Timelines: Story Events and Alterations
Index of Timelines in this post:
- The Clone Wars; a brief overview on the pre-PT era
- The Clone Wars; a couple of pre-PT era ‘overview’ type videos from Corey’s Datapad & Geetsly’s
- The time period before 1999 (2021) - video from Spector Creative
- “Time Line Of Important Events In The Star Wars Galaxy” (1994) ‘A Guide to the Star Wars Universe’ book
- “1994 LucasArts Star Wars Screen Entertainment CD-ROM” + George Lucas quotes on when the Prequels would be set
- “Important Events In The History Of Star Wars” - Official Star Wars Souvenir Annual 1998 - a timeline
- “Star Wars Timeline from 1997”, for the ‘Dark Force Rising’ comics
- “Star Wars Timeline” (1994) - Star Wars Insider #23
- “The Star Wars Timeline Gold” (2018) - by Nathan P Butler
- “A complete Star Wars Legends Timeline” (2021) - novels, comics, and games
- Another quality resource website: www.starwarstimeline•net
- A Current Canon Timeline (2023) - in both video and infographic form (for comparison / sake of completion)
^ If anyone knows of any other relevant Timelines, dates of note, or calendars etc for the pre-Prequel era, please post them up.
a quick note:
Whilst searching for content on the pre-PT era a number of YouTubers, article journalists, and some Prequel fans online appear to claim original and early EU writers “got it wrong”, “got a lot wrong” or “got so much wrong”, when discussing pre-PT era lore. Along with some negative judgments or placing reduced value on those works… simply because timelines and events are different - or claims that pre-PT era material is somehow “lesser” for it - because it does not fit with “George’s vision”.
As confirmed by EU creatives from the time, it was Lucasfilm themselves who provided the earlier original timeline of the Clone Wars (circa 35BBY). George then shaving 10-20 years off the timeline years later, making Anakin and Obi-Wan 10-20 years younger than originally supposed to be, for the PT films. Any “fault” or issue is with George & Lucasfilm for those alterations, leading to such dissonance with the previously established timeline, stories and characters, in their officially released material.
In an interview with early EU architect and writer Timothy Zahn, in February of 2000, with TFn’s Chris Knight:
“The two guidelines I was given at the beginning were: I was to start three to five years after ROTJ, and I could use any character who had not been killed off in the movies. It was very, very open. When I submitted the outline, we found a few other walls: I could not do detailed references to the Clone Wars era. I had a sort of history of the Clone Wars set up because at that time I didn’t know he (George Lucas) was going to go back and do more movies, so I thought that was opened at length as well, but it turned out it wasn’t. Various other things: Joruus C’baoth was originally an insane clone of Obi-Wan Kenobi and they wouldn’t let me do that. And I would run into minor walls here and there, both in the outline and in the final manuscript. But it was more a matter of, instead of getting what I had to do, they would let me do what I wanted unless it ran into some territory they didn’t want me dealing with, or contradicted something that they saw in the movies, though I could sometimes argue my way out of those.”
and
“They would not give me a Clone Wars date until I was mostly done with book two (“Dark Force Rising”; released in 1992). The first book was already at the printers and they actually moved it back about fifteen years earlier than I had set it. As a result, the various numbers don’t add up. When it talks about Pellaeon’s age, they don’t add up because there’s this fifteen-year difference. They might have actually set it back a bit further when they set on “The Phantom Menace”. So the timeline doesn’t quite match, but nothing else I think finally contradicts what I’ve done.”
^ a screenshot of the above sections of the 2000 interview with Timothy Zahn:
Enough of the jibba-jabba! Get on with it!
1. The Clone Wars; a brief overview on the ‘pre-PT era’:
The Old Republic was a Republic of Legend - greater than distance or time. For a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the Dark Times, before the Prequels Empire.
Despite the PT-era being “off limits” to writers and creatives for many years before the release of the Prequel Trilogy films, a number of intriguing and captivating references appeared in official Lucasfilm material over the years referencing the era, adding more brush strokes to an already alluring portrait for what was the Clone Wars. As well as the years-later Jedi Purge, overseen by the Dark Lord of The Sith, himself once a Jedi, named Darth Vader…
The following abridged OP/Ed describes all this far better than I ever could - also paying homage to some of those early EU creatives:
[Op/Ed] ‘The Prequel Era Before the Prequel Trilogy’ - at https://starwars.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003637541
"Although we never get a complete picture of what the Clone Wars were like, Timothy Zahn suggested in his Thrawn Trilogy that it was a war between the Jedi and a group only referred to as the clonemasters, who used Spaarti cloning cylinders to produce an army of clones to fight against the Republic, much like Thrawn’s clone army in The Last Command. It even resulted in some cloned Jedi like Joruus C’baoth, who turned out to be quite mad.
