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STAR WARS CANON
Star Wars was released in 1977, the product of years of work by George Lucas, representing only one chapter of
a much larger story he had originally envisioned. After the success of the film, Lucas set about developing the larger story
of the Skywalker family, developing plans for a four-trilogy, twelve-film saga, which he eventually reduced to nine films in
three trilogies. The original film was re-released in 1981 as Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, as the other two films
of the original trilogy were produced under Lucas' supervision. Lucas subsequently produced, wrote, and directed
the prequel trilogy, expanding the original film into a six-film masterpiece, which each film intricately interwoven with
the other films of its trilogy. Each film acts as an inversion and reflection of the previously released film, while at the same
time each trilogy acts as an inversion and reflection of the other in its entirety. The creation of each trilogy took a decade
of Lucas' life, and Star Wars and its universe is his brainchild. The six films created by Lucas are Star Wars, and any other
material, no matter how faithful, is simply a secondary addition, including other material produced by Lucas.

Canon is a word derived from the ancient Greek word for 'a ruler' or 'a rule' which, due to its use in the early Greek church, was
adopted into Latin where it came to refer specifically to church law. In the context of religious literature, canon refers to those
scriptures considered to be the highest authority, which in the case of Christianity were collected into the Bible. Scriptures which
were considered to be valid but of secondary authority were deemed to be apocrypha, a term which means 'hidden away',
as they were not included in the canon collection of the Bible. These terms have also come to have an expanded meaning in
English, where they are used to discuss the authority of a given work within a fictional universe of books, films, or other media.
In a sense, the meaning has not changed, since the canon status of a given work is usually considered to be contingent on
whether or not the creator of the universe considers it so, or at least on how compatible the work is with material known to
have originated with the creator. When George Lucas was in charge, Lucasfilm used to preserve a hierarchy of canon which
reflected this basic standard, which every other sci-fi, fantasy, or fictional universe adheres to in order to prevent lesser creators
from inserting their own work into the universe which undermines the cohesion, and therefore believability, of the universe.
The canon status of films and shows within the hierarchy of SW is indicated on this site by their relationship to Lucas' material:








HIERARCHY OF STAR WARS MATERIAL
The 'new canon' of the post-Lucas era is based on the heretical proclamations of Disney, which believes that since it bought
the intellectual rights to Lucas' work, they not only can produce new material and decide its canon status, but can also
de-canonize SW material which the creator of SW oversaw. This is, of course, not how canon works, and thus this project
was created to attempt to preserve Lucas canon-based continuity, which disney-Lucasfilm appears to be incapable of.
The canon status of a work is based on the degree to which Lucas was responsible for the content, and in the case of
post-Lucas material, the degree to which it is compatible with Lucas canon. Disney-Lucasfilm's 'new canon' is not only
confused about what material takes priority within canon, it also includes its books, video games, and comic books as
canon material while completely eliminating two shows created by Lucas from canon status. SW was begun by Lucas as
a project to create "new myths" using the medium of filmmaking, and as a result, no off-screen material can ever truly be
considered canon. Disney-era guides, video games, books, and comic books are not canon, and can never be. Legendary
universe material, including the beloved Expanded Universe, is not canon either, no matter how much one may enjoy it.

The Star Wars Trilogies
The six SW films created and produced by George Lucas are the true canon of the SW universe, and automatically take
precedence over any other material. Deleted scenes from these films are considered to be semi-canonical, unless they
conflict with the finished film or secondary canon material which negates them.


Secondary Canon
Animated shows created under George Lucas are also canon, but considered to be of secondary authority. Droids and
The Clone Wars were created and co-produced by Lucas, while he only co-created Clone Wars. Nevertheless, all
had his stamp of approval, and other than occasional inconsistencies are highly compatible with the canon of the films.


Unfinished Lucas-Era Material
Material which was developed under George Lucas' direction but which was not completed before the sale of Lucasfilm is
considered to be potentially part of Lucas canon, but only if it is produced does it qualify as canon. At least ten The Clone Wars
storylines were in development, but remained in various stages of production. Three have since been finished and released as
part of the disney-created Season 7, however the remaining twenty-eight episodes remain unfinished. The storyline informally
called 'The Crystal Crisis' is fully scripted and partially animated, but was never finished. The 'Dark Disciple' storyline was not
produced, however its scripts were converted into a novel of the same name, nor was the 'Darth Maul - Son of Dathomir'
storyline produced, but was released as a comic book miniseries. Any of these storylines could be canon if produced,
however most would require at least slight modification to adjust to the timeline as set by Season 7, among other concerns.
The same can be said about Lucas' Sequel Trilogy, which completes the story of generations told in his original six films.
These films will not be made anytime soon, if ever, as disney-Lucasfilm chose to abandon Lucas' groundbreaking project.


