Legends vs. canon
The Star Wars expanded universe (usually shortened as EU) is a collection of various media outside the movies that are all part of the official Star Wars canon. This includes comics, novels, video games and more. However, with Episode VII coming out, Disney decided to scrap all the previous material and start afresh. The old Star Wars EU is now known as Star Wars Legends while the new one is just known as Star Wars canon.
For people who were previously overwhelmed with the huge amounts of material, me included, this is an excellent opportunity to get caught up with what’s already out there of the new canon.
What counts as canon?
The new canon basically includes anything that was released after April 2014, though there may be exceptions. Games like Knights of The Old Republic are yet to be confirmed of their inclusion, and the new movies and novels may still draw inspiration from the older ones.
So far in the new canon, I have read the first novel of the Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig. I would not recommend this one at this point (depending on how its sequels are). I have also read Star Wars: Before The Awakening by Greg Rucka, which was a very interesting and light read, and sheds some more light on the characters of Finn, Rey, and Poe. This one I definitely would recommend, especially right after having seen The Force Awakens.
Where to begin?
When it comes to series, I have just finished the third season of The Clone Wars, which isn’t always consistently good, but when it is, it’s pretty amazing. The last half of the season was terrific, and could get pretty dark for a kid’s show. When I’m done with this, I’ll move onto Rebels, which I’ve also heard great things about.
Wikipedia has a list of all the material of the new canon in chronological order. Among some upcoming releases, there’s an Obi-Wan and Anakin comic coming in January and also Claudia Gray’s New Republic: Bloodline which is slated for May.
The comics also have a separate list here.
Here’s a list that includes just the future releases, though I have yet to find an alternative solution, like a Twitter account or an RSS feed, that would make it easier to keep track of new announcements or releases.
So far I’ve found They Might Be Geeks to be the most organized and the easiest way to find all of it.
What’s next for me?
As for what I’m checking out next, I’ll continue to watch and finish The Clone Wars, but I’m not sure what to focus on first in terms of novels or comics. I might just start with the comics, beginning with Shattered Empire by Greg Rucka, and then move on to the novelization of The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster, since I’m in the same time period anyway. After all that, I might just start reading everything chronologically.
All in all, this ought to keep me busy until Rogue One comes out!