The original Clone Wars were suggested to have ended before the fall of the Jedi, about when Obi-Wan defeated geneticist Atha Prime, the “ruler of the dark worlds,” who was described as the architect of the war. However, the idea of Palpatine, a senator, seizing power and luring Anakin to the dark side and the Empire was established by then, as was Obi-Wan’s epic duel with Anakin.
As for the battle droids we’re used to seeing nowadays, Kathy Tyers’ Truce at Bakura novel featured the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium, a group of aliens who Emperor Palpatine sought to contact out of interest in their droid army, which the book mentions was something Palpatine never encountered before.
(As a fun aside, Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy introduced an Imperial Remnant using MT-ATs, spider-like walkers that looked something like what the Separatists or Umbarans would’ve used during the Clone Wars).
Boba Fett was different, too. The Dark Empire comics revealed that Fett was an ex-Stormtrooper who left the Empire but came to an “understanding” with Darth Vader so he wouldn’t be held accountable.
Obviously, all this changed once the prequel trilogy came out, the biggest difference being that the Clone Wars turned out to be fought between a Republic clone army and a Separatist droid army. Boba Fett wasn’t a stormtrooper but the clone of Jango Fett, who served as the template for the Kaminoans (the “clonemasters” as it were). And Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan are much different than what those two images suggest.
Of course, Lucas did include some stuff from what the early EU established, such as Coruscant being the capital of the Republic. He even lifted the idea that Jedi could block Force lightning with their lightsaber AOTC from Dark Force Rising.
I bring all this up because it’s super fascinating to me. I salute those writers who were brave enough to throw out some ideas about what things were like “before the Dark Times,” and I like how the information was doled out sparingly and vaguely. The prequel era was kept a mystery, which is kind of a novel thought given how saturated the era is nowadays.
If there’s any older fans out there who remember this time before the prequels, I’m curious if you could attest to what it was like during this time? Was the speculation more or less what the EU writers were hinting at? How shocking was it when these changes were made?
If you can’t remember a time without the prequel trilogy, what do you think of these original details? Do you prefer what the prequels established over these older ideas?"
^ by Mando With No Name: 31/07/22. Full version (with images): https://starwars.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003637541
2. The Clone Wars - an overview of the Timeline:
The Original Clone Wars - Clone Assault on the Republic! | SW Legends Lore - 13 minute video from Corey’s Datapad (2019)
Video Description: ‘The Prequels really fleshed out the Clone Wars, but what did people think the Clone Wars were before that?’
Some more on The Clone Wars Timeline:
What the Clone Wars was Originally SUPPOSED To Look Like - 9 minute video from Geetsly’s (2021)
Video Description: “You fought in the Clone Wars?”
The Original Clone Wars Were Way Different - a 12 minute vidoe from Corey’s Datapad (2024)
Video Description: ‘When the Prequels came around, the Clone Wars had been off limits for the Expanded Universe for a while to tell stories in directly, but that hadn’t stopped a lot of background lore from being built up. This caused a few problems with recollections about who was fighting whom, and even when exactly the wars were.’
^ An otherwise good video providing a lot of information and insight. Although it does not feature details provided by the official Sourcebooks, Technical Journals, and Guides available at the time. It also doesn’t cover Lucasfilm informing authors of a different timeline (and other details) to that actually used by George years later for his PT films.
3. The time period before 1999:
What it was like growing up before the STAR WARS Prequels; when getting Episode One was just a dream - 11 minute video from Spector Creative (2021)
Video Description: ‘Scott Toy Guru Neitlich from Spector Creative talks about what it was like growing up before there were more Star Wars movies and all of the bread crumbs in the Original Trilogy that hinted at what the Prequels could have been like…’
4. “A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded” book (1994):
^ A screenshot compilation of ‘A Timeline Of Important Events In The Star Wars Galaxy’ section of ‘A Guide To The Star Wars Universe’ book, 2nd edition (1994), by Bill Slavicsek:
5. ‘1994 LucasArts Star Wars Screen Entertainment CD-ROM’ - with quotes from George:
George Lucas himself stated in the ‘1994 LucasArts Star Wars Screen Entertainment CD-ROM’ Screensaver:
“The STAR WARS saga actually begins 40 years before Luke has the pivotal meeting with Obi Wan that sends him down the path to his destiny. The first three episodes begin with the friendship of a young Ben Kenobi and Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker.”
