What is your personal canon? — Page 10

I still don’t have a personal canon. But if I did, it would include everything released 1976-1998, starting with the publication of the SW novelization, ending with the Hand of Thrawn duology. No prequels, no Yuuzhan Vong, no Darth Caedus or Krayt, and no Disney. Only Star Wars at its most organic and varied (though no less commercialized or messy).

I’ll try to give a more proper answer to this. This list can still change if I read/play more EU stories. Also, there are some stories I enjoy (like SWTOR and Rogue One) but that won’t be in this list for various reasons.

KOTOR
KOTOR II
Darth Plagueis
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
Labyrinth of Evil
Revenge of the Sith
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
A Hunter’s Fate: Greedo’s Tale
We Don’t Do Weddings: The Band’s Tale
Hammertong: The Tale of the “Tonnika Sisters”
Play It Again, Figrin D’an: The Tale of Muftak and Kabe
The Sand Tender: The Hammerhead’s Tale
Empire Blues: The Devaronian’s Tale
Swap Meet: The Jawa’s Tale
Trade Wins: The Ranat’s Tale
Drawing the Maps of Peace: The Moisture Farmer’s Tale
A Boy and His Monster: The Rancor Keeper’s Tale
Let Us Prey: The Whiphid’s Tale
Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade
And Then There Were Some: The Gamorrean Guard’s Tale
Goatgrass: The Tale of Ree-Yees
And the Band Played On: The Band’s Tale
Of the Day’s Annoyances: Bib Fortuna’s Tale
The Great God Quay: The Tale of Barada and the Weequays
A Free Quarren in the Palace: Tessek’s Tale
Tongue-tied: Bubo’s Tale
A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett
Skin Deep: The Fat Dancer’s Tale
Payback: The Tale of Dengar
Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM
A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
Shadows of the Empire
Return of the Jedi
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future
The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett

Omni said:

Isn’t Last One Standing at odds with AOTC? Regardless, solid list.

Shoot, I forgot about that.

Jaster Mereel killed that snot-nosed clone brat and stole his identity.

It’s been a while since I have published my personal Canon list with my old account, and my personal Canon has changed since then. Right now, my Canon consists of three different timelines:

• First timeline: This timeline contains the Original Trilogy, the Prequel Trilogy, and everything published in the old Expanded Universe from 1991 to 2014, minus the post-NJO novels, Dark Empire, Crimson Empire, The Force Unleashed II, the 2008 Clone Wars TV show, and every comic and novel that was related to the show. Basically, this timeline is the one I have published with my old account here.
• Second timeline: It’s very similar to the first timeline. However, Knights of the Old Republic II, The Old Republic and its tie-in novels are eliminated, which allows Revan and Bastila to have a happily ever after, and also allows the Republic to maintain a long period of peace and prosperity until the beginning of the New Sith Wars.
• Third timeline: It’s very similar to the first timeline. The Force Unleashed II and the post-NJO novels still don’t exist, but the Jedi misinterpreted the Chosen One Prophecy, which means that the Sith return after Anakin’s death, and Dark Empire, Crimson Empire and the Legacy comics happen.

I would also like to create a fourth timeline with the pre-1999 Expanded Universe and a rewritten version of the Prequels. But the truth is, I’m too attached to the Prequels, so I could never replace them entirely.

My personal canon are:

• OOT
• Classic LucasArts games that aren’t based on the PT up to Jedi Academy (so X-Wing series, Dark Forces series, KOTOR I-II, Rebel Assault I-II etc.)
• Al Williamson’s classic comics (B&W + Marvel)
• and as an epilogue but more of an addon than actual canon maybe, the Thrawn trilogy

Probably forgot something but basically most good stuff surrounding the OT without any PT or Disney tarnishing.

