Canon is usually a tricky thing with most expansive multimedia franchises, but that goes double for Star Wars. George Lucas’ beloved sci-fi mythos stretches far beyond just the big screen, and has found similar levels of success in publishing, comic books, TV and video games.
The wider Star Wars mythos came to be known as the Expanded Universe until Disney decided to start anew when they bought Lucasfilm in 2012. Even before the EU was relegated to the ‘Legends’ banner though, Star Wars canon was in a constant state of flux, and it was often difficult to discern what was and wasn’t actual continuity.
Indeed, one of the best things about the new Disney era of Star Wars (if you’re a stickler for canon) has been the advent of Lucasfilm Story Group, a group of writers whose job has been to ensure everything in the new Star Wars timeline adds up and to provide clarity over what is and isn’t canon.
This has proven particularly handy when it comes to continuity grey areas, which entail deleted scenes, Legends moments referenced in the new timeline and even those Star Wars stories that never saw the light of day.
Yes, even the Star Wars moments that didn’t make it into the films or TV shows for whatever reason can still influence the galaxy far, far away, whether they were rescued in a novel or comic, or released in an unfinished state…