As most card-carrying, internet-savvy Star Wars geeks know, Lucasfilm and Disney recently released a statement on the canonicity of the many books, comics, and video games that have made up what was called the Expanded Universe (EU). That statement, shorn of any elegant trappings, was basically if it wasn’t on screen during the six movies or The Clone Wars, it doesn’t count.
That decision has caused some angst around those that were significantly invested in the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and the rest of the gang, but logically it makes sense. It is too difficult for Disney to try to navigate a timeline that few have seen when they’ll have their own stories to tell. Best to erase the blackboard and start anew.
And while there’s a significant portion of the Expanded Universe that won’t be missed (Planet of Twilight, anyone?), there are characters that starred in the pages of the EU that are going to be missed by those that have followed their stories. Numerous characters have either been created from whole cloth or had their backstories more fully fleshed out in these now non-canon works.
In my day internet job (not to be confused with my real job), six is a serious number. So let’s take a look at six figures that no longer exist after this stroke of Disney’s pen. Any character that showed up on screen isn’t eligible for this list, even if their history is likely to significantly change. (Looking at you, Wedge Antillies.) This even includes Darth Bane, since he made an appearance in the Yoda arc of the last season of The Clone Wars. No particular order to these and they are limited to the books, as I’ve no significant experience in the other mediums. If you feel a grievous error has been made, that’s what the comments are for! (All images from Wookiepedia.)
Over the course of this week we will be profiling characters we will be missing from the EU, and we encourage you to let us know if you’ll miss those characters as well and which characters you personally are sad to see fade from the cannon.