Lucasfilm Confirms Episode VII Is Not Based On The Expanded Universe

Today Lucasfilm has confirmed that Episode VII and the future storylines, will not contain any of the EU.

For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more.

While the EU has become part of what fans have come to know and love, our hopes of seeing the characters from the stories are crushed but Lucasfilm has a promising future to Star Wars. Elements from the EU can be used in the canon going forward, but anything that happened in the books after Return of the Jedi will not be adapted in the movies.The new set of canon will begin with Star Wars: Rebels and then a series of books are being worked on. They’re doing this in order to keep a consistent story.

“We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon,” said Kennedy. “We’re set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before.” says Kathleen Kennedy.

In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.

Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.

It is sad that we won’t see some of the fan favorites portrayed on the big screen, but it will be great to see something new. What is your favorite EU story? Tell us below!