TheStar Warsuniverse is split between two distinct continuities: canon and Legends (previously known as Expanded Universe). This divide happened afterDisney purchasedStar Warsfrom George Lucas, acquiring Lucasfilm. EveryStar Warsstory from the novels, video games, and comic books was relegated to Legends, allowing for new stories to take their place in the new canon.
The novels, video games, and comic books that came out after the acquisition effectively rewrote the old stories inStar Warscanon, meaning everything from the original Expanded Universe was replaced by something else. Entire family trees were wiped out, whole miniseries were erased, and some details of canon events were changed. Here are10 of the most significant changes inStar Wars' Disney era!
10Order 66
The version of Order 66 thatStar Warsfans are probably most familiar with is the canon version of events, which details how the Clone Troopers had inhibitor chips implanted in their brains, forcing them to kill the Jedi without question or hesitation when Palpatine executed Order 66. While this perfectly explained how the Clones could so easily turn on the Jedi, it was a significant change from Legends.
Order 66 happened inStar Wars: Episode III, and the film didn’t include the ‘inhibitor chip’ plot point. So, Legends revealed that the Clones were simply following orders; there was no inhibitor chip that forced their hand. Some Clones were remorseful, even a bit reluctant, but they all did as they were told, which is a much more grim version of events.
9Emperor Palpatine’s Resurrection
Emperor Palpatine famously died at the end ofStar Wars: Episode VI, but that didn’t stop him from making a comeback in both canon and Legends. The canon version of that story happened inStar Wars: Episode IX, where it was revealed that Palpatine transferred his essence into an unstable clone body, buying his time before he could possess a living host and truly make his return.
The Rise of Skywalkerwas heavily influenced by the Legends storylineDark Empire, in which Palpatine’s spirit inhabited unstable clones of himself as a young man while searching for a living host to inhabit. While they sound similar, the main difference between them has to do with Luke Skywalker and the original crew being the lead characters in Legends and their absence in canon.
Dark Empirewasn’t just about Palpatine’s return. It also detailed Luke Skywalker’s brief corruption to the dark side, Leia Organa’s transition into a Jedi Knight, and the true threat Palpatine’s mere spirit posed to the galaxy.The Rise of Skywalkerbrushed over the story elements that madeDark Empiresuch a great story, while also excluding the original crew.
8Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Story
The canon version of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s story is told across a few different mediums. The canonThrawn Trilogy(both the novels and comics) details his origin with the Empire, thenStar Wars: Rebelsreveals why Thrawn wasn’t around during the events of the Original Trilogy, and Ahsoka shows Thrawn’s return to theStar Warsgalaxy post-Episode VI.
Thrawn has become key toStar Wars' future in the canon continuity, which differs from Thrawn’s original Legends story. In the Expanded Universe, Thrawn made his debut inHeir to the Empire, where it was revealed that he had been in the Unknown Regions during the events of the Original Trilogy, only returning to the civilized portion of the galaxy after Palpatine’s demise.
Thrawn was killed at the end of his original Legends trilogy after failing to secure the galaxy for his new Empire post Palpatine’s rule, and his backstory was chalked up to ‘he was somewhere else’ during the OT rather than offering fans a more in-depth explanation like the one in canon.
7Han Solo and Leia Organa’s Children
InStar Warscanon, Han Solo and Leia Organa only have one child: Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren. Ben Solo was born with a strong connection to the Force, so as a child, he studied under his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, as one of Luke’s students within the New Jedi Order. However, Ben was seduced by Snoke (secretly Palpatine) and became the dark sider, Kylo Ren.
In Legends, however, Han and Leia have three children: Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin. Their children are featured throughout decades' worth of in-worldStar Warsstories, and their individual development differs greatly. Anakin dies fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, Jacen falls to the dark side and becomes the Sith Lord Darth Caedus, and Jaina becomes a powerful Jedi andStar Wars' new main protagonist.
While Ben Solo’s story more or less follows that of Jacen Solo, it can’t be ignored thatStar Warscanon erased most of the Solo family tree, which eliminated countless stories that were told inStar WarsLegends.
