marvel comics have started to replicate the Marvel Cinematic Universes vibes to further increase profits from the comics. While Disney may have bought the company just for the movie rights, Marvel itself wisely realizied that all the comics they where making might become future movies too. So they started modifying them to possibly be able to better mesh with the films. Applying this logic to Star Wars and you see why Lucasfilm is rebooting the books, they may not follow exactly what Marvel is doing but its pretty close they are making sure the future books will be easily readable to new movie only fans but keeping the option to apadt in old EU elements because some of those elements really added to the franchise.

So while Disney didnt buy Star Wars for the books, its subsidiary Lucasfilm realizes the books are a great resource for setting up more movies/tv shows and since they're now being reworked to match all the future products by calling the old EU now Legends the books are now great inpluse buys for casual movie only fans, which in effect is like selling an extra movie ticket.

 

Ryus, do you honestly think the books will become much better written all of the sudden?

Even though they generated a lot of money in the past, there still was no adequate quality control. With the same people involved, why would everything suddenly change?

 

Because you need great quality off the bat to keep people hooked for life. I've seen a few tv shows where i loved the first few seasons, and stuck with it after it turned awful. I've never done the reverse.

 

They've already got enough junkies to milk.

 

Than Disney can fire them, and put in their own people, from their other franchises, and branches.

 

Of the known authors doing the upcoming books, they do have a decent lineup (and their kid book authors is a very good line up, but I'll focus on the adult stories' authors stuff here)

The unknown one to Star Wars fans is Kevin Hearne, only just picked up his first book but so far the guyis giving off some Neil Gaiman vibes mixed with Allan Dean Foster... so I'm kinda actually excited for his Heir to the Jedi.

As to the known 3 to EU readers all three are good. James Luceno and John Jackson Miller likely being the two best known each having at least one amazing EU book between them (The Unifying Force, Darth Pleaguis, Kenobi, etc...). Paul Kemp being the likely more unknown but he's actually pretty good too. Next off all three of them have written books involving non-major movie characters in leading roles and doing at least above average with them, so they can stand on their own merits, which is far more than some EU authors who couldn't even do good with the movie characters.

The biggest messup of the EU since 2000 usually where tied to multi-author multibook series (before that in the Bantom era the writting kinda aimed every which way but that's another story). These guys are mostly untouched by controvercies, most hate towards any of them are more 'I think they missed an opportunity here' or 'why did he make Pleaguis die when Maul "did" and not a decade or two before'...

As the early goals of the books, it will mostly be setting things up on a macro level for the franchice as a whole with maybe a few character teases (new and old EU being intigrated back in). Currently likely in the Dark Ages to Civil War time periods. As to the teases of old EU characters idea we may get the disappointing 'OMG Mara exsists' to hype fans but then not see her in VII just to leave fans wondering what happened to her who now buy cash in books that tell her story which may be limited to just books or maybe lead to say a spinoff tv show on netflix where her character is independent of Luke and gang... or she may actually be in VII. Again, that's just ideas of where they could taker her if they actually use her in the books before VII reveals if she is in it or not.

During this time cheap but good enough authors is the key, phasing out ones who don't play nice with others or just don't meet standards (just like marvel does with movie directors). Clearly some will hit it out of the park and they'll be asked back, some will just be good enough and might come back too (likely limited to tie in material later and not bolder books), others just won't be rehired or given a vaction to focus on their own novels till they show inprovement in the craft.

Later I expect far more tie in novels, so say an acient Sith/Jedi gets name dropped or a character mentions running into a bounty hunter between the movies just to make the universe seem larger... well, we'll get books detailing it now two months after the movies been out. I expect Marvel comics to start some new stories with new(ish) characters plus the obvious known ones. So say they start a series about an X-wing squadron we've never meet yet or a gang of bounty hunters where one of them acts like deadpool to attact the teens to it in droves. Also eventually the books will go multi-book/author series (hopefully with better planned out routes from the get go) starring whomever (say it deals with the nightsisters trying to take over Hapes just for simplicity with cameos from the lead cast or a large role from one or two of them).

Do I ever expect say Neil Gaiman to write for star wars... nope. Do I expect a good marvel writer to want to make a tiein book to a comic like John Jackson Miller did, yes, eventually. So overall I do expect better quality but not since any better authors get involved but since future books will be more producer controlled than author controlled, though allowing authors to go crazy if its a preapproved direction to take. The biggest weakness of the old eu was far too many authors with egos shouting their opinions and Lucas barely caring only occasionally vetoing stuff. Now however, the story group will be in a stronger possition of power and care enough to actually read the books so less **** will make it past the top dogs so we won't get anymore Mara yelling at Luke for being an idiot since Zahn didn't like what KJA did with Luke in his last 4 books. Also character deaths will likely be more movie things and planned out years in advance, so we won't get any more authors trying to kill luke everyother series type fiascos or prophacies that need rewrites since at the last minute Lucas vetos a kid dying so it jumps to a cousins mom and barely makes any sense type deals... from now on we'll only get death prophacies when the producers carefully decided to kill off a character.

Now long term down the road, one of these "new eu" stories is a huge hit... well enter Disney wanting LFL to adapt it into a movie since as far as they can see the script is all but completed already and the fanbase ready to pay to watch it. Now LFL quitly reintroduces the canon heiracry (but only for this 'one case') where the movie will be more equal than the book but the book will respected, kinda.

Clearly we'll likely need a reboot 20 years or 50 years down the road or have to jump time periods, which likely will be fine since Star Wars could just jump into the future with more modern day to when they do it warfare being untilized instead of the WWII stuff from the OT and repeat its forumla again.