Well, it’s been a while since my last canon list, with a lot more new stuff out, so here I go again. This time, I’m not gonna create “tiers” of canon like I did before, and I’m just gonna focus on creating the most satisfying single timeline:

• Tales of the Jedi comic (as a distant, semi-canon prologue)
• The Phantom Menace
• Tales of the Jedi miniseries (only the Dooku episodes)
• Attack of the Clones (extended edition)
• The Clone Wars 3D (minus the dumb episodes)
• Revenge of the Sith (extended edition)
• Solo
• Andor
• Rebels (minus the dumb episodes)
• Rogue One
• A New Hope (theatrical, or Revisited when that comes out)
• Original Marvel comic (1977-1980)
• Empire Strikes Back (theatrical or Revisited)
• Original Marvel comic (1980-1983)
• Return of the Jedi (theatrical, or Revisited when that comes out)
• The Mandalorian (first two seasons only)
• The Force Awakens (first half of a distant, semi-canon epilogue)
• The Last Jedi (second half of a distant, semi-canon epilogue)

My final verdict for everything from Rebels onwards depends on how Ahsoka and Mando season 3 play out. If they turn out to be good, Rebels and the first two sequels stay in the list, with Boba and the new Mandoverse installments being added as well. But if they turn out to be bad, Rebels gets cut from the list, the Thrawn trilogy becomes canon, and the Hand of Thrawn duology replaces TFA and TLJ as the distant, semi-canon epilogue.

LexX said:

[…] but basically most good stuff surrounding the OT without any PT or Disney tarnishing.

I like your mindset. Actually that’s the one i’m trying to follow too. The one thing that lets me coming back to the Prequels from time to time is the behind-the-scenes drama (e.g. the documentaries, web-docs, etc.).

My personal Canon has changed. After several months, I have abandoned my Legends purism, and I have decided to include what I think it is the best material from Disney’s New Canon. Besides, I have decided to eliminate the stories I actually never cared about in the first place. So, here’s my updated personal Canon:

• Dawn of the Jedi (comics)
• Tales of the Jedi (comics)
• Knights of the Old Republic (comics)
• Knights of the Old Republic I
• The Old Republic: Revan
• Knights of the Old Republic II
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (original game)
• The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel
• The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan
• The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire
• The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne
• The Darth Bane Trilogy
• Darth Plagueis (novel)
• Jedi Apprentice (novel series)
• Republic comics (from Issue 1 to 6)
• Episode I: The Phantom Menace
• Bounty Hunter
• Jango Fett: Open Seasons
• Republic comics (from issue 7 to 49)
• Jedi Quest (series)
• The Approaching Storm
• Episode II: Attack of the Clones
• Republic Commando (video game)
• Republic Commando (novel series)
• The Clone Wars (2002 video game)
• Republic comics (from issue 50 to 83)
• The Cestus Deception
• Star Wars: Jedi (comic series)
• Shatterpoint
• The MedStar Duology
• Secrets of the Jedi
• Star Wars: General Grievous (comics)
• Star Wars: Obsession (comics)
• Jedi Trial
• Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
• Star Wars: Brothers in Arms
• Labyrinth of Evil
• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
• Kenobi (novel)
• Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
• Star Wars: Purge (comic series)
• Star Wars: Dark Times (series)
• Star Wars: Old Wounds (comic)
• Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison
• Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows
• Star Wars: Andor
• Star Wars: Empire (comic series)
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Episode IV: A New Hope
• Star Wars: Rebellion (comic series)
• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
• Fallen Angel: A Star Wars Short Film
• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

If I were forced to choose between the Sequel Trilogy and the post-ROTJ stories from the old Expanded Universe, then I would choose the Expanded Universe without second thoughts, minus anything that takes place after the Young Jedi Knights series (since I don’t like the NJO and the Legacy era anymore). However, I have come to a point where I just don’t feel satisfied with anything post-ROTJ, weather it’s Canon or Legends. The more I think about it, and the more I convince myself that Return of the Jedi is the perfect ending to the Star Wars universe, so I very much prefer to use my imagination to envision the events that take place after the movie, such as the reestablishment of the Republic, the reconstruction of the Jedi Order, etc. Furthermore, even though I really enjoy the 2003 Clone Wars cartoon, I have decided that it will not be part of my Canon anymore, because I have come to the realization that it cannot be taken seriously, mostly due to the exaggerated, over-the-top powers that were shown on screen (Mace Windu destroying an entire army of droids with his bare hands is… kind of ridiculous). Finally, even though I accept Attack of the Clones in its current version, I kind of pretend that the scene where Anakin confesses his massacre of the Tuskens to Padmé never happened, because I think that she shouldn’t know what happened on Tatooine.

