Star Wars and the New Canon

There were a lot of very upset Star Wars fans when it was announced that all the "Expanded Universe" (or "EU") would be relegated to "Legends" status, and would not be considered canon. Only the six films and the Clone Wars TV series would be considered true canon. (article)

So... what is "canon"? According to Wiki, canon is "the conceptual material accepted as 'official' in a fictional universe's fan base". So, in the reality of Star Wars, only the movies and the Clone Wars series "actually" happened. All the other characters, settings, and adventures are now no longer part of the Star Wars continuity.

HOWEVER, that being said, the press release from StarWars.com clearly states that "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 new upcoming animated series). 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."

We also know that George Lucas occasionally used elements from the EU in the prequels, as well as the Special Edition versions of the original films: He used the Aurebesh characters (the Star Wars alphabet) in "A New Hope" Special Edition to replace text that was previously in English. Aurebesh is also being used in Episode VII for various signage and such (some of the leaked set photos confirm this). Also, the name of the planet Coruscant was originally from Timothy Zahn's "Heir to the Empire" trilogy, and Lucas used it in Episode I, II, and III.

So, what does this all mean? it means that storytellers from this point forward have a plethora of source material to use for inspiration in future works. If they have something from an old "Legends" story that they really like, and if they approval from the Star Wars Story Group, old original EU elements might find their way into the new canon. And, with the formation of this new Story Group, ALL Star Wars materials going forward will be canon: movies, TV series, books, etc. It will all be under one major story umbrella. So there will no more plot conflicts, no more discrepancies with previously told tales. The entire Star Wars universe will be completely cohesive.

So, don't give up on your favorite EU content just yet... it may resurface.

And, I'm sorry... but Jar Jar Binks is still canon. *sigh*