George Lucas’s traditional (ie conservative) multi-tiered system for what is and isn’t canon in Star Wars is to be completely junked in the run up to JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII.
According to the Twitter feed of Leland Chee, who maintains continuity for Lucasfilm, “Star Wars canon is now determined by the Lucasfilm Story Group which [Pablo Hidalgo] and I are both a part of.
“Story Group has a hand in all facets of Star Wars storytelling, including movies, TV, games, and publishing. More so than ever, the canon field will serve us internally simply for classification rather than setting hierarchy.
“[Disposing of the hierarchy and having one cohesive canon is] definitely a primary goal of the Story Group.”
Although Star Wars: Episode VII was previously distanced quite heavily from the Expanded Universe, and it still remains unlikely that it’s inspired by any one particular spin-off property – whether book, comic or TV show – this could mean that some links will be maintained.
Could we be looking at appearances from fan-favourite characters like Mara Jane, Kyle Katarn, Baron Fel and Jaina Solo after all? Is Darth Maul still at large as he was at the end of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5?
Star Wars: Episode VII is due in cinemas 18 December 2015. You can buy Star Wars: The Complete Saga for £57.99 on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
