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INTRODUCTION: SO WHAT DO THE JEDI SAY AND DO IN THE ACTUAL CANON?
This is a follow-up to this collection of quotes and commentary and scenes (now a series!) gathered together to show what the Jedi say and do in the current canon of Star Wars, which means that it is an extension of that guide, rather than one I think stands wholly on its own. I didn’t want to expand that one, as it would be too confusing to note which were new entries into the guide and which ones were those previously set in. This is an attempt to make it easier to read everything that’s new, rather than making you read 23k+ that you’d already read! Not a perfect solution, but I hope to one day meld them together--assuming that there will probably be a third one of these, at the rate things are going. 😂
The plan is to post in 25k-30k installments, and I would encourage thinking of these as a reference guide WIP, rather than any one being complete on their own. The layout is as close to the previous one as I could make it, so if you’re looking for something in particular or a section seems rather empty, it should be easy to find the same section in the different installments (or future installments) where they should hopefully be!
Now, first it may help to establish just what do we mean when we say “canon”?
I would argue that there are five main “continuities” more than I would argue for a single canon and, while some may influence each other and things will be “recanonized” from one to another as well, they are still largely distinct and most things can be categories into them with relative ease.
1. GEORGE LUCAS CONTINUITY:
The first six movies of the Skywalker Saga + the first six seasons of The Clone Wars. Anything beyond this, George Lucas never considered to be part of his Star Wars, which he has stated many, many times and others have backed him up on this:
- “The books are in a different universe. I’ve not read any of them, and I told them when they started writing I wouldn’t read any of them and I blocked out certain periods [they couldn’t touch where the real story happens].” –George Lucas 2003
- ”The novels and comic books are other authors’ interpretations of my creation. Sometimes, I tell them what they can and cant do, but I just don’t have the time to read them all. They’re not my vision of what Star Wars is.” –George Lucas 2004
2. LEGENDS CONTINUITY:
Anything created before April 25th, 2014 that’s reasonably expected to be taken seriously. Books, comics, video games, and reference books. If you’re wondering if something is Legends, just check the date it was published and that’ll usually tell you!
A notable exception is that roleplaying guidebooks (like the ones from Fantasy Flight Games or Wizards of the Coast, etc.) may not be included in what’s canon to this continuity, I haven’t heard a yea or a nay specifically about their relationship with the Legends continuity.
STATUS UNSURE: LucasArts pumped out a ton of games back in the day and I’m not sure how much you’re meant to take them as part of the Legends continuity. Probably the more serious ones, yes, like KOTOR/SWTOR or Republic Commando. Probably the less serious ones like the podracing game, no. (But that’s just guessing on my part!)
3. PRE-DISNEY, NON-SERIOUS STUFF:
Things like LEGO Star Wars or activity books or trivia books or storybooks are probably going to be canon-compliant, but they’re likely not meant to be taken as part of the Legends continuity. Star Wars Infinities (like that comic where Darth Vader lived) are deliberate otherworlds stories.
4. DISNEY’S LUCASFILM CONTINUITY:
Almost anything post-April 25th, 2014 that’s a serious movie, TV show, novel, comic, serious video game, reference book, etc.
There are some exceptions, like some of the books that were in production during the Disney buy were still put out, but would have a disclaimer in the back about how it was based on Legends info. Fantasy Flight Games roleplaying books are canon-compliant but should not be used as “canon” material, according to the Story Group. (I don’t know if Wookieepedia is aware of this or if they disagree or it’s a gray enough area that they include it, but I have seen a lot of FFG material on the wiki, so always check the sources on something if you want to know! This also applies to anything in this guide, always check the original source, if you have access!) The KOTOR/SWTOR games are not meant to be included in this continuity either. However, the story mode of Battlefront II is canon, so are Jedi: Fallen Order and Vader Immortal. I believe the Forces of Destiny animated shorts + books are canon as well.
STATUS UNSURE: Mobile games that have background lore in them. For example, the game Star Wars: Commander came out in August of 2014 and has some Tusken Raiders lore (that I only know about because I read about it on Wookieepedia, I admit 😂) but I have never seen a yea or a nay on whether they’re included in this continuity.
STATUS UNSURE #2: I swear I once read one of the story group say that the From a Certain Point of View anthology books might not be canon (which would make sense, given that they have A SENTIENT CAVE in one story or that Beru Whitesun Lars had a pov story after her death), but I can’t remember which one and I may have read someone else saying they read it, so I’m only including this for comprehension’s sake and something of a plea for it someone has seen a yea or a nay from an official source on this.
PERSONAL NOTES: I would put any trivia books on a very low level of “canon”, because a lot of times they’ll contain stuff like, “Finn isn’t Force-sensitive!” because it was written just after TFA came out and the ST went in the direction that he is Force-sensitive.
While Lucasfilm said that their continuity is going to be a level playing field, that all things are equally canon, they’ve proven in the last year or so that that’s no longer true (when The Bad Batch overwrote the Kanan comics backstory on a very significant level, beyond just “changing a lightsaber color” level detail) and I would suggest going back to a tiered understanding of the canon. Movies + TV shows > novels/comics/serious games >>>>> reference books.
5. DISNEY’S LUCASFILM NON-SERIOUS CONTINUITY:
LEGO stuff still isn’t canon (even though it should be! 😂), mobile games like Galaxy of Heroes probably aren’t (but I can’t say that with 100% certainty), and I don’t think stuff like the Galaxy of Adventures shorts contain enough to say one way or the other.
6. FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES’ CONTINUITY:
FFG works hard to be canon-compliant and consistent within their own world, and thus are their own separate continuity apart from the main one! As I understand (as someone who has only vaguely flipped through a few pages of their books), they are consistent within their own world that contains both Legends and Disney’s Lucasfilm Canon.
IN CONCLUSION:
None of the above is any kind of value judgement or an attempt to make anyone, on a personal level, keep things separate. You can (and, frankly, probably should) mix and match to your heart’s delight! This reference guide isn’t about someone choosing what their own personal canon is. This reference guide is purely about what Lucasfilm themselves have slotted things into, as best I can say. This is about what Lucasfilm has said they are beholden to, not you as a fan. You, as a fan, are free to do whatever the hell you want and I wish you well on slow roasting all continuities and carving out only the juicy bits!
This guide is a mix of Continuity #1 (George Lucas canon + commentary) and Continuity #4 (the current ongoing Lucasfilm canon), as that’s the one I’m most familiar with and the one that I find most intriguing to talk about.
I have decided to separate out The High Republic and the Prequels Jedi Order content for the most part, because that was the consensus of what most people would find useful, but I aim to keep them near each other for the sake of showing just how similar the High Republic Jedi and the Prequels Jedi are. Occasionally, they will be mixed together, if something applies to both or there’s a specific point to it, but everything will be sourced as best I can, since I want this to be a useful guide to those who aren’t hip-deep in this stuff like myself. 😂
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE:
An important element of Star Wars storytelling is that it often relies heavily on unreliable narrators within the story, which means that what is “canon” is only that that character has said or thought the thing being said/thought. The purpose of this guide is to help provide a frame of reference where you might see patterns that can paint a more reliable picture of the trends within the story itself.
It’s also to provide limited word of god commentary, where I will primarily limit this to George Lucas’ commentary (....mostly....), unless something is very relevant, otherwise it would get far too messy, and as the creator of Star Wars, he gets an exception to “this is about what’s on the screen” rule. 😂
But ultimately: Use it however you want! As a guide for writing fic, as a guide to understanding the Jedi of Lucasfilm canon, as a fun piece of meta, whatever. I made it because I enjoyed making it and others should enjoy it however it’s useful to them.