Media attitudes about the EU are improving

The conversation about the EU is changing in the pop culture press. And we couldn't be more excited. 5 years ago, most journalists uncritically repeated Lucasfilm talking points about whey the EU supposedly needed to go. But 5 years later, they're missing the EU, and telling Lucasfilm that they should bring back Legends alongside the new Disney canon.

IGN published a wonderful article last week that sounds like it could have come from the TheExpandedUniverse.com Kudos to them for helping the EU fandom spread this message throughout the industry.

Sometime highlights below (emphasis added):

"On the surface, there's nothing especially newsworthy about Marvel Comics' latest Star Wars project. This week Marvel announced Star Wars #108, a continuation of the original Star Wars comic that ran from 1977 to 1986. The scope of this project is small. It's just a single, standalone story aimed at tapping into nostalgia for a bygone era of the Star Wars franchise. But in truth, this lone issue is actually one of the most significant projects Marvel has announced since reacquiring the Star Wars license in 2015. It's the first sign that Lucasfilm and Disney are willing to return to the dormant "Legends" universe, and that should get fans plenty excited."

"It's understandable why so many older Star Wars fans feel hurt by the quick, quiet death of the EU. For many fans, the EU was a fundamental part of their Star Wars experience growing up, just as the new movies are defining Star Wars for a younger generation. Why can't the two Star Wars universes find a way to coexist and thrive together? If audiences can handle so many simultaneous incarnations of the Marvel and DC Universes, what's the problem in maintaining two Star Wars timelines? Star Trek has been managing it just fine since 2009."

"There's also a huge chance here for Disney and Lucasfilm to provide closure on those many Expanded Universe stories that were never properly concluded. Since The Force Unleashed III will likely never happen in video game form, Marvel could finally wrap up that unfinished story as a comic. Disney Publishing Worldwide and Random House could finally release the Sword of the Jedi trilogy, novels that would have continued where the Fate of the Jedi series left off. And with Lucasfilm currently so reluctant to tell stories about the pre-Episode I Star Wars timeline, that's all the more reason to revive the Expanded Universe and properties like Knights of the Old Republic."

"But there's absolutely no reason why the Legends universe can't co-exist alongside its replacement, even if only in a limited form. Reviving the EU simply gives fans more options and allows Disney to cater the franchise to an wider audience. That seems like the best way to achieve balance, and isn't that what Star Wars is all about?"

You can read the whole article here.

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