Legends Characters We Need To See In Canon
Following Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars, the story group decided to rebrand the vast majority of the Star Wars Expanded Universe as Legends, thus rendering it non-canon going forward. This decision was met with a sizeable amount of criticism and dissatisfaction from the fan base and understandably so. But as the new canon grows, more and more of these fan favorites are returning in new stories. Sometimes they are identical to their Legends counterparts or they serve as inspiration for new characters. With that in mind, here are five unique characters from Legends that would make great additions to the canon.
Mara Jade
Assassin, acolyte, smuggler, and a master on the Jedi Council, Mara Jade had lived a complicated life. Initially raised by Palpatine to do his bidding, she was trained in combat, espionage, the Force, and even politics. Under his command she killed many high-ranking rebels as well as Imperial dissidents who threatened the emperor. All of that fell apart when the Emperor was killed. Despite her former master’s orders to kill his murderer, Mara chose instead to use her skills to become a smuggler. Eventually she would cross paths with her would-be target, Luke Skywalker, but after facing a common enemy in Grand Admiral Thrawn, she would go on to marry Luke and join his new Jedi Order.
The already established sequel trilogy would make it difficult for a direct adaptation of Mara Jade’s story, but a modified version is definitely an option. Events like Operation Cinder from the new Star Wars: Battlefront II established that Palpatine did have contingency plans in the event of his death. So it was not out of the question to assume he wouldd have more vengeful plans up his sleeve. While the time period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is receiving more and more supplementary material, there are still gaps in Luke’s story where Mara could make an appearance.
Soontir Fel
Imperial TIE pilots have short life expectancies, with few lasting no more than a handful of missions. Those that do are considered to be among the best pilots in the Imperial Navy. One of the best among them was Soontir Fel, whose skill in battle earned him the title of Baron of the Empire from the emperor himself. Fel served the empire with absolute devotion as the commander of the 181st fighter wing. This elite squadron flew in multiple missions culminating in the Battle of Endor. After the death of Palpatine, and the destruction of the Death Star II at Endor, the Empire fell into chaos. Fel would continue his service for a time, but he soon tired of the corruption the power vacuum had created. It was at that time that he would reach out to his brother-in-law Wedge Antilles and join the Rebel Alliance.
The story of a staunch Imperial defecting to the rebels was not a novel concept, even in the new canon. There was also no shortage of skilled pilots on both sides of the conflict. However, the antagonists were sorely lacking in skilled pilots who did not rely on the Force like Kylo Ren or Darth Vader. Admiral Thrawn and the Chiss Ascendancy had already made the transition to canon and were currently being expanded upon in canon by Timothy Zhan. Fel served under the Chiss’s command in the Unknown Regions in Legends, so adding him to the ongoing story would be a simple matter.
Borsk Fey’lya
Borsk Fey’lya was a high-ranking political figure in the Bothan government. This was the same alien species responsible for recovering the information pertaining to the Second Death Star, as mentioned in Return of the Jedi, a fact the Bothans, and Borsk especially, were keen on emphasizing to the rest of the galactic community. Like most of his race, Borsk was a very cunning individual who favored espionage and subterfuge as means to an end. He served with the Bothan Spynet and the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War and would go on to serve as a diplomat in the fledgling New Republic.
As a career politician and spymaster, Borsk’s motivations were always a point of contention. Luke Skywalker himself pointed out that while he stayed on the side of the New Republic, he was always looking out for himself in the end. Star Wars was no stranger to morally ambiguous politicians. The big bad of the whole franchise was one. But there seemed to be very few dubious politicians on the good side outside of a few exceptions in the Clone Wars. Borsk would fit nicely into this role and would serve to make the New Republic more morally grey. He could easily be adapted as a member of the New Republic council who ignored the threat of the First Order only to perish at the hands of Starkiller Base.
Tycho Celchu
The destruction of Alderaan in A New Hope showed audiences that the Empire was not to be trifled with. It was an unprecedented show of force that inspired fear throughout the galaxy, but it also had an unintended consequence to the Empire. The massive loss of innocent life shattered any illusion that the Empire was a benevolent force, causing many of its once loyal soldiers to defect. One such individual was Tycho Celchu. As an Alderaanian, the destruction of his homeworld was more than enough cause for him to abandon his post and join the side of the Rebel Alliance. Under their banner he fought in many battles, from Yavin well into the days of the New Republic.
Despite it being such a pivotal part of the Galactic Civil War, not many survivors of Alderaan were given major roles in the new canon. Princess Leia was the most famous by far. There was also a canon book, Lost Stars, that introduced an Imperial officer, Nash Windrider, who stays loyal to the Empire even after the destruction of his home planet. In that same vein, Tycho would be at home in any story involving Alderaan, but perhaps the best place to add him would be in the Princess Leia comic. In this storyline Leia teamed up with another survivor, Evaan Verlaine, to rescue other survivors from Alderaan. Tycho’s inclusion would be no-brainer.
HK-47
A product of the top-of-the-line Hunter Killer model 47 assassin droids, the aptly named HK-47 served his master Darth Revan during his reign as Dark Lord of the Sith. He was dispatched as a subtle means of eliminating any threats to his master’s reign, and he served his purpose well for a while. Unfortunately, he was damaged and captured not long before his master was imprisoned by the Jedi. From there he was traded around the galaxy, performing odd jobs for his new masters before finally ending up in a junk shop on Tatooine. It was there that he would reunite with his former master and went on to serve him once again.
Quirky droids were quickly becoming a new staple of the franchise. With the upcoming stories inspired by the Old Republic games, HK-47 would be a welcome edition. He would not be the first droid in canon with a casual outlook on murder, mind you. That honor went to Triple Zero from the Darth Vader comic. HK-47 would certainly add a unique perspective to any story the writers made him a part of. As a matter of fact, he may well be on his way to canon. His product line was introduced in The Mandalorian episode “The Jedi,” which had progressed all the way to the 87th model in the series.
Source: Wookieepedia