Alright, I’ve decided to commit myself to a personal canon. God have mercy on my immortal soul.

• The original unaltered Star Wars Trilogy. No bloody 97SE, 04SE, 11SE, or 19SE.
• The OT radio dramatizations.
• The OT novelizations.
• The Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson newspaper comic strip.
• The original Marvel comic – including most of the Alan Moore UK stories, excluding most of the post-ROTJ issues.
• The Tales of the Jedi comics, minus Redemption (I prefer Tom Veitch’s original concept of Ulic Qel-Droma dying unredeemed)
• The Thrawn Trilogy
• Dark Empire
• I, Jedi
• The Dark Forces novella trilogy
• Mara Jade – By the Emperor’s Hand
• Junior Jedi Knights
• Young Jedi Knights
• The Corellian Trilogy (chiefly for Leia’s boss ruby lightsaber)
• The Hand of Thrawn Duology
• Brendon J. Wahlberg’s Dark Emperor & Rise of the New Sith fanfic series

There’re various & sundry other stories in the pre-1999 EU that are compatible with my personal canon, but I exclude them for the sake of brevity.

Superweapon VII said:

Alright, I’ve decided to commit myself to a personal canon. God have mercy on my immortal soul.

Lol. May the canon gods judge us lightly.

Actually, this pretty much sums up my Pre-Prequel timeline. Though I’m still in the process of determining my personal Star Wars mythos, so far I have two that I hop between depending on my mood.

I’d like to suggest Storyteller from Star Wars Tales #19. It came out in like '05 or so but has no prequel references whatsoever and it’s just a neat little story anyway. (I recommend it to everyone who sees this comment!)

of_Kaiburr_and_Whills said:

I’d like to suggest Storyteller from Star Wars Tales #19. It came out in like '05 or so but has no prequel references whatsoever and it’s just a neat little story anyway. (I recommend it to everyone who sees this comment!)

Yeah, it’s a neat coda to the SW Universe. I generally eschew 1999+ EU, mainly because it’s a headache trying to parse through it, but there’re quite a few Tales stories which can slot in my canon with no problem.

I suppose I’m the only one who also accepts the post-1999 EU? Well, even though I still don’t like anything set after the Young Jedi Knights series. Lol.

Superweapon VII said:

Yeah, it’s a neat coda to the SW Universe. I generally eschew 1999+ EU, mainly because it’s a headache trying to parse through it, but there’re quite a few Tales stories which can slot in my canon with no problem.

I don’t blame you. It’s hard for me to reconcile all the pre-1999 and post 99’ stories too.

Spartacus01 said:

I suppose I’m the only one who also accepts the post-1999 EU? Well, even though I still don’t like anything set after the Young Jedi Knights series. Lol.

I accept quite a few post-99’ stories, such as Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, Shadows of Mindor, Kenobi (with some slight modifications to chapter 35), Genndy’s Clone Wars, The Force Unleashed (mostly for nostalgia), some Prequel-era comics like Acts of War, some stuff from Star Wars Tales, etc.

Like I mentioned above, my issue is trying to believe it all works together. Some people take the six Lucas films and six seasons of Clone Wars as primary source material, while blending in EU stuff that works for them. Some do it with just the six films. Others just stick with the OT, or even the first movie. (Something I find incredibly interesting due to the infinite possibilities.)

For me, ultimately, I’d put most if not all of my favorite EU stories as myths or Legends about the Star Wars universe. So, something like Genndy’s Clone Wars happened, but who knows if it happened exactly as shown in the series. It’s similar to the view some fans of new canon have towards Legends material- it happened, but not necessarily how the events of the story depict it. This mostly helps explain away contradictions and tonal/thematic differences between stories.

And again, this is just when I’m viewing all the Lucas stuff as the prime directive- which, to be fair, is most of the time. I have a little bubble in my mind where all, or at least a fair chunk of, the pre-99’ stuff happens and it’s “real.” And to make clear, I rarely dabble with nu-Lucasfilm era stuff. One of the exceptions I have is the Legends of Luke Skywalker Manga. It’s a fun one for me as, again, the whole premise is that its a bunch of legends and stories- who knows to what degree of truth they are. At the end of the day, they’re all stories. I’m not too worried about any sort of official canon.

