Star Warsis a franchise that’s split into two distinct continuities: canon andLegends (formerly known as Expanded Universe). Both canon and Legends share the originalStar Warstrilogy, but then they skew off in both directions (past and future) within their respective continuities, offering fans completely different stories. This split came whenDisney purchasedStar Wars, at which point every novel and comic that had previously been released was relegated to ‘Legends’, while an all-new canon was to be shaped. And now, it’s timeStar WarsLegends makes a comeback - andMarvelreveals exactly how it can be done.
Star WarsLegends can be traced all the way back to the ‘70s-’80s immediately following the release ofStar Wars: A New Hope(which was simply titled ‘Star Wars’ at the time). Back then, Marvel Comics had the license to publishStar Warstie-in comics, as well as the official comic book retellings of the films. It’s during this period whenStar Warswas at its goofiest, with hilariously absurd characters like Jax (a green humanoid bunny who was a smuggler) andDon-Wan Kihotay (a fake Jedi). Before long, however, theStar WarsExpanded Universe took a very serious turn.
What many consider to be the first installment of theStar WarsExpanded Universe is theStar Wars: Heir to the Empire Trilogy(otherwise known as theThrawn Trilogy) by Timothy Zahn. Those novels were published in 1991, 1992, and 1993, respectively, and they took place immediately followingReturn of the Jedi. From there, countless otherStar Warsnovels continued to expand the established universe - and the comics soon followed suit. Dark Horse Comics began publishingStar Warscomics, and everything published by Dark Horse existed in the Expanded Universe canon alongside the novels.
From stories that took place during the Clone Wars, the Old Republic, and even the distant future (i.e.,Star Wars Legacy), Dark Horse helped shape the EU as much as the novels. After Disney boughtStar Wars, theStar Warscomics moved over to Marvel Comics (also owned by Disney), and every bit ofStar Warscontinuity that wasn’t the films (or the animated series) became known as ‘Legends’, and immediately stopped being canon. From that point forward, everynewStar Warscomic and novelis considered canon, with everything that happened in Legends left in the past.
Marvel’s Ultimate Universe Should Be the Blueprint for Star Wars
Marvel Comics Publishes the Bulk of Star Wars Comics
TheStar Warsfranchise decided that the new official canon needed to replace the Legends canon, but the very publication that puts out modernStar Warscomics proves that doesn’t need to be the case. Marvel Comics is very familiar with multiverse stories - from countlessSpider-Versestuff to extreme events likeSecret Wars. However, the most notable ‘multiverse story’ isMarvel Comics’ all-new Ultimate Universeimprint. Honestly, that’s not even a ‘multiverse story’ at all; it’s just a separate continuity that exists alongside the main Marvel Comics continuity of Earth-616 - which is exactly whatStar Warsshould do.
For the most part, the new Ultimate Universe of Earth-6160 (and even the original Ultimate Universe of Earth-1610) doesn’t rely on the main continuity of Earth-616 at all, as they exist in a completely separate and totally independent/self-sufficient universe. It’s not as though characters are criss-crossing between the different universes all the time - truth be told, they almost never are. It’s as simple as allowing two separate continuities to exist alongside each other, and that formula has proved incredibly successful.
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Fans have proven that they can handle two versions of Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Black Panther without confusion, because they know the difference between the universes in which those characters exist.Star Warsfans are just as capable of differentiating between a ‘canon’Star Warstimeline and a ‘Legends’Star Warstimeline, which opens the door for Marvel Comics to bring back the Expanded Universe and continue those stories from where they abruptly ended.
Star Wars Has Already Experimented with Alternate Universes
Star Wars: Infinities Explores the ‘Star Wars Multiverse’
Interestingly,Star Warsis actually no stranger to experimenting with the multiverse itself.Star Wars: Infinitieswas a miniseries that explored ‘What If…?’ scenariosregarding the Original Trilogy. What if Luke Skywalker failed to blow up the Death Star? What if Princess Leia was trained by Darth Vader? What if Luke Skywalker died, and Darth Vader lived? These were some of the questionsStar Wars: Infinitiessought to answer, which gave fans a peek into aStar Warsmultiverse they didn’t even know existed.
Star Wars: Infinitiesis technically considered Legends, just like the rest of the pre-DisneyStar Warscomics, and it proves thatStar Warshas always experimented with the multiverse. Now thatStar Warsis being published by Marvel Comics, the franchise is in the hands of the master of multiverse storytelling, something that is proven true by the success of the Ultimate Universe (both the new and original). Therefore, it just makes sense forStar Warsto bring back Legends continuity as an alternate avenue of storytelling - indeed, it’s done the multiverse before, so why not now?
Bringing Back Star Wars Legends Wouldn’t Even Have to Make Sense In-World
Marvel Comics Could Simply Bring Back the Imprint Without Telling a ‘Multiverse Story’
The biggest complaint fans would have ifStar Warsdid bring back its Legends continuity is thatStar Warsshouldn’t do multiverse stories. Sure,Star Warsplayed around with the multiverse inStar Wars: Infinities, but for the most part it’s never done stories like that, and many fans would prefer it if that didn’t change. But that’s the thing, if Marvel Comics started publishingStar WarsLegends comics again, it wouldn’t have to make sense in-world - it could literally just be a separate imprint.
Again,Star Warsfans are smart enough to know the difference between a Luke Skywalker in a Legends story and the same character in a canon story, so long as the distinction is made clear by the respective comic book imprint. All Marvel would have to do is slap a big ‘ole ‘LEGENDS’ tag on the title, and that’s all fans would need to start enjoying the Expanded Universe again, just as Marvel fans are able to enjoy comics set in Earth-616 and the Ultimate Universe.
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There doesn’t need to be some big in-world multiversal event that explains the return of Star Wars Legends. Marvel Comics just needs to start publishing Star Wars Legends comics under that imprint, and readers would be good to go. All-in-all, it just makes sense.Star Warsshould bring back the Legends canon, andMarvelhas already proved with its Ultimate Universe that it can - and should - be done.