Disney Star Wars
Disney SW material is also canon, but of a tertiary authority subject to its continuity with both the six films and the Lucas' created
series. This material is of course only canon when it does not conflict with previously established continuity and 'in-universe'
realities. The majority of Disney SW has been essentially compatible with the canon of the films and Lucas shows, with a similar
amount of continuity errors as found in the Lucas produced shows. Much of that is due to Dave Filoni being a creator or
co-creator of most Disney-era material. He was a co-creator of The Clone Wars where he worked with Lucas for many years.
His work is usually respectful of Lucas canon, and he has a great understanding of Lucas' intent and planned direction.
Just as in The Clone Wars under Lucas, his work does contain some inconsistencies with canon, but not usually serious issues.
His material tends to have issues with passage of time, keeping details accurate, and oversimplification of the galaxy at times,
but not much far outside of canon. Non-Filoni Disney material has more issues maintaining canon continuity, with about half
being highly compatible, and the other half varying degrees of incompatible. Most Disney-era material can be considered canon.


Problematic Disney Star Wars
Some Disney material has so many continuity issues, both with established canon and within its own story, that it is difficult to
consider it canon. Obi-Wan Kenobi has so many continuity issues, most of the story is probably impossible within canon,
and it would be best for continuity if it were considered to be. Resistance is a Dave Filoni show, which was enjoyable and
did not contain serious continuity issues, however it is connected to the Disney Sequel Trilogy material too closely to be
considered canon. It is possible this show does take place in the future of the same universe as the other SW material,
however it likely takes place in whatever alternate reality the Disney Sequels take place in.


Non-Canon Disney Star Wars
The Disney Sequel Trilogy purports to contain Episodes VII, VIII, and IX of the Skywalker saga, despite being fanfiction created
to replace the outlines and notes provided by the creator of the saga. This alone could be enough to consider these films
non-canon, however this is as irrelevant to the issue of canon as their awful stories and lack of significant overall message.
The number of inconsistencies, plot holes, and downright canon-destroying continuity errors in these films is impressive,
almost as if the creators were intentionally trying to undermine previous SW canon, or were just completely clueless about
the implications of the things they were introducing. These stories are apocryphal, non-canon adventures which take place in
an alternate universe or reality which looks somewhat like the same galaxy, but where history, reality, and physics are different.
There is simply no way that even the most generous appraisal could consider these films to be consistent with Lucas canon.


Apocryphal Star Wars
Some SW material was never intended to be considered canon, and fully embraces the fact that it need not adhere to complete
continuity with canon material to be enjoyed by viewers. Some material, like the Ewoks universe, could be considered canon if
one wished to, however it contains enough troublesome invention that it is best to enjoy it as its own side universe rather than
attempt to explain how it would fit into the larger galaxy and story. Lucas suggested as much, as this Ewoks franchise was
intended for young children, rather than children of all ages like the rest of SW. The Holiday Special and the Disney series
Visions were never intended to be canon, and are meant simply to be enjoyed as they are or not at all.


SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL AND LEGENDS
Supplementary material is a broad category of off-screen resources which include official print and internet releases, novels,
guides, and even comics, as well as video, computer, card, and board games, authorized by Lucasfilm before, during, and
after the release of a specific film or show. This is where all sorts of background information comes from, which is considered
to be canon information in lieu of contradictory evidence from canon material. The fictional events within those novels,
games, etc. are part of 'legends', which is a category containing all SW stories and material not seen on screen. Naturally,
only Lucas-era supplementary material is considered canon when addressing Lucas-era material. Disney-era supplementary
material is only canon when addressing their own creations, and only if that material is also consistent with Lucas canon.
Disney-era supplementary material about the Lucas-era material is usually considered to be canon, unless it conflicts
with canon, is inconsistent with other material, or attempts to undermine Lucas-era supplementary material. Legendary
material is not canon, but is sometimes a good source of commonly accepted background information for characters.