Oh, and also… anything past New Jedi Order is a no-go for me… (And I’m pretty on the fence about NJO as it is.)

I know, I have been changing my personal Canon very often lately. But after several months, I have decided to embrace the philosophy that only the movies are Canon, because I don’t feel particularly invested in Star Wars anymore, and therefore I don’t care about anything Star Wars that is not the movies. So, right now my personal Canon is:

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace
• Episode II: March of the Clones
• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Episode IV: A New Hope
• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

And that’s it. Just the movies, no EU. Of course, my nihilistic attitude towards Star Wars might change in the future, and I might return to care about the EU. So this is not supposed to be a definitive Canon list or anything. Rather, it’s just the way I feel right now. And right now I only care about the PT, the OT, Rogue One, and the future movies that Disney will eventually release (but only if I like them, and only if they are good).

Clarification: March of the Clones is my fan edit of Attack of the Clones.

It’s only been a year since I did this last, but a lot can change in a year. So, I decided to take the plunge again and come up with yet another personal canon (or at least, what my personal canon would be if I gave a shit about canon):

Tales of the Jedi (the comic book)
The Phantom Menace (ideally a fanedit, but it doesn’t really matter)
Tales of the Jedi (the series, Dooku episodes only)
Attack of the Clones (ideally a fanedit, but it doesn’t really matter)
The Clone Wars (EddieDean’s Refocused edit)
Revenge of the Sith (ideally a fanedit, but it doesn’t really matter)
Solo (ideally a fanedit, but it doesn’t really matter)
Andor (either the original or EddieDean’s movie edit)
Rogue One (ideally a fanedit, but it doesn’t really matter)
A New Hope (either the original cut or Adywan’s Revisited edit)
The Empire Strikes Back (either the original cut or Adywan’s Revisited edit)
Return of the Jedi (the original cut, Revisited hasn’t come out yet)
The Aftermath trilogy
Bloodline
The Sequels (my hypothetical fanedit where Palpatine never comes back)
The Rey movie (hopefully)

I first truly got into Star Wars during the TFA/TLJ era, so that’s what my canon is naturally biased towards. I used to like the Filoniverse stuff, but the increasingly diminishing returns there have turned me sour towards the whole thing (except The Clone Wars, that’s still good).

StarkillerAG said:

The Sequels (my hypothetical fanedit where Palpatine never comes back)

Ah, that sounds interesting. Can you elaborate, please? What are your ideas to fix the Sequel Trilogy?

Spartacus01 said:

StarkillerAG said:

The Sequels (my hypothetical fanedit where Palpatine never comes back)

Ah, that sounds interesting. Can you elaborate, please? What are your ideas to fix the Sequel Trilogy?

I was hoping to do this in a separate thread in the fanedit section, but whatever. Basically, I’m cycling through a few hypothetical concepts for a radical sequel edit, all focused on removing Palpatine entirely (and thus returning the sequel trilogy to how it felt in the TFA/TLJ era):

1. TFA and TLJ are mostly the same, but TROS has been edited to have the Sith fleet be created by Kylo, and the duel on the Death Star is the final duel of the film. This is by far the simplest option (and it’s even been done by a couple other editors), but I’m worried it would leave the trilogy without a proper climax.

2. TFA is mostly the same, but Rey meeting Snoke has been cut out of TLJ entirely (meaning Snoke’s still alive by the end of the movie), and TROS has been edited to replace Palpatine with Snoke (using both AI voices and clips from 21CPeasant’s Legend of the Solo Twins edit). This is also pretty simple (especially since most of the work has been done already), but I’m worried Snoke isn’t an interesting enough villain to carry the main conflict of an entire trilogy.

3. TFA is mostly the same, but TLJ and TROS have been cut into one movie featuring the best elements of both (again, heavily inspired by 21CPeasant’s edit), with the upcoming Rey movie being the final installment of the trilogy. This is the one I’m the most passionate about (especially since it sort of mirrors Episode I being a prologue by having Episode IX be an epilogue), but it depends almost entirely on the Rey movie being good enough to fanedit in the first place (unless I’m fine with the sequels being a duology).