History Franchise / StarWarsLegends

Creator/GeorgeLucas had an interesting relationship with the Expanded Universe. While he generally regarded it as glorified [[{{Fanfic}} fan fiction]] that he could utilize to market future movies and shows, he looked at it from time to time [[ApprovalOfGod and found works that he liked]], some of which he drew inspiration from and in some cases he even gave his own input or requests. For instance, he initially named the unseen planet that served as the Imperial Capitol "[[AirstripOne Imperial Center]]", but he was advised to rename it "Coruscant" after that name was established in ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy''. Likewise, Aayla Secura first appeared in ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic'', a tie-in to the Prequel Trilogy, but she appeared as a supporting character in the last two films of that series due to Lucas liking her character design. Conversely, several stories in Lucas's movies and ''The Clone Wars'' brazenly contradicted established lore in this iteration of the setting, leading Lucasfilm's authors to have to create elaborate explanations for every inconsistency to help everything make sense. Lucas also held [[ExecutiveVeto veto power]] over certain concepts; he rejected the original pitch for ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'' to have a villain use the likeness of Darth Vader, but was supportive of the concept of Emperor Palpatine creating clones of himself.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Legends'' steadily crept this way and towards BloodierAndGorier. Compare the main horror of the first major novel, ''Literature/HeirToTheEmpire'', to that of one of the most recent, [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Death_Troopers Death Troopers]]. One is an adventure novel, and the horror is of being hunted down and captured by someone who wants to [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers take your children]]. The other is survival horror, and the big fear is of being eaten by/converted into a zombie. There have been zombies in ''Star Wars'' before, but never quite the classical type.

** The role was [[BigBadDuumvirate shared]] between [[MagnificentBastard Grand Admiral Thrawn]] and [[MadOracle Joruus C'baoth]] for Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy. A succession of major and minor villains followed, such as [[TheBaroness Admiral Daala]], [[AntiVillain Admiral Pellaeon]], and the spirit of Exar Kun, plus a couple of Hutts, rogue Imperials, Dark Jedi and one or two AlwaysChaoticEvil alien races, as TheEmpire devolved into a VestigialEmpire, and eventually signed a peace treaty with The New Republic. Everything finally seemed peaceful, until...

** The role was [[BigBadDuumvirate shared]] between [[MagnificentBastard Grand Admiral Thrawn]] and Joruus C'baoth for Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy. A succession of major and minor villains followed, such as [[TheBaroness Admiral Daala]], [[AntiVillain Admiral Pellaeon]], and the spirit of Exar Kun, plus a couple of Hutts, rogue Imperials, Dark Jedi and one or two AlwaysChaoticEvil alien races, as TheEmpire devolved into a VestigialEmpire, and eventually signed a peace treaty with The New Republic. Everything finally seemed peaceful, until...

* PunchClockVillain: A recurring theme of the OT-era EU is that there are a hell of a lot more Imperials that believe [[LawfulEvil more in the Empire's Lawful side than its Evil side]], fighting the Rebels/New Republic out of professionalism and patriotism rather than hatred and often displaying disdain or resentment for more monstrous compatriots and leaders. These often pull a HeelFaceTurn, but there are exceptions, chief among them Captain, later Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, Grand Admiral Thrawn's flag captain in ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' who is eventually made supreme commander after Daala [[GeneralFailure takes one defeat too many]] in ''Literature/{{Darksaber}}'' and remains staunchly loyal to the Empire to the end. This despite him being the first on the Imperial side to sue for peace with the Republic in ''Literature/TheHandOfThrawn''.

* ''Literature/BlackFleetCrisis'' trilogy

* HeroesWantRedheads: Dani, Shira, and especially Luke's wife Mara.

The move to wipe the slate clean was done in order to give new ''Star Wars'' creators free rein to work within the universe without specific restrictions, such as [[Literature/NewJediOrder Chewbacca being crushed by a moon]]; his canon counterpart ended up surviving past the end of Episode 9', over a decade after his demise in the Expanded Universe. Creators hired by Lucasfilm would later integrate various characters and concepts from the Expanded Universe into the new universe, but did so in such a way that the new material would better serve the ground rules set by Lucas himself (between his movies, ''The Clone Wars'', and various unmade projects of his like the ''Series/StarWarsUnderworld'' television series), and serve the "one big story" that the new batch of creators wanted to tell. (Incidentally, both ''Film/RogueOne'' and ''Film/{{Solo}}'', Disney's first two non-episodic films, were directly inspired by planned story arcs for ''Underworld''.)

* HeroesWantRedheads: Dani, Shira, and especially Luke's wife Mara.

!This page is exclusively about '''''Star Wars Legends''''' content, comprising material made before Creator/{{Disney}}-owned Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} gave the entire ExpandedUniverse a ContinuityReboot. If you want information about the new EU, look '''[[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse here]]'''.

