Star Wars: When one expanded universe ends, another begins.

            With the recent acquisition of Star Wars to the Disney family, some things were bound to change. Disney announced a fleet of Star Wars movies to begin with Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams, and a new TV series, Star Wars: Rebels, to take place 5 years before the events of a Episode VI: A New Hope. But what part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe would the new movie lift from? Well, none of it. As the following article states, "Expanded Universe Turns a New Page," Star Wars canon will consist of Episodes I-VI and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. While it seems that some events from the EU will be included in Disney's Rebels, the EU will remain an entity of it's own.

            I can already hear the outrage by fans around the world. This isn't a replacement for the EU, but more supplemental material to create a larger Star Wars universe. With so much content from books, role-playing games, video games, comics, board games, toys, events, TV shows, etc., what creative freedom would J.J. Abrams have in creating the new movie? Next to none. The history is already there with the Skywalker and Solo children and their history is chronicled very well in the EU. Yes, we all would love to see Mara Jade in the new movie, and maybe they all might make appearances. But, Abrams would have a limited scope to work in and would essentially be making a movie from the books. Not much fun for Abrams who brought new life and history to the Star Trek universe by rebooting the series. He did not however, ignore the previous generations, but created an alternate reality in which the new characters could thrive and play in without harming the already established Star Trek universe.

         I, for one, am excited to see Star Wars in the creative hands of Abrams and look forward to a new generation able to enjoy Star Wars without having to be a major fan. With this move, Star Wars is now accessible to every person whether they be life-long fans or just beginning to see the Star Wars universe for the first time. Too many people I talk to today have never seen Episodes IV-VI or don't know anything about Star Wars. Cartoon Network's The Clone Wars made the universe accessible to anyone by placing it on TV and creating all new content with the supervision of George Lucas. It's time Star Wars was placed in the hands of an experienced company like Disney and allowed to run-free in the hands of Abrams but remain the classic Star Wars we all love.

May the Force be with you, always.