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What is your personal canon? — Page 6

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In chronological order:

  1. Both Knights of the Old Republic games (Hudson et al)
  2. Outbound Flight (Zahn)
  3. Clone Wars 3D animated series (Filoni et al)
  4. Clone Wars 2D animated series (Tartakovsky et al)
  5. Belatedmedia’s rewrites of the Prequel trilogy (Lucas, Barryte et al, with art by Jackie Whistler)
  6. Thrawn (Zahn)
  7. Rogue One (Edwards et al)
  8. Original Trilogy (Lucas, Kershner et al)
  9. Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command (Zahn)
  10. Most of Force Awakens (Abrams et al, some scenes replaced entirely by my imagination)

In optimal order of consumption (titles in brackets can be safely skipped; if two or more are surrounded by the same type of brackets, skipping one means that the other should be skipped as well)

  1. A New Hope
  2. The Empire Strikes Back
  3. Rogue One
  4. The Return of the Jedi
  5. ( Belatedmedia’s prequel rewrite )
  6. ( The Clone Wars, both series, 3D first, and then 2D immediately afterward )
  7. [ Heir to the Empire trilogy ]
  8. [ Thrawn ]
  9. [ Outbound Flight ]
  10. { The Force Awakens }
  11. (KOTOR 1 and 2)
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I don’t have a personal canon anymore. If I like a story, I like it and evaluate it by its individual merits. I no longer care how it all fits together or even if it fits together.

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here goes nothing

  1. Cloak of Deception - version 5 of Hal9000’s edit.
  2. The Approaching Storm - version 5 of Hal9000’s edit.
    2,5. Clone Wars - Tartakovsky’s 2003 ~> 2005 series.
  3. Revenge of the Sith? Labyrinth of Evil? - haven’t found a preferred version yet, and my current pc can barely open the Spotify app without crashing, so i can’t edit anything right now. Hal makes some very good cuts, but changes the plot around in a way that doesn’t please me. plus he cuts way too much stuff to me. Dom’s cut is pretty good, as is NFBisms, but too many options means a more confused Collipso. i’ll eventually have to edit this one myself.
  4. Rogue One - theatrical.
  5. Star Wars - 4K77. (waiting for ANH:R HD!)
  6. The Empire Strikes Back - Revisited.
  7. Return of the Jedi - version 2 of Remastered, by darthrush.
  8. The Force Awakens - The Dark Cut, by darthrush.
  9. The Last Jedi - The Dark Cut, by darthrush.
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I’d completely forgotten this thread, and my old head-canon list (which seems really weird to me now).

I don’t bother with head-canons anymore, and simply acknowledge whatever the official canon is/was. And if I don’t like a story I just ignore it.

Star Wars is Surrealism, not Science Fiction (essay)
Original Trilogy Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Amazon link to my novel; Dawn of the Karabu.

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One nice nerdy way to view SW canon is to follow the creator’s/creators’ intentions. For example, since Lucas himself has ruled the unaltered OT ‘non-canon’, it’s fair to say that these stories (and their accompanying optional EU) constitute one canon. The prequel outline as discussed by Lucas and Kasdan circa '81 marks the accompanying backstory to that particular canon, including the notion that Leia’s mother died when the twins were toddlers.

The SEs are designed to fit with the PT, so that’s another canon right there (again with optional corresponding EU). Here we get Midichlorians, the Chosen One prophecy, a younger Anakin, Kiwi Boba, and so forth.

With the ST it gets tricky, given that despite Disney’s canon declarations it is clear that JJ Abrams favours the unaltered OT (Han shot first according to JJ) while Rian Johnson seems keen to mention Darth Sidious out loud. At this point canon becomes somewhat a la carte. Clearly the old EU no longer applies though.

For me, during my crankier moments, my canon consists of Star Wars and Empire (unaltered) with Revenge of the Jedi still yet to be made…

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The way I see it; a story (movie, book, etc.) can only be judged by what came before it. Therefore I don’t think ANH can be judged in relation to ROTS, but ROTS is definetely informed by ANH and the OT. F.ex; a comic story set during ANH published after the PT is obviously affected by both the OT, the PT, and the EU so far.