6Mara Jade
In Legends, Mara Jade was originally an agent of the Empire known as the Emperor’s Hand. For all intents and purposes, Mara Jade was a Sith Assassin who answered only to Palpatine himself. His final order to her was to kill Luke Skywalker, but rather than killing him, Mara Jade fell in love. Jade married Skywalker and even trained with him to become a Jedi herself.
InStar Warscanon, however, Mara Jade doesn’t even exist, and it’s all too likely that she won’t be introduced. The sequel trilogy makes no mention of Luke Skywalker having a wife, and given his state, it’s unlikely that he did. Now that Luke is dead inStar Warscanon, the possibility of him meeting and falling in love with Mara Jade has all but been eliminated.
5Cade Skywalker
Cade Skywalker is the descendant of Luke Skywalker, who lived roughly a century after the events of the Original Trilogy. Cade’s story is told in Legends’Star Wars Legacy, which details his life as a Jedi-turned-bounty hunter who is the galaxy’s only hope of defeating the One Sith and their leader, Darth Krayt.Star Wars Legacyis one of the coolest Legends stories, but it will never appear in canon.
Since Mara Jade was eliminated fromStar Warscanon, she and Luke never had their son, Ben Skywalker, meaning, by extension, Ben couldn’t continue the family line, which would have eventually given life to Cade Skywalker of theStar Wars Legacyera. That meansStar Wars Legacycan’t exist in canon, which is an entire era simply erased.
4New Jedi Order
Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order was the foundation on which post-Episode VILegends stories were built. The New Jedi Order represented the future ofStar Wars.It paved the way for characters like the Solo children, Ben Skywalker, and even eventually Cade Skywalker (as he was originally a part of the New Jedi Order long after Luke’s death).
InStar Warscanon, however, Luke’s New Jedi Order was over before it even began. The movies skipped fromEpisode VIbefore the New Jedi Order was founded, toEpisode VIIafter Snoke and Kylo Ren had dismantled it. While Rey Skywalker will presumably take Luke’s place as the new founder of the lasting New Jedi Order, that is still a significant change from Legends.
3Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashedis a video game/comic series that was released before Disney acquired Lucasfilm, meaning it was relegated to Legends, thereby erasing from canon the game’s lead character: Starkiller. Starkiller was Darth Vader’s secret apprentice who went on missions to kill surviving Jedi on his master’s behalf before eventually joining (and basically founding) the Rebellion.
While elements of Starkiller’s story were adapted into canon, including the Inquisitors taking Starkiller’s place as Sith Jedi-killers working for Vader, the character himself was taken out ofStar Warscanon, which is clearly a major change fromStar WarsLegends continuity.
2Boba Fett and the Mandalorians
Star Warsfans know that Boba Fett isn’t a Mandalorian in the classic sense, as he is a clone of his father, Jango Fett, and never even attempted to join Mandalorian culture. Boba Fett merely wears the Mandalorian armor his father left to him and uses it to be a bounty hunter. His ties to true Mandalorians are loose at best, and he didn’t care about them for the majority of his life in canon.
InStar WarsLegends, however, Boba Fett was originally the leader of the Mandalorian people, who all wore armor that looked identical to Boba Fett’s in both style and color scheme. While Boba Fett abandoned his people to be a bounty hunter once the Empire rose to power, the fact that he was ever a Mandalorian at all (let alone their leader) is vastly different from his canon story.
1Marvel’s Star Wars Vol. 1
While Marvel Comics is the current publisher ofStar Warscomics under Disney’s umbrella, thereby making the new comics canon, that wasn’t always the case. LikeStar Wars, Marvel wasn’t always owned by Disney. In the early ’80s, pre-Disney Marvel andStar Warscame together for the originalStar Warscomic line, which is the oldest Legends content.
During those early days ofStar Warscomics, the franchise went in some pretty bizarre directions. A green anthropomorphic rabbit named Jaxxon joined the original crew. Acrazy old man who thought he was a Jedi acted as an unexpected reference to Don Quixote.Darth Vader hired an actor to play Obi-Wan Kenobi to get Luke. It was a weird time inStar WarsLegends, and canon got rid of it entirely.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