 

One benefit of the reboot is that Luke and Leia can learn about the PT earlier than in the EU. The EU worked for me in that regard but having them learn about everything 30 years earlier would be nice.

 

Ryus
That was just EPIC!!

My only hope is A) if they do a true 'reboot' (IE, remaking Empire et all) it happens long after I'm gone - it would be as sacrilegious as remaking Casablanca or ET and B) Bring back Stover - but I could live without Stover as long as Hambly is Force choked by her own word processer...

 

That B is just as epic if not more so.

Oh and hell yes to Stover back.

I dont see a full reboot ever happening, but like you I hope im long dead if it happen

 

T-R: I agree she would be perfect, absolutely incredible actress.

 

Woah, Michelle looks fab on that pic. I never imagined Cat Stark looking so glam

If they do want to use Mara then she's a great choice. She has the look, and the acting chops. And it would be nice to actually have a Mara that LOOKS around Luke's age for a change.

 

I haven't really been following this thread that closely so I was wondering if there has been much discussion about the Karen Gillan wig? Can't help but put two and two together when I read stuff like that...

 

No, most of the rumors involve the red wig have it being attached on Tenel Ka Djo, Allana Djo Solo, Shira Brie, Daala, Mon Mothma, Nomi Sunrider, and Vima Sunrider. Never Mara Jade...

Who am I kidding, its mentioned ad nauseam to implying that we're getting Mara Jade Skywalker... and everyone forgets all those other Red Heads in Star Wars which it could wear it. Not that im complaining, being a major Mara Jade fan who really wants her in VII.

 

She can treat Lukes bastard son bad too.

 

My favourite redhead has always been Nomi Sunrider anyway...

If there is an 'under wraps' character it may be her. I used to like the character a lot in the early days but went off her as she popped up over and over again. It was almost a relief that she was killed off in the end... I'll take her over Plagueis though...

 

With all this talk of Mara being reintroduced into the canon in the Tarkin novel, I have a feeling that if she is, then I think the chance of her being in Episode 7 is a real possibility.

 

Bad news about the Sunriders though... its the one name Disney might not legally have the rights to. Long story short Bastila Shan from Knights of the Old Republic was supposed to be Vima Sunrider, Nomi's daughter, which was why she had battle meditation since her mom did too. Bastila Shan was Junahi's original name but according to the rumors someone else either beat LFL to the copyright or renewed an old claim on the name. The settlement was rumored to be LFL could keep printing the stories with the Sunriders and refernce them, but they could never be main characters again... hence why the Bastila Shan name jumped onto the Vima Sunrider character and the originally planned Bastila Shan got the simple rename of Junahi. According to the rumors though who ever LFL settled with got to remain annoyomys.

Now, this is Disney we're talking... they do have enough power and money to buy any copyright claimed by some small fry just looking for a payday... but why would they after the EU got legendized. More likely they'd just rename Bastila's moms first name Nomi and drop the Sunrider last name and replace it with Shan, while dumping the backstory of Bastila's mom and replacing it with Nomis (they had a kinda strained relationship anyways) that or adding Nomi getting really sick is why she's not fghting Malak.

 

I was wondering if this thread should be retitled Official ST/Legends EU Discussion Thread, to avoid confusion with the new canon EU. EHT

 

Good idea! Done!

 

Is it sad that as a big EU fan I didnt even notice the name change until I read this post? Or a good sign that Ive adapted to its status change, learning to let go and all?

 

So. In the new set pictures, there is a gate very much like one that appears in some McQuarrie paintings. People are assuming those paintings are from ROTJ preproduction, but as far as I can tell, they come directly from a book of illustrated short stories from the 1990s called The Illustrated Star Wars Universe, written by Kevin J. Anderson. Many of the images in the book are concept art from the OT, but there were also paintings done specifically for the book, too. However, they aren't labeled, so it's difficult to tell which ones are concepts and which are 'new' illustrations. There are some pictures that fill out the worlds but don't correspond to anything that seems to have ever been planned for the films - like a painting of Tusken Raiders loitering outside Jabba's Palace, one of the images that the gate appears in. There is another painting with it, which is also hard to determine the age/intention of. The point is, and actually regardless of whether those paintings were concept art, the gate design may have been pulled from an EU/Legends source (the Anderson book), though even the filmmakers may not realize it.

Of course, very similar designs were used in TCW movie. I don't know if this says anything at all about how elements (visual or otherwise) will be cherry-picked from previous sources (like the Legends sourcebooks and stuff), but... it might.

 

Well design wise, for sets and such, the EU has a lot of art in the Lucas library... so eventually one film director will like the looks of it and adapt it. After all why hire someone to make all new concept art when you have tens of thousands already in storage ready to go today?

Plus we do know Rebels is borrowing from the EU so some stuff from their might trickle upwards (again, look and set design wise).

 

Blade Squadron from this month's Star Wars Insider has been confirmed to be canon.
http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2014/06/star-wars-insider-fiction-part-of.html

 

Now to renew my Star Wars insider subscription and to track down issues #149 and #159... thanks for the find.

Just looked them up on wookieepedia... a b-wing squadron at Endor... hmm. Wonder if they'll be tieing into any thing upcoming movie or tv show wise... rebels seems unlikely, VII info being released this way seems too improbible, spinoff seems too quick since the writer was just announced. Interesting choice though.

Hope its not just to drive up Star Wars Insider sales... because atm theyre the only ones publishing canon stories.