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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Speculation Why the NJO and Legacy Era are toast.

Discussion in 'Archive: Disney Era Films' started by stellarmagic01, Nov 5, 2012.

?

Do you think the NJO and Legacy are going to Survive Episode VII?

  1. Yes

    59 vote(s)
    27.6%
  2. No

    154 vote(s)
    72.0%
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  1. DarthBoba

    DarthBoba Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2000
    You know...that does make me wonder Orchid. Will these films acknowledge Chewbacca being pretty dead at this point in the timeline?
     
  2. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    All Forums are free for all members to post their comments on. Have you considered posting to the EU forum? You are perfectly free to do so.

    Then why are there continuous calls to change the status-quo with de-canonisation and/or reboots?

    If you read my post above, suggesting a possible way forward, then you should have noted that it was not propaganda but a "have one's cake and eat it too" suggestion.
     
  3. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    I've been addressing that (see post 728), and it can IMHO be dealt with easily - I too would like to see the return of Chewie.
     
  4. Jedi Merkurian

    Jedi Merkurian Future Films Rumor Naysayer star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    May 25, 2000
    Let’s stop with the personal attacks, mmmkay?
     
  5. Jango_Fett21

    Jango_Fett21 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 9, 2002
    Why would they? Even if the EU remains canonical, there are provisions in place for overriding the EU whenever and however George Lucas and the filmmakers want. The filmic and television canon is not and never has been subservient and subsidiary to the EU and what is done within it. If the filmmakers want Chewie in the films, he'll be there, no explanations given.
     
  6. stellarmagic01

    stellarmagic01 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    I've tried to keep clear of the flames when I comment... I don't like flames, they burn.

    I still think my analogy to a writer being told to make a comic book superhero movie is a good one for dealing with how they'll handle the Expanded Universe. I mean even in comic series which are one single continuity they have multiple origin stories and so forth. If they reboot they keep the fundamentals of the character relationships with each other most of the time so even if we're getting a reboot I don't expect things like... Luke Skywalker celibate Jedi Monk, and so forth.

    It is source material, not gospel. I also know that there's a difference between not knowing Han Solo in Episode IV and using all the EU backstory in Episode VII and not saying it. Let me put it this way, if it takes a paragraph to explain a character's backstory it's too long and convoluted. Taking all the EU as gospel just would weigh down the films with baggage that none of us really wants.
     
  7. The-Eternal-Hero

    The-Eternal-Hero Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    I think the sample scenes some fans have posted illustrate that too. No matter how smoothly you try to do it, you're drawing attention to the fact that something that isn't an organic part of the new movie is different from the OT. Those references would stand out like sore thumbs. I can only imagine that it would be a bitter disappointment not to see Chewie. The post RotJ EU has such a downbeat, tragic atmosphere, while possibly fitting for an ongoing book series that can pull out of (which it seems like they're planning to do) it would really kill some of the essential "buzz" of VII.
     
  8. stellarmagic01

    stellarmagic01 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Yeah... it's too dark. Two dead siblings for Jaina? A dead mother for Ben? A dead Chewie? Including those things would hurt the movie. I mean we've seen characters brought back from the dead how many times already? TCW brought back Maul, a couple Jedi Masters, and so on...

    I can see them keeping the stuff up to 20 ABY (Plus Young Jedi Knights and Survivor's Quest) easily. That backstory is basically... the Empire slowly fell apart, Leia and Han got married and had kids. Luke got married. That's about it.

    Going beyond that everything gets dark and rather difficult to use.
     
  9. Darth_Xeres

    Darth_Xeres Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 3, 2010
    Krtmd:


    I think you're underestimating the attraction that guaranteed substantial sales and the chance to introduce large numbers of readers to one's own work/style can have on authors, even well-known/bestselling authors. Timothy Zahn, arguably the most popular of all EU authors, has already declared his willingness, eagerness even, to work with the creators of the ST. I have no doubt he'd jump at the chance to write new novels in the ST continuity – or that most of the current EU writers would follow suit.

    The-Eternal-Hero:


    To me, the post-Endor EU has an upbeat, relatively optimistic atmosphere, at least until the start of NJO. The New Republic is ascendant (even if its path toward overseeing most of the galaxy is rarely smooth), the hostile leftovers of the Empire are progressively being dealt with, Luke founds a new Jedi Order to replace the one the Sith destroyed. It's with Vector Prime and the death of Chewie that the tone of the EU became dark.
     
  10. The-Eternal-Hero

    The-Eternal-Hero Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    Touche.
     
  11. stellarmagic01

    stellarmagic01 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Which is interesting in that before the ST, Zahn declared he wouldn't ever write in the Legacy era (mostly because they killed Jade). I hope this hints that Arndt is smart enough to pull the best of the EU into backstory for the script.
     
  12. StarWarsFan91

    StarWarsFan91 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2008
    He has worked with the EU to some degree. Like TCW. Also Lucas is the reason why Anakin Solo was killed. But it's true Chewies death was because of Lucas, before the writers were not allowed to kill movie characters (or at least main cast, minor movie characters did die before NJO) in post-ROTJ EU. They wanted to kill a movie character in the NJO so they sent a list of characters to Lucas (i think they originally wanted to kill Luke), of course Lucas wasn't going to allow Luke to die, but he allowed them to kill Chewie.
     
