Top 7 Things From Legends That Are Now Canon
Following the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm, all Star Wars content not originally created by George Lucas was deemed "Legends", freeing Lucasfilm to create a whole new universe of characters and stories set in the Star Wars galaxy. As time has passed, however, many characters and situations that were introduced in Legends content have started finding their way back into official canon, usually with some alterations made to fit them into the new story canon. Here are the top seven things from Legends that have made such a journey.
1. Grand Admiral Thrawn
1991's Heir to the Empire introduced the iconic character of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a surviving Imperial Grand Admiral, who sought to defeat the recently instituted New Republic, following the Empire's downfall in Return of the Jedi. Thrawn was particularly iconic because of his sharp mind and brilliant battle tactics that nearly brought the New Republic to its knees, before his untimely death. Thrawn became such a beloved Legends character that it was decided to re-introduce him into Canon in Star Wars Rebels, which was set before A New Hope. Although some of his backstory and the setting into which he was placed has changed, he has mostly remained the same character. In the penultimate episode of Star Wars Rebels, he, along with one of the Rebel protagonists, Ezra Bridger, were swept off to an unknown location in space. His exact fate is unknown, however, the new Ashoka series, which is to be set during the Mandalorian timeframe, may answer that question.
RELATED: 'Star Wars' Is Bringing Back This Huge Legends Character
2. Palpatine's Resurrection
Legends' Dark Empire comic and radio drama series featured the return of the sinister Emperor Palpatine as a force-sensitive clone bent on revenge against the New Republic. Although feelings about the series were mixed, J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio felt that the idea carried enough weight (plus Ian McDiarmid just plays him so well) that they decided to bring Emperor Palpatine's return back into canon in The Rise of Skywalker to serve as the main antagonist. Although how he returned is left vague, it is heavily implied that he also returned via advanced cloning techniques and that he has, in fact, been manipulating Ben Solo/Kylo Ren, and other galactic events throughout the sequel trilogy. In both continuities, the heroes succeeded in finally vanquishing him (for good, we hope).
3. Hoojibs
This is a deeper cut than most but one of my person favorites. The telepathic rodent creatures, Hoojibs, were first introduced in a children's Star Wars read-along adventure entitled Planet of the Hoojibs. They are native inhabitants of a planet, Arbra, that the Rebels consider using as a base. The Rebels help the Hoojibs defeat a creature that is threatening them. One of the Hoojibs, Plif, continued to aid the Rebellion and even became a Senator in the New Republic. They were recently re-introduced into canon in a recent comic story, The Hoojib Menace.
4. Durge
Durge was a formidable alien mercenary/bounty hunter, first introduced as part of the Clone Wars multimedia project, which preceded the release of Revenge of the Sith. He appeared in the Clone Wars microseries as a brutal and savage opponent of the Republic, and battled Obi-Wan Kenobi in the series. He was not revived for The Clone Wars (2008) series and a new character, Cad Bane, was created instead. He was, however. recently introduced into canon in the Doctor Aphra comics.
5. Boba Fett's Survival
In Legends, Boba Fett is re-introduced during the Dark Empire series as having been able to escape from his presumed death in the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi. He goes on to be featured in several comic and book series well into the later years of the post-Return of the Jedi era, opposing the Vong invasion and eventually becoming a well-respected leader of Mandalore. He even helped train Jaina Solo, Han's daughter, to take down her twin brother and Sith Lord Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus. Proving that you just can't keep a good bounty hunter down, Boba Fett made his triumphant return, officially, in season two of The Mandalorian, which saw him re-emerge to reclaim his Mandalorian armor and help the titular character rescue his force-sensitive youngling charge, Grogu, from an Imperial Moff. He and another bounty hunter, Fennec Shand, later returned to Tatooine to claim the late Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire, thus setting up his own D+ series, The Book of Boba Fett, slated to air on December 29, 2021.
6. Asajj Ventress
Ventress was first introduced as an assassin seeking to become a Sith in the Clone Wars microseries, which premiered in advance of Revenge of the Sith. She attempted to lure Anakin into an ambush on Yavin 4, hoping that his death at her hands would help her become a Sith, however Anakin defeated her in battle. She was brought over to Canon in The Clone Wars animated series (2008) and was a major adversary for the Jedi, with a particular fascination with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Her final (official) fate was revealed in a novel, Dark Disciple, which was based on unfinished scripts for The Clone Wars.
7. Prince Xixor
Xixor was first introduced in the Legends multimedia project Shadows of the Empire as an alien crime lord who sought to curry favor with Emperor Palpatine and displace Darth Vader as his right-hand by finding and killing Luke Skywalker. The story was set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as the Rebels worked on finding and freeing Han and securing the plans to the second Death Star. Vader ultimately prevails in the power struggle with Xixor and eliminates him by the end of the story. He is being reintroduced in the current Crimson Reign comic series.
READ NEXT: Everything You Missed From ‘No Way Home’ [SPOILERS AHEAD]
Source(s): Wookiepedia
Written by Mara Butler
Syndicated from Culture Slate