Dear Disney and Not fans of the EU,
In regards to the Lucasfilm’s “retcon” of the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
They said that the stories in the EU was a great way of fans to share their version of the Star Wars universe.
They committed two atrocities in that simple accusation.
First, they said that the EU was put together by mere fans, making it a “fanfiction.” Fanfictions are prevalent on the internet today. Many fanfictions are horrible pieces of writing. While some are adapted into childlike stories, the vast majority that I have come across, involve certain even childhood characters engaging in s3xual activities. This sort fanfiction is spread throughout many fandoms, from the Animes Naruto and Dragon Ball Z to even My Little Pony. Disney did not stop at calling it a “fanfiction.”
They said that the EU did not hold in continuity, that it was a “fanfiction.” Though some fanfictions can be good, all agree that they are not part of any unified storylines. The EU was part of a storyline drawn up by George Lucas and then turned over to pre-Disney Lucasbooks to handpick authors. The authors then did their best in creating a story worthy of the Star Wars Universe.
Which leads me to another point. Those authors put hard work into creating those books, only to have Disney’s Lucasfilm declare that the books were no longer in continuity and had no effect on the Star Wars Universe.
Yet conveniently, Disney made it a point to convey the idea that such writings that contributed to the behemoth known as Star Wars, were, in essence, cute. Disney said that people really do enjoy them, so in the name of satisfying the fans, they will sell the books as “Legends.” What they really mean, of course, is that they will continue to plunder the talents of the authors, by selling them under their own banner, with a continued ability to create crappy, pulp, politically correct storylines, thus raking in more revenue. Of course, they can use material from part of a single book from, say the Thrawn trilogy, but it won’t have to have the honor of being complete in its retelling. It could simply be just retold after tearing half the pages out, editing different dance sequences in, with bad music.
The worst crime they committed was not so much against the authors, because in selling their books to the publishers, some tend to detach themselves from their books, especially when they are in the habit of making many books. The crime was towards the entire fan base.
If someone claims that he is a Star Wars fan, I can easily strike up a conversation about the mythology of the EU, because it was something accepted, something that, no matter what, would be there. And without a hint of remorse, in a flood of forced optimism, Disney picked up the entire fan base, broke it over its knee, and threw it into the trash. A large part of my childhood, flushed down the toilet, like it was nothing.
Already, many fans are grieving over this great theft. An outsider may consider this act of grieving over a fictional universe, silly. After all, the stories are simply lies crafted from an imagination. They aren’t real. It’s not as if someone died, or the country fell to invaders.
In answer to that, these stories were real. They gave us heroes to look to. They gave us characters to imitate. They opened our eyes to different realities in the real world, even within philosophy. Mara Jade Skywalker, the wife of Luke Skywalker, taught me that to accomplish things, you didn’t need some magic power, but one’s two hands. She was not only killed, she was ripped from existence. Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Imperial that picked up the shards of the Empire, a military genius, philosopher, art appreciator and gentleman—also torn from existence. I followed the trials of Han Solo after him losing Chewbacca, his best friend, stayed with him as he overcame his grief for his friend, and later, his son becoming a murderer, like Darth Vader, his daughter killing him herself. I followed Boba Fett as he got old, and actually started caring about his people. I watched Darth Bane create the Rule of Two which led to the culmination of Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, one thousand years before Star Wars, A New Hope, the movie that started it all. I watched the children of Han and Leia (yes, they got married) grow up from little tikes, into strong Jedi. I witnessed the birth of Luke’s child many years later. I’ve seen countless wars, I have witnessed the political workings of the New Republic, The Empire’s Remnant, the Galactic Republic, the Old Republic, and of course, the Galactic Empire.
There are no large figures to lead us (the maltreated Star Wars fans). Timothy Zahn, the author of the Thrawn trilogy, is being misguided by Disney, and is not backing us; he must not know that when Disney said that they were ditching the EU, they were literally ditching it.
At first, I couldn’t believe it. They not only cut out the stories after the movie “Return of the Jedi”, but they removed the entire universe.
Gone.
Thirty years of hard work. Gone.
More than a hundred books, most of which were great. Gone.
All the games that told a story, immersing us into the universe and into the life of the characters. Gone.
My childhood. Half of it just ripped out, repackaged and the now dead part being sold.
Gone.
I feel sick.
Most importantly, I will no longer be able to count on future Star Wars fans on knowing the mythology that I know, I cannot know that in the distant future, whether there will be fans. I didn’t even get to know more than a handful who know about the EU.
That's just a small sampling from one comment section. I've seen some real vicious stuff out there, especially on Facebook.
