Why fans should look into the EU

Don’t get me wrong, the “Star Wars” films are great. However, they are not everything.

What makes “Star Wars” unforgettable is the expanded universe and here is what you need to know.

"Star Wars Legends" material (Google Images).

The “Star Wars” films as I have mentioned on a previous blog post are meant to be on a timeline. They cover certain points of time within the galaxy.

When I first watched the films I was always left with wondering what’s next? What happened during that time period that wasn’t shown on screen? And let me just say that something that “Star Wars” offers is the chance for fans to take information of the expanded universe into their own hands and experience some of the best “Star Wars” stories.

Television

It’s no doubt that “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” are some of my favorite television shows. However, when I first started to watch the shows I had the common mindset as most fans do, that the shows are just for kids.

I learned quick that was not the case. “The Clone Wars” introduced some of my favorite characters to the franchise such as Captain Rex, Ahsoka, Ventress, and even expanded on one character that is truly unforgettable, Darth Maul.

Maul in "The Clone Wars" (Google Images).

Season one deals with the numerous battles that the republic faces against General Grievous and Count Dooku and how the separatists and the republic are fighting for control of numerous star systems.

Season two deals with bounty hunters and the republic's attack on the droid factory on Geonosis and each season after progresses into multiple story arcs that really dive into character development.

“The Clone Wars” dives deep into “Star Wars” mythology and in my opinion makes the prequel films have even more of an emotional appeal.

“Star War Rebels” is yet another one of those shows where I was also skeptical. It aired on Disney XD and I kept thinking “how will this add to the franchise?” However, when season four aired I watched it and cried all the way up to the series finale, I was that attached to the characters.

Kanan Jarrus in "Rebels" (Google Images).

The show takes five years before “A New Hope” and season one focuses on how a small group of rebels are trying to keep their planet Lothal out of the hands of the Empire.

What I like about this show is that you see the ghost crew grow into a larger part of the rebellion and viewers even get to see how the rebellion was formed. This show was enjoyable to watch for me.

This leads to “Star Wars Resistance.” After watching these shows for a couple of years, I just have to watch the new show. The show follows a new republic spy named Kazudo Xiono on an aircraft refueling station called the Colossus.

Xiono on the Colossus (Google Images).

After watching the first three episodes, I’m curious to see where the series will go.

I highly recommend watching these television shows. They make the galaxy more believable and it is some of the best storytelling I have seen. With “The Mandalorian” currently in production, I can’t wait to see where that story arc goes as well.

Novels/Games

Besides the standalone movies that are a part of the expanded universe such as “Rouge One” and “Solo” I highly recommend that every “Star Wars” fan dives into legends material.

Even though they are not apart of canon as Disney has stated, in my opinion they still are. If the story is out there, go and explore and see the deeper meaning of the franchise.

There are many novels to read that are legends material and I have read a few of them and have a lot on my wishlist. Here is what George Lucas said about the legends material.

"Star Wars Legends" Timeline (Google Images).

"After Star Wars was released, it became apparent that my story—however many films it took to tell—was only one of thousands that could be told about the characters who inhabit its galaxy. But these were not stories that I was destined to tell. Instead, they would spring from the imagination of other writers, inspired by the glimpse of a galaxy that Star Wars provided. Today, it is an amazing, if unexpected, legacy of Star Warsthat so many gifted writers are contributing new stories to the Saga."

―George Lucas, from the introduction of Splinter of the Mind's Eye, 1996[src]

The stories are there and reading a legends book can be one of the most rewarding parts about the “Star Wars” universe.

I am really interested in the Old Republic so I read “Darth Revan” and even in the new republic era I read “Heir to the Empire.”

I am also currently reading “Darth Bane: Path to Destruction” to learn more about the rule of two.

All of these novels offer insight and an in-depth analysis to the galaxy and the implications and characters are different and the challenges they face are universal that connect to the main film franchise. It is a rewarding experience as I have said.

With the video games I played “Knights of the Old Republic” and that to me was one of the best videogames I have ever played. The story of the old republic and learning about Darth Revan was so interesting that it is one story that I will never forget.

Darth Malak with Darth Revan in the Old Republic (Google Images).

Overall, I highly recommend that every fan looks into the expanded universe. Some of the best “Star Wars” stories are there and you will not be disappointed.