''Star Wars Legends'', alternatively branded as ''Star Wars Vintage'' on Creator/DisneyPlus and originally known as the ''Star Wars'' ExpandedUniverse (or EU), was a collection of stories meant to complement and build upon the worlds of [[Franchise/StarWars the Galaxy Far, Far Away]] in ways that the Original Trilogy, the Prequel Trilogy, and ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' would or simply could not. While it technically began with the novelization of ''Film/ANewHope'', which was actually released just over half a year before the 1977 film, it didn't properly get started until the likes of ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977 Marvel's Star Wars]]'', ''Literature/SplinterOfTheMindsEye'', and even ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'' really got the ball rolling. From there, the continuity expanded in multiple, sometimes contradictory directions covering nearly every imaginable angle to the universe.

Creator/GeorgeLucas had an interesting relationship with the Expanded Universe. While he generally regarded it as glorified [[{{Fanfic}} fan fiction]] that he could utilize to market future movies and shows, he looked at it from time to time [[ApprovalOfGod and found works that he liked]], some of which he drew inspiration from and in some cases he even gave his own input or requests. For instance, he initially named the unseen planet that served as the Imperial Capitol "[[AirstripOne Imperial Center]]", but he was advised to rename it "Coruscant" after that name was established in ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy''. Likewise, Aayla Secura first appeared in ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic'', a tie-in to the Prequel Trilogy, but she appeared as a supporting character in the last two films of that series due to Lucas liking her character design. Conversely, several stories in Lucas's movies and ''The Clone Wars'' brazenly contradicted established lore in this iteration of the setting, leading Lucasfilm's authors to have to create elaborate explanations for every inconsistency to help everything make sense. Lucas also held [[ExecutiveVeto veto power]] over certain concepts; he rejected the original pitch for ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'' to have a villain use the likeness of Darth Vader, but was supportive of the concept of Emperor Palpatine creating clones of himself.

The move to wipe the slate clean was done in order to give new ''Star Wars'' creators free rein to work within the universe without specific restrictions, such as [[Literature/NewJediOrder Chewbacca being crushed by a moon]]; his canon counterpart ended up surviving past the end of ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', over a decade after his demise in the old canon. Creators hired by Lucasfilm would later integrate various characters and concepts from ''Legends'' into the new universe, but did so in such a way that the new material would better serve the ground rules set by Lucas himself (between his movies, ''The Clone Wars'', and various unmade projects of his like the ''Series/StarWarsUnderworld'' television series), and serve the "one big story" that the new batch of creators wanted to tell. (Incidentally, both ''Film/RogueOne'' and ''Film/{{Solo}}'', Disney's first two non-episodic films, were directly inspired by planned story arcs for ''Underworld''.)

Word of warning: ''Legends'' is ''[[ArchivePanic vast]]''. Therefore, please only add works that have their own pages on this wiki. The books listed are each part of their own series. They are heavily outnumbered by standalones and two-part series. A list of all ''Star Wars'' media is [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_all_Star_Wars_media here.]] Warning: [[ArchivePanic Huge]]. To give you an idea, pretty much [[AscendedExtra every background character seen in the films, even that alien guy just passing by the screen]], has not only a name and a species listed, but ''[[ExpansionPackPast a fully fleshed-]][[ResolvedNoodleIncident out biography]]''. Typically no more than that, but still. Oh, [[SerialEscalation and even the movie's]] ''background props'' have received their own stories. As of mid-2012, the list shows [[ArchivePanic 2,337 items]]. Thankfully, [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/The_Essential_Reader%27s_Companion a book has been published]] that ties everything published up to its release date into a neat timeline and has summaries of most of it. Conversely, the new Expanded Universe established by Disney is easier to catch up on... [[ItHasOnlyJustBegun for the time being]].

Quite a few entries have a questionable canon status, since the new continuity has been [[SchrodingersCanon porting in concepts and backstory pretty freely]] with BroadStrokes in mind. In the words of [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Ahsoka Tano]]... "There is always a bit of truth in legends."

