Här finns en utförlig redogörelse för första generationen expanded universe som startade redan 1977. Det innebär bland annat att Marvels Wars-serier från 1977-1986 var en del av det dåvarande expanded universe. Kul men också en smula överraskande att den serien, som bitvis är rätt så flummig, faktiskt sågs som kanon.
För den som inte orkar klicka på länken kommer här några godbitar:
Star Wars Legends, formerly known as the
Expanded Universe (abbreviated
EU), encompasses every one of the licensed and background stories of the
Star Wars universe, outside of the original six
Star Wars films produced by
George Lucas and certain other material such as
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, created before
April 25,
2014. It is derived from and includes most official
Star Wars books,
comic books,
video games,
spin-off films,
television series,
toys, and other media created before that date. This material expands and continues the stories told in the films,
taking place anywhere from over 36,000 years before
The Phantom Menace to 136 years after
Return of the Jedi.
A turning point was reached when
West End Games began publishing the
Star Wars roleplaying game in
1987. In order for players of the
roleplaying game to create new adventures, West End Games needed to provide supplemental material describing the
Star Wars universe in previously unknown detail and to make it self-consistent and coherent. As an example, the
Aurebesh alphabet was originally a random piece of set dressing used in
Return of the Jedi.
Stephen Crane copied those symbols and turned them into a complete and workable alphabet which would later be used in the
prequel trilogy. Developing and extrapolating from details like this in a consistent fashion turned West End Games'
Star Wars products into a de facto reference library for other developers of the EU.
The Expanded Universe was intended to be a continuation, and an expansion, on the six
Star Wars theatrical films produced by George Lucas from 1977 to 2005. All EU material, combined with that presented in the films, was meant to function as a complete story. However, in order to allow this story to function as a whole, it was kept in an order of continuity. Lucasfilm held this of such high importance that a team's sole job at Lucasfilm was maintaining continuity between Lucas's films and the EU, which was created by many other authors and artists, many times out of order, and with many different ideas. Lucas, while supporting the works of the EU, nevertheless told the stories he wished to in his films, which sometimes contradicted material previously seen in the EU. When asked in an interview his general opinion on the EU, he replied:
"
I don't read that stuff. I haven't read any of the novels. I don't know anything about that world. That's a different world than my world. But I do try to keep it consistent. The way I do it now is they have a Star Wars Encyclopedia. So if I come up with a name or something else, I look it up and see if it has already been used. When I said [other people] could make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek, we would have two universes: My universe and then this other one. They try to make their universe as consistent with mine as possible, but obviously they get enthusiastic and want to go off in other directions." ―George Lucas, from an interview in
Starlog #337[src]