  13. krtmd

    krtmd Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 5, 2012
    Maybe so. I'm not an author. I can only speculate how I would feel if I were in their shoes.

    I'm sure they'll find folks willing to write new SW books, but I can tell you I'll certainly think twice about the money and time I want to invest in them.

    Don't get me wrong - I'm more excited to see the ST than I've ever been about any EU book I've read. But I did invest significant time and money in the post ROTJ EU and I'll be sad to see it set aside, if that's how they choose to do it.
     
  14. stellarmagic01

    stellarmagic01 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Well Karen Traviss got angry enough to leave over The Clone Wars, but I think she's the only one that left about a fight over her work being overwritten by George Lucas.
     
  15. Darth_Xeres

    Darth_Xeres Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 3, 2010
    Krtmd:


    So will I, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic. Michael Arndt seems like the ideal choice for screenwriter, and if Disney/LF can get Brad Bird for director, I'll shift to openly optimistic. True, eventually there will certainly be new EU material that will be as poor as the worst of the current EU… but I'm very much looking forward to being part of a hopefully vastly larger fandom where (if the current post-Endor EU is indeed scrapped) everyone is on the same footing and discovering/discussing new material at the same time.

    Stellarmagic01:


    True. All EU writers knew from the start that LFL owns their Star Wars novels and everything they created in them, and that at any moment Lucas might decide to invalidate their books in some way. It's the nature of the beast when one creates tie-in material for an established media franchise.
     
  16. black_saber

    black_saber Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2002
    Thats what I have been saying however Cheiwe is coming back for the Sequel Trilogy.

    And heres what zahn was saying about some of the eu might make it to the sequel trilogy. http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/Disney_Buys_LFL_Timothy_Zahn_Talks_EU_Ep_7_148708.asp

    But not the actual novels as sequel trilogy movies. I mean we could get them as animated movies and animated t.v. shows!
     
  17. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    My suggestion for a way forward, posted above:-
    Does this, in any way, bring in baggage?

    The-Eternal-Hero Same qustion to you.
     
  18. EviL_eLF

    EviL_eLF Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 16, 2003
    The death of Luke Skywalker was proposed, but the idea was vetoed by George Lucas himself; Lucas also indicated that C-3PO and R2-D2 were off-limits. It was felt that killing Han Solo, Princess Leia, or Lando Calrissian would not have the dramatic impact that the planning team was looking for, which prompted Stradley to suggest Chewbacca, who, despite being a fan-favorite character, had rarely significantly contributed to a novel's plot; Stradley referred to him as the "quintessential supporting character." It was felt that the death of a previously untouchable character would give the series its needed emotional impact, but putting Chewbacca on the chopping block was not an easy decision on the part of the creative team, causing many tears to be shed. Once the final decision was made, Chewbacca's death was approved by George Lucas.
     
  19. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    Then you're probably looking at needing to recast the Big 3 (with the risk of audience disapproval for those changes - the moviegoing audience knows what Han, Luke and Leia look and sound like, simply from re-showings on Broadcast TV or DVDs). The original cast members are already 20 actual years past their 20 ABY characters' ages.
     
  20. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    And that would either kill the current EU and its characters or seriously downgrade the quality of any new books following the current EU and its characters.

    Would the current EU readership be interested in a bunch of characters that have simply been parachuted in to satisfy the Great God Profit-Margin? Personally, I wouldn't be. I (and, while it might be worth taking a poll of your idea over on the EU forum to see if my understanding is correct) doubt that confirmed current EU readers would be either. I (and, I think, they) want to see our favourite characters continue to have quality adventures.

    Adding the ST characters into the mix over time, would (I feel) be a different matter.
     
  21. The-Eternal-Hero

    The-Eternal-Hero Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    That's pretty clever, actually! But you still have all the politics, wars, kids etc. It's still pretty tangled. But keep thinking. You might end up working for LFL doing this kind of thing one day...they're gonna need you.
     
  22. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    Has any other author had to face the prospect of completely re-writing her militant, bad-a***, military character creations as pacifists; while books with those characters in leading roles (most of a four-book arc, in fact) were still in preparation?
     
  23. Cantina Bassist

    Cantina Bassist Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2012
    Ugh. The kids. Ugh.
     
  24. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    No need to mention any of that baggage - apart maybe, from an offhand reference in the Opening Crawl to 'very turbulent times' having been negotiated. Interested non-EUphile parties can buy the books or read up from the Wook!
     
  25. The-Eternal-Hero

    The-Eternal-Hero Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    That's certainly the diplomatic approach. If the movie remains mum on the intervening years, or mostly mum, and keeps the kids out of it, then the EU could easily write around it, I think. Well, not easily, but reasonably comfortably. The kids are the big hurdle. Any ideas that don't include having them in the movie? Maybe in the post VII books they can make any "additional" Skywalker/Solo kids clones or something, slip 'em in a prequel type book. I really don't know.
     
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