* ''ComicBook/DarthMaulSonOfDathomir''[[note]]As the comic was released around the time of the ''Legends'' decanonization in 2014 and is based on unproduced ''The Clone Wars'' episodes (prior to the revised Season 7 that would be released under Disney), it holds the status of being both canon and ''Legends'' [[https://web.archive.org/web/20201014235005/https://twitter.com/missingwords/status/1076210778472996866 according to Lucasfilm Story Group member Matt Martin]].[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/BountyHunter''

** Creator/TimothyZahn, Creator/AaronAllston, and Creator/MichaelAStackpole coordinated fairly closely in their books and spent much of their time {{retcon}}ning what were generally considered the worse stories to make more sense. This culminated in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar]]'' breaking Wedge up with Qwi Xux from the ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'' and putting him back with Iella Wessiri, and ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' which spent much of its time taking potshots at nearly every preceding book not written by the PowerTrio.
** There was also two sets of ShipToShipCombat [[invoked]] over Luke Skywalker and his niece Jaina Solo. For a while it seemed every author wanted to pair up Luke with their female OC (Gaeriel Captison in ''Literature/TheTruceAtBakura'', Callista Ming in ''Literature/TheCallistaTrilogy'', and finally Akanah in ''Literature/BlackFleetCrisis''). Zahn got the last laugh in ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' when Luke asks Mara Jade to marry him, [[spoiler:but then ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'' [[StuffedIntoTheFridge stuffed her into the fridge]]]]. Creator/DarkHorseComics and the Creator/DelRey novel writers (particularly Creator/TroyDenning), meanwhile, fought over whether Jaina would end up with her childhood friend Zekk or with Jagged Fel (originally a Zahn character). Dark Horse won with the implication in ''ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'' that Jaina and Jag founded an imperial dynasty; a subsequent novel had the two marry.

* TheBadGuyWins: The Orinda Campaign, alluded to in ''Literature/BlackFleetCrisis'' and finally explained in ''The Essential Guide to Warfare''. The Imperials under Pellaeon actually managed to take some territory back from the New Republic, and kept hold of it until the war finally ended in a negotiated peace about five years later in ''Literature/HandOfThrawn''. Note that "Bad Guy" here = "Antagonist", since [[AntiVillain Pellaon's actually a pretty nice guy]].

* DisturbingStatistic: In ''Literature/TheBlackFleetCrisis'', Luke recalls how disturbed he was to learn that over a million people were on the Death Star when he destroyed it.

* PunchClockVillain: A recurring theme of the OT-era EU is that there are a hell of a lot more Imperials that believe [[LawfulEvil more in the Empire's Lawful side than its Evil side]], fighting the Rebels/New Republic out of professionalism and patriotism rather than hatred and often displaying disdain or resentment for more monstrous compatriots and leaders. These often pull a HeelFaceTurn, but there are exceptions, chief among them Captain, later Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, Grand Admiral Thrawn's flag captain in ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' who is eventually made supreme commander after Daala [[GeneralFailure takes one defeat too many]] in ''Literature/{{Darksaber}}'' and remains staunchly loyal to the Empire to the end. This despite him being the first on the Imperial side to sue for peace with the Republic in ''Literature/HandOfThrawn''.

** ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' features a power struggle between Pellaeon and a group of Imperial officers led by Moff Disra that seeks to derail his efforts to negotiate peace with the New Republic, nearly managing to start a civil war in the New Republic in the process.
** The Second Imperium from the ''Literature/YoungJediKnights'' was {{retcon}}ned to be one of these because the later ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology established that a peace treaty was brokered a few years earlier between the Republic and the mainstream Imperial Remnant under the leadership of the relatively nice mustachioed Admiral Gilad Pellaeon.

[[caption-width-right:350:''The legends of a galaxy far, far away'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''The legends of a Galaxy Far, Far Away'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''The legends of a Galaxy Far Far Away'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''1976-2014.'']]

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: In multiple ways. Weaker beings who turn to the Dark Side are often consumed by it and lose their minds, resulting in a loss of sanity. Sometimes those who can control the Dark Side become so powerful that the arrogance overcomes their reason. Then there is the Force Insanity trick which allows a Force user to make others insane. Finally, the loss of certain power can lead to insanity, such as when Jorak Uln was booted from the top position of the Korriban Academy. [[spoiler:Revan]] calls Jorak a madman when they converse.
** Also, Joruus C'baoth from the Thrawn Trilogy, though he was arguably more of a case of With Great Insanity Comes Great Power. A clone grown too quickly, he suffered from clone madness, which gave him no qualms about using the Dark Side to do whatever he damn well pleased (up to and including MindRape so thorough people were known to ''die'' when his presence in their mind was removed.)

* ThreadOfProphecySevered: A bunch of the early works in the continuity had the New Republic clashing with various dark side users, most famously the Emperor Reborn in ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire''. Then ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' came out with the prophecy of a ChosenOne who would "bring the Force back into balance"--meaning Anakin Skywalker destroying the Sith, which meant that other dark side-users emerging post-Endor made it appear the prophecy had failed. Eventually, the various writing teams settled on the idea that [[JustifiedTrope Anakin's role was actually more specific than the generically worded prophecy]] and [[ProphecyTwist the Jedi simply: rather than eliminate all Sith and darksiders forever, he was meant to end Literature/DarthBane's line of Sith specifically, due in large part to the harm being caused by the experiments of Literature/DarthPlagueis on the Force itself.