^ a screenshot of the above ‘1994 LucasArts Star Wars Screen Entertainment CD-ROM’ - with George Lucas’ quotes:
^ from ‘FWS Topics: The Lost Star Wars Prequels’ article at the Future War Stories blog; in ‘The Crawl from the 1994 LucasArts Star Wars Screen Entertainment CD-ROM’ category; a quality article & resource that also features a chronology of GFFA history.
6 . ‘Important Events In The History Of Star Wars’ - a Timeline:
from the ‘Official Star Wars Souvenir Annual 1998’
There were 17 years between the end of Clone Wars and Anakin becoming Darth Vader:
^ (written here below too, as the dark text on dark background in the images above can be difficult to read):
35 BSW4:
“End of the Clone Wars, a violent conflict in which the Jedi Knights fight to defend the Old Republic. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker emerge as heroes.”
29 BSW4:
“Fall of the Republic. A dark period when corruption and injustice sweep through the Republic. Senator Palpatine rises to power.”
^ It’s also noted as the date of birth for Han Solo.
18 BSW4:
“Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader; the Empire is formed, with Palpatine as Emperor. The first stirrings of rebellion begin.”
^ it also notes that the birth of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa are in this year (18 BSW4).
(BSW4 = ‘Before Star Wars Episode IV’ / Battle Of Yavin)
7. “Star Wars Timeline from 1994” - from Star Wars Insider #23:
“Star Wars Timeline from 1994”, from Star Wars Insider #23:
8. “Star Wars Timeline from 1997” - for the ‘Dark Force Rising’ comics:
wookieepedia page for ‘Dark Force Rising’ (comics): https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Force_Rising_(comics)
9. The Star Wars Timeline Gold - by Nathan P Butler:
https://starwarsfanworks.com/timeline
The Star Wars Timeline Gold by Nathan P Butler: 5 downloadable pdf files covering different aspects of the Star Wars Timeline
https://starwarsfanworks.com/timeline (final edition was in 2018)
- Story Group Canon Timeline
- Legends Timeline, Vol. 1 (Pre-ANH, Minus Clone Wars)
- Legends Timeline, Vol. 2 (ANH and Beyond)
- Legends Clone Wars Supplement
- Appendices
^ The Legends Timeline Vol. 2 is relevant here; there are 426 pages of the Timeline just to get to 100BBY. Comprehensive.
10. A complete Star Wars Legends Timeline : novels, comics, and games:
(click on the imgur link to enlarge further)
^ from www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsEU/comments/srpc8d/just_found_this_complete_star_wars_legends
11. Another quality resource website: www.StarWarsTimeline•net
A very useful and interesting resource website, especially for pre-PT lore era:
^ www.starwarstimeline.net - by Joe Bongiorno
A category on the West End Games section of the above website, on the awesome WEG Sourcebooks and Supplements:
www.starwarstimeline.net/Westendgames.htm
And for comparison / sake of completion; the current Canon Timeline - in video and infographic format:
12. A Star Wars: The Complete Canon Timeline (2023)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvL68ZwWIHQ - a 98 minute youtube video, by Star Wars Explained.
^ The blurb: ‘This is the entire history of the Star Wars canon as of May 4, 2023. The Star Wars films, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and more all summarized into the most important moments in galactic history!’
0:00 - Early History
6:54 - The High Republic
16:34 - Fall of the Jedi
24:34 - The Clone Wars
37:20 - Reign of the Empire
57:10 - Age of Rebellion
1:15:21 - The New Republic
1:24:04 - Rise of the First Order
1:34:02 - Frequently Asked Questions
wookiepedia page for The Clone Wars (canon; 22-19 BBY): https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Clone_Wars
‘Star Wars Canon Timeline (as of September 2023) by Abraham2204, on DeviantArt’ (a useful Canon infographic):
^ www.deviantart.com/abraham2204/art/Star-Wars-Canon-Timeline-As-of-September-2023-922827271 (click on image to enlarge)
A Thread Index:
• Introduction
• A quick note on ‘Canon’ (yep, I know…)
• Timelines: Story Events and Alterations
• Settings, Planets and Systems | Organisations and Governments
• The Jedi (as an Order Of Knights; their Way Of Life, the Force, Robes, Lightsabers etc)
• Characters and Biographies | Protagonists and Allies (including changes of persona or origin story)
• Characters and Biographies | Antagonists, Adversaries and their Allies (including changes of persona or origin story)
• Miscellaneous
• Blank Post (a spare post for possible future use; if ever required)
• A list of ‘Suggestions, Claims, Memories, and Posts’ on more pre-PT era material: to be checked and confirmed
• Index of Relevant OriginalTrilogy.com Threads
• Credits