# Disney is appointing group to determine official Star Wars canon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374 "2014-01-09T17:38:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/21 "2014-01-09T22:44:36Z")
I have a bad feeling about this. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/22 "2014-01-09T23:02:07Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > The best decision would be that Eps 1-3 are not canon… Absolutely. That would be a bold move…and free them up to make their own Episodes 1-3 if they so desired. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/23 "2014-01-09T23:13:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Absolutely. That would be a bold move…and free them up to make their own Episodes 1-3 if they so desired. What you have to remember is that kids under the age of 10 - the key SW toy-buying demographic - \*love \*Episodes 1-3. I speak from personal experience as the father of an 8-year-old. So sure, they’ll hate the movies in 5 years, but why alienate them now? It’s not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/24 "2014-01-09T23:27:49Z")
I hope that they make the parsec an official unit of time in the Star Wars universe. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/25 "2014-01-10T00:51:36Z")
Han shot first. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/26 "2014-01-10T01:13:47Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Absolutely. That would be a bold move…and free them up to make their own Episodes 1-3 if they so desired. > [@Alessan](#): > > What you have to remember is that kids under the age of 10 - the key SW toy-buying demographic - \*love \*Episodes 1-3. I speak from personal experience as the father of an 8-year-old. So sure, they’ll hate the movies in 5 years, but why alienate them now? It’s not worth it. You just need an addendum to episode 3, where someone (Yoda? Sure, why not.) wakes up and says “A weird dream, that was.” Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/27 "2014-01-10T02:10:17Z")
I just hope they keep _The Star Wars Holiday Special_. Happy Life Day! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/28 "2014-01-10T02:24:34Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Why did they feel the need to announce this? This goes without saying - they lost the license, that meant they no more had the right to reprint it than Marvel had the right to reprint their Star Wars comics while Dark Horse held the license. (Dark Horse reprinted them, instead.) That was the most likely situation, but not the only one. They may very well have negotiated reprint rights when they signed the original contract. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/29 "2014-01-10T02:28:07Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > What you have to remember is that kids under the age of 10 - the key SW toy-buying demographic - \*love \*Episodes 1-3. I speak from personal experience as the father of an 8-year-old. So sure, they’ll hate the movies in 5 years, but why alienate them now? It’s not worth it. How many ten year olds are going to care if Disney says a movie “counts” or not? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/30 "2014-01-10T02:36:57Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Han shot first. Well, that’s in the movie. This group is looking at Extended Universe material. So, the Han question remains I guess. I never delved into SW books and things, so it’s interesting but I don’t have any favorite stories or characters to lose. I’d like to see the group take input from fans, though. Maybe a separate forum somewhere on the SW website? I assume they have message boards of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/31 "2014-01-10T05:36:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > How many ten year olds are going to care if Disney says a movie “counts” or not? Are you kidding? All of them. Little kids are the most obsessive nerds in the world. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/32 "2014-01-10T05:55:36Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I just hope they keep _The Star Wars Holiday Special_. > > Happy Life Day! I still don’t know what to get a Wookie for Christmas. And he already owns a comb. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/33 "2014-01-10T06:22:20Z")
What most EU fans were worried about are how many much-loved characters were going to disappear from the history they’ve followed so closely. Will there be a Mara Jade, did Thrawn ever exist, are the new movies going to be about Jaina and Jacen Solo? This news seems to be implying that the bigger events and characters are likely to be kept as canonical, the smaller stuff swept under the rug, but in truth that’s just speculation. For all we know the whole shebang is being wiped clean and begun again. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/34 "2014-01-10T07:31:23Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I still don’t know what to get a Wookie for Christmas. > > And he already owns a comb. Let’s give him Love and Understanding, Good Will toward men. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/35 "2014-01-10T07:35:10Z")
Get that walking carpet away from me. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/36 "2014-01-10T07:44:52Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Why did they feel the need to announce this? This goes without saying - they lost the license, that meant they no more had the right to reprint it than Marvel had the right to reprint their Star Wars comics while Dark Horse held the license. (Dark Horse reprinted them, instead.) Well, it does send a signal that some existing issues may soon experience a significant jump in their value as collectibles. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/37 "2014-01-10T07:49:02Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > You just need an addendum to episode 3, where someone (Yoda? Sure, why not.) wakes up and says “A weird dream, that was.” > > Problem solved. NO! Bob Newhart. Also, the original Sith Lord? Captain EO. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/38 "2014-01-10T13:14:37Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > In related news, Dark Horse comics has said that, along with losing the Star Wars license, they’ve also lost the publishing rights to their entire back catalog of Star Wars comics, which are now owned entirely by Disney. Any of those comics that end up excluded from the new canon are unlikely to be reprinted any time soon. They’ll reprint whatever they think they can sell. This committee is just a publicity stunt. It will make announcement after announcement, timed to keep people talking about Star Wars as a run up to the movie. The people creating this don’t give a shit about cannon. This is just to make lists so fans can argue (and, more importantly, talk about Star Wars even more). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/39 "2014-01-10T13:28:58Z")
I’m not sure - the success of the Avengers has made Hollywood obsessed with cross-media internally-consistent shared universes, and Disney is trying to replicate that with SW. They might consider establishing a concrete canon a crucial first step. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374/40 "2014-01-10T13:34:03Z")
I kept wondering what the European Union had to do with Disney or _Star Wars_ but I’m with the rest of you now. Mind you, much of the European Union is also bantha poodoo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-is-appointing-group-to-determine-official-star-wars-canon/678374.md?page=3)