The Star Wars expanded universe.

The Star Wars universe has been greatly extended outside the five films that we all
know and love. However, this extention has given rise to debate regarding the
authenticity of these books, games and comics.

How do they fit into the Star Wars universe, and how much weight should we give
them in the ongoing various Star Wars versus ? debates.

To try to shed some light on this, I am going to quote some of the answers to this
type of question posted on the Star Wars website.

The answers, unless otherwise stated, come from Steve Sansweet, the Lucasfilm
Fan Relations manager and will be written in bold. I will, from time to time, break
in with my own comments, and they will appear in italics. Furthermore, I will
underline any word or phrases that I feel are especially important.




"While issues like these are often best left to each individual's "point of view",
here's what LucasBooks' Chris Cerasi had to say...

'There's been some confusion of late regarding the 'Infinities' symbol, and Star
Wars Expanded Universe continuity in general. Terms like "canon" and "continuity"
tend to get thrown around casually, which doesn't help at all.

When it comes to absolute canon, the real story of Star Wars, you must turn to
the films themselves - and only the films. Even novelizations are interpretations
of the film, and while they are largely true to George Lucas' vision (he works
quite closely with the novel authors), the method in which they are written does
allow for some minor differences. The novelizations are written concurrently with
the film's production, so variations in detail do creep in from time to time.
Nonetheless, they should be regarded as very accurate depictions of the fictional
Star Wars movies.

Okay, first note that only the films are considered to be the true story
of Star Wars, and that even the novelisations of those films hold a lower rank.
However, it is also stated that the novelisations are considered very accurate.
Also note that this paragraph does not refer to other Star Wars novels, just the
novelisations of the films.


"The further one branches away from the movies, the more interpretation and
speculation come into play. LucasBooks works diligently to keep the continuing
Star Wars expanded universe cohesive and uniform, but stylistically, there is
always room for variation. Not all artists draw Luke Skywalker the same way. Not
all writers define the character in the same fashion. The particular attributes
of individual media also come into play. A comic book interpretation of an event
will likely have less dialogue or different pacing than a novel version. A video
game has to take an interactive approach that favors gameplay. So too must card
and roleplaying games ascribe certain characteristics to characters and events in
order to make them playable."

So from this we can tell that although the expanded universe's aim is to fit
into the universe of the movies, they are open to interpretation and
speculation, and therefore may contain differences.

Why is this important?

Well, as quoted above, "not all artists draw Luke Skywalker the same way". Therefore
we know that what we see in a comic book may not be a true representation of the
actual events. Luke Skywalker may look different in a comic, so might a star
destroyer, and so might weapons fire and effects. In other words, if we see a
star destroyer in a comic that looks slightly different from the ones in the films,
we should be cautious before rushing off to announce that an entirely new class
of ship exists. If the difference is small, the difference is far more likely to
be to result of artistic licence, than an entirely new class. The same applies to
weapons fire and effects. If it's called a turbolaser, but doesn't look like the
ones in the films, it probably is not an entirely new weapon, it's probably just
the result of artistic licence.


"The analogy is that every piece of published Star Wars fiction is a window into
the 'real' Star Wars universe. Some windows are a bit foggier than others. Some
are decidedly abstract. But each contains a nugget of truth to them. Like the
great Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi said, 'many of the truths we cling to depend
greatly on our point of view.'"

This is an interesting section. It tells us that not all the events in the expanded
universe are as they would be in the 'real' universe. Some are more accurate than
others, but all are just windows. Some might be considered to be as accurate as
an official battle report, whilst other may be the stuff of legend and folk tales
and only contain a nugget of truth. To use an analogy, it might be like
comparing a Battle of Britain official history report, to a book about the legends
of King Arthur. The Battle of Britain report should be substantially accurate, but
the book on King Arthur, whilst containing a nugget of truth may not show
events as they really transpired. The problem is, although parts of the expanded
universe 'may' be seperate from the 'real' one, we don't know which parts are which.


