How ‘Star Wars’ Storytelling Has Changed From Legends To Now
As an avid Star Wars fan and reader, Star Wars books and comic books were always my go-to, besides the movies. It was a marriage of two of my greatest passions, and I ate them up. It started one fateful day on a trip to a department store (which no longer exists) when I first witnessed the paperback edition of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire. That was soon followed by the Dark Empire comic book series. Three decades and hundreds of Star Wars books and comics later, I look back at how Star Wars storytelling has changed from legends to now. Buckle up, baby!
The 90s were an interesting time for Star Wars fiction. It seemed like 3-4 novels, and dozens of comics were published every year. It was hard to keep up as there was no internet to read about future projects. No, we had these things called physical magazines, and we actually had to go to comic books shops and talk to people. It was bananas! Back then, the Star Wars Insider was the go-to for Star Wars news, especially on upcoming books and comics.
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Despite my love for Star Wars and reading, I knew that most of them weren’t great books. In fact, most of them relied on the Star Wars logo to help sales. That’s fine, they were fun to read, and it was a time when any new Star Wars content was a gift because new movies were only a rumor. At the time, the special editions were on the horizon, and the prequels seemed like millions of years away. So, for the time being, I relied on the new stories, all of which seemed to revolve around Han and Leia’s kids getting kidnapped by the next new bad guy. It also felt like they fell between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back or soon after Return of the Jedi. It got difficult to keep track of where things fell, and I wondered how they had so many adventures in three years? The Star Wars timeline got muddled very fast. And I finally believe I know why.
Before Disney, the Star Wars timeline was jammed with hundreds of singular stories, fit together after the fact. Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm and the old stories got re-branded as Legends, the new canon has felt much more cohesive for the most part. Not perfect by any means, but it’s been better. I think of it this way; Star Wars is a story—you can either enjoy the show or get up and leave. Picture Aesop, orally telling a story while people gather around; those that have heard enough walk away. Or you can stay and listen to what happens next.
Before the days of the story group, there was no one to oversee stories to make sure everything fit, and the characters acted appropriately. The focus was on the big three because that’s what people wanted, it was safe, and it sold. The 90s were filled with trilogies like The Jedi Academy trilogy, the Thrawn trilogy, the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, the Han Solo trilogy, the Corellian trilogy, and the Bounty Hunter trilogy. Not to mention the X-Wing series, the New Jedi Order series, and all of the other books Thrawn appeared in.
My point is, I’ve been revisiting the Star Wars Adventure Journals, which were a series of roleplaying books published by West End Games that also featured 4-5 short stories, and each story felt so singular. I understand they were short stories, but the trilogies felt the same way. Each trilogy, book series, or comic book series felt like its own stand-alone story connected to the overall saga by mere mentions. Whereas now, each story ripples through out the rest of the timeline, back then it seemed like each story happened in a vacuum. I’m not saying it was terrible, but it was different, and let’s say I’m happier with how things are going now, especially within the last couple of years. This is why I loved the New Jedi Order series so much. Despite the 19 books that got super bizarre at times, they each pulled from previous books like no other Star Wars story ever had.
Reading some of the old stories made me miss the 90s Star Wars. It was a much simpler time because there was no internet, and you could enjoy things at your own pace without fear of missing out (FOMO). It’s also fun when a Legends character returns to the new canon; it’s like seeing an old friend for the first time since high school graduation. This is why shows like Star Wars: Visions are so important.
As much as I love it when story threads connect, I also appreciate it when good stories are told without the restrictions of the canon. It’s good to have a balance. Just because Aesop is telling one story, that doesn’t mean there isn’t another story happening somewhere else by another unreliable storyteller. I recommend those who have only read the new canon to read stuff that came before 2014. I can’t guarantee it will be good, but it will sure as heck be fun and probably a little weird. And who knows, maybe you’ll see a familiar face or two.
Note: This article is purely opinion based on the authors personal experiences
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Written by Eric Onkenhout
Syndicated from Culture Slate