I guess movies (especially the OT) exist in two (technically three) continuities;
Simply as a film only affected by any previous films (if any),
or as it exists retroactively as a part of the larger EU(s).

Star Wars is Surrealism, not Science Fiction (essay)
Original Trilogy Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Amazon link to my novel; Dawn of the Karabu.

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DuracellEnergizer said:

I don’t have a personal canon anymore. If I like a story, I like it and evaluate it by its individual merits. I no longer care how it all fits together or even if it fits together.

I’d just like to emphasize that by abandoning personal canon, I haven’t gone and accepted official canon, not even passively. I still defy and reject it.

I suppose you could call my philosophy anarco-canonism, canonical nihilism, or simply acanonism.

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  • KOTOR
  • KOTOR II
  • Darth Plagueis
  • Cloak of Deception (HAL)
  • Approaching Storm (HAL)
  • Smudger9’s Clone Wars Saga
  • Labyrinth of Evil (novel)
  • Revenge of the Sith (Matthew Stover novel)
  • Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader
  • Solo
  • Rebels (Certain episodes are ignored)
  • Rogue One
  • A New Hope (Unaltered)
  • Empire Strikes Back (Unaltered)
  • Shadows of the Empire (N64)
  • Return of the Jedi (Unaltered)
  • Thrawn Trilogy (except Leia is carrying Ben Solo instead of Jacen and Jaina)
  • Force Awakens: Restructured
  • Last Jedi: Legendary
  • Episode IX
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Since I posted my movie rankings, might as well post my canon too.

-The EU origin story for the Old Republic
-Darth Plagueis
-Attack of the Clones
-2003 Clone Wars
-Revenge of the Sith
-Star Wars
-Empire Strikes Back
-Return of the Jedi

That’s about it. Not much, but I haven’t read/seen that much. Not really sure whether EU or new canon is better for the stuff after ROTJ.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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octoroxx’s fan-edits for Episodes 1 and 2 (you can find them on fanedit.org), then episode 3, Rogue One, the original trilogy (original, not special edition), and Force Awakens completely intact, and Ivan Ortega’s Last Jedi fan-edit (it hasn’t come out yet but from what I’ve heard it’s going to be amazing)

My Star Wars Fan-Edits

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At the moment:

  1. Episode I: Cloak of Deception (Hal edit)
  2. Episode II: The Approaching Storm (Hal edit)
  3. Clone Wars 2003: Vol. 1 & first ~10m of Vol. 2
  4. The Clone Wars 2008 (selected episodes)
  5. Episode III: Labyrinth of Evil (Hal edit)
  6. Solo
  7. Rebels
  8. Rogue One
  9. Episode IV: A New Hope (4K77)
  10. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Revisited or Hal’s edit depending on mood)
  11. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (4K83)
  12. Episode VII: The Force Awakens (Hal Restructured edit)
  13. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (poppasketti Rekindled edit)

Haven’t been able to sit through the first episode of Resistance yet so dunno if it’s canon to me or not. And don’t feel like going through all the books, comics, etc. right now.

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Solo - A Star Wars Story
Star Wars (1977)
Dark Forces (PC game)
X-Wing (PC game)
Tie-Fighter (PC game)
The Empire strikes back (1980)
Shadows of the Empire (Novel & PC/N64 game)
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (PC)
The Force Awakens

Rogue One is redundant. Just play the first mission of DARK FORCES.
The hallmark of a corrupt leader: Being surrounded by yes men.
‘The best visual effects in the world will not compensate for a story told badly.’ - V.E.S.
‘Star Wars is a buffet, enjoy the stuff you want, and leave the rest.’ - SilverWook

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  1. Solo
  2. Rogue One
  3. Star Wars (4K77 Edition)
  4. The Empire Strikes Back (Grindhouse Edition)
  5. Return of the Jedi (4K80 Edition) The Saga ENDS here rather nicely.

For Star Wars & Empire I also consider the NPR radio dramas as ‘extended canon’.

I also have a soft spot for the 70s & 80s Marvel comics and the newspaper strips = Zero canon but fun all the same!