"Returning to the question at hand. Yes, Star Wars Gamer is part of continuity,
though as game material, there is room for interpretation. Only specific articles
marked with the 'Infinities' logo within the magazine should be considered out of
continuity."

Well that at least is clear. If something has the "Infiniites" logo on it, then
it did NOT happen. For those who do not know what the 'Infinities' logo looks like,
here it is:-




"Fans of the old monthly Marvel Star Wars comic will be heartened to know that
LucasBooks does indeed consider them part of continuity. Decades of retrospect
haven't been kind to all the elements of the comic series, but the characters and
events still hold weight and are referenced in newer material whenever possible."

Again, a useful comment. The old Marvel Star Wars comics are considered true,
unless they contradict the films. In that case, they should be ignored.


"In order to allow unlimited freedom of storytelling, the Infinities label has been
placed on the anthology series, Star Wars Tales. This means that not only can the
stories occur anywhere in the Star Wars timeline, but stories can happen outside
continuity. Basically, if an event happens in Tales, it may not have necessarily
happened in the rest of the expanded universe. For some stories, the distinction
is largely inconsequential. For others, it's the only way they could exist (for
example, there's a Darth Vader vs. Darth Maul comic coming soon)."

Again, if it has the infinities logo, it's best to leave it out of the versus
debates!


"I'm excited that Boba Fett is going to be in Episode II. Are we going to get more
details about how he was once Jaster Mereel and killed another Journeyman Protector
on the planet Concord Dawn before becoming a bounty hunter?

My advice: Forget everything you knew, or thought you knew about the origins of
Boba Fett. While none of us have seen a script of Episode II or have an idea of
the direction in which George Lucas is taking the character, it's fairly safe to
say that he won't be held to any of the back stories that have arisen over the
years to try to explain the roots of this strong, mostly silent type. If there is
any hint of Fett's beginnings, it will be all George."

Of course, by now we HAVE seen Episode II, and we know at least some of Boba's
past. As Steve predicted, what we now know does not match what was in the comics
or the books. The important thing to note here is that George Lucas himself does
not consider the books, comics or games, to be in anyway definitive information,
or even to be correct information. If he wants to put something on screen, that
contradicts what was in a book or comic, he will do it, and the book or comic will
immedietely become non-canon.

This is why using any information from the expanded universe should be done with
caution, unless it is confirmed in the films. That doesn't mean that we should
immedietely scrap all the information from the books and comics, just that we
should be careful what we include, and the weight we attach to them.


"As many fans know, when it comes to Star Wars knowledge, there are degrees of
"canon." The only true canon are the films themselves. For years, Lucas Books has
stayed clear of characters, events, or the timeframe that George might want to
deal with in the Star Wars prequels. While such things as the Clone Wars, the fall
of the Jedi, and Palpatine's rise to power were on that list, Boba Fett wasn't
considered to be of major concern.

But like any great storyteller, George starts to develop a script and it sometimes
takes on a life of its own, with characters coming to life and demanding a say.
He has told us that Boba Fett will have a role in Episode II--just as Fett first
appeared in the second film of the classic trilogy--so we may finally learn the
bounty hunter's true genesis. As for whether Fett really survived his descent into
the cavernous maw of the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi...what do you think?"

So to summarise, ONLY the films are canon and true. If it happened in the films
then it cannot be argued or debated away. If it happened in a book, comic or game,
then it MIGHT be true. However, basing entire positions on a single passage from
a single book should be avoided. Therefore, if you find a single reference in a book
that gives enormous yields for turbolasers, be careful. The yields shown in the films
will always override them, unless you can show a reason why the books figures should
and would be different from the film.

It also works the other way. Don't pick an example from a book which shows turbolasers
to have the firepower to a damp firework, since that will always be overridden by
the visible yields in the films.

Be reasonable about what should and should not be included from the expanded universe.
If something in a book or comic is contradicted in the films, then the film is right,
regardless of the number of times the book says it, or even if EVERY single star
wars book ever written says it. The films are always right!

And one more thing, don't take it too seriously. This versus debating is supposed
to be fun!   



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