Everything else I consider poorly told tales by ‘3PO 😉

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Knights of the Old Republic games
Cloak of Deception novel
Star Wars Episodes 1 - 6 (theatrical versions)
Rogue One
Clone Wars animated series
Rebels animated series
Marvel’s Darth Vader comics
The Mandalorian

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1.Tales of the Jedi (comic series)
2.Knights of the Old Republic (video game)
3.Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (video game)
4.The Phantom Menace (reluctantly)
5.Attack of the Clones (VERY reluctantly)
6.Revenge of the Sith (reluctantly)
7.The Droids Cartoon (silly and nonsensical, but I’m nostalgic for it)
8.Solo: A Star Wars Story (film)
9.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (film)
10.STAR WARS (despecialized edition)
11.The Holiday Special (cartoon segment only)
12.The Empire Strikes Back (despecialized edition)
13.Return of the Jedi (despecialized edition)
14.The Force Awakens (film)
15.The Fallen Knight (fan edit of The Last Jedi)
16.Episode IX (hopefully…)

I’ve tried watching the Ewoks show, both Clone Wars shows, and the Rebels show… None of it is for me, and I don’t think the Resistance show is for me either, judging by the trailers of it that I’ve seen.

Also tried getting into other comic runs outside of TotJ… Haven’t found anything that has really tickled my fancy as of yet. Dawn of the Jedi was a cool concept, but the execution was just plain weird imo.

Never played any of the games besides the KotOR ones.

Never read any of the books in either the old EU (aka Legends) or the new EU, but I’m planning to start digging into both groups soon (I’ve become more of a reader recently, and now want to mix my love of Star Wars into my new reading hobby).

http://henrynsilva.blogspot.com/2023/10/full-circle-order-new-way-to-watch-star.html?m=1

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I’d recommend checking out smudger9’s movie edits of The Clone Wars series if the itch to give the series another shot ever strikes.

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  1. L8wrtr’s Shadow of the sith
  2. L8wrtr’s The Republic Divided
  3. Clone Wars 2008 Series Smudger9
  4. L8wrtr’s Dawn of the Empire
    Rebels Series
  5. Rogue One
  6. ANH Revisited
  7. ESB Revisited
  8. ROTJ Despecialized
  9. HAL9000’s TFA Restructured V3
  10. HAL9000’s TLJ Legendary V2

Excluded Solo on purpose but it’s growing on me.

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  • Tales of the Jedi
  • Star Wars
  • Original Marvel Star Wars (issues 1-38)
  • Any of the Archie Goodwin & Al Williamson comic strips which don’t include/mention elements from TESB+
  • Splinter of the Mind’s Eye

Yep, I’m pretty much a SW '77 purist now.

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TESB is beautiful, but without ROTJ, it’s an incomplete story with no resolution.

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For me:

10,000s of Jedi battle 10,000s of Sith. The Republic is born out of the war and one of its few survivors; Master Yoda, decides to maintain a small knighthood, as he learnt too many Jedi Knights turned to the dark side and the slaughter wasn’t worth the amount of death.
2.
Obi-Wan Kenobi discovers corruption in the Republic and is forced into hiding.
3.
Two senators seek Obi-Wan Kenobi in the hope he can help save the Republic from the corruption, and in doing re-discovers the existence of the Sith and a promising new apprentice.
4.
The Galactic Empire rises.
5.
The Republic falls.
6.
A rebellion is born and manages to steal the death star plans.
7.Despite the odds, the Rebellion destroys the empire.
8. A criminal Militia rises
9.The militia fails and a new republic is born

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DuracellEnergizer said:

  • Tales of the Jedi
  • Star Wars
  • Original Marvel Star Wars (issues 1-38)
  • Any of the Archie Goodwin & Al Williamson comic strips which don’t include/mention elements from TESB+
  • Splinter of the Mind’s Eye

Yep, I’m pretty much a SW '77 purist now.

This is pretty awesome. In your SW universe Vader and Luke’s dad are separate guys (and Obi Wan is by extension a truthful guy), Luke can still be attracted to Leia without the cringe element, and Jabba is the weird yellow guy who Han and Chewie rescued from the stone-mites on Orleon!

I can’t give up TESB (it’s my favourite film of all time alongside Conan '82) but I have total respect for your canon.