Maybe I've been romanticizing the Star Wars Extended Universe, the one Disney removed from canon, more than I should. In truth it's been quite a while since I've read any of it. They hold in my mind happy memories. The question is if I was to reread these EU books would I have the same feelings? Would I see them in a different light?
It's no secret that the new Star Wars Trilogy has created quite the divide. Those who love certain movies. Those who don't. I'm in the Force Awakens is too much like A New Hope, Last Jedi detoured and killed off way too many elements, and The Rise of Skywalker is... (spoiler in my last blog post), camp, but the short of it is I'm not a huge fan of Disney Star Wars. Many love it. Many love aspects of it. Watching the fall out of this last movie and seeing all the various reactions and opinions has been interesting. I'm honestly surprised at how many people love The Rise of Skywalker, but to each their own. If we all loved the same things life would be boring.
After watching The Rise of Skywalker I now want to reread the Star Wars EU, what are now "Legends," books, and also read some of the stuff I missed. There's a lot I haven't read. From what I've heard it's a bit of a mess. Too many authors contributing here and there, adding bits at random while claiming their corner of the Universe. At some point next year I'm going to reread the Thrawn trilogy. Ah! But you know what's sad? I needed to clear out some room and donated some of my Star Wars books. And there were others that were so worn the first several pages fell off. So I have to buy books again, so getting through aspects of the Star Wars EU will take some time. And I have other books to read and listen to as well.
Still, whatever I think of the Thrawn trilogy the next go through, I do love the characters. Thrawn and Mara Jade are awesome. Thrawn is once again canon. Mara Jade isn't, and I'm pretty sure if Disney gets their hands on her they'll ruin her. You know, thinking of Mara Jade's character arc, Ben Solo could have gone down the same path, dealing with his past while moving towards the future. Maybe subconsciously that's why I'm having issues with certain Rise of Skywalker decisions. Ben could have been a Mara Jade type. He could have been so interesting. I've always struggled with Ben Solo's character arc because it didn't make sense. His fleeing thanks to Luke wanting to kill him is so out of character on Luke's part, I've struggled with Ben's development. Thank you Timothy Zahn for creating really interesting characters.
For now I want aspects of the EU to still be true. They were for a good portion of my life. Just because Disney drops big bucks and changes things doesn't mean I have to accept their reality. My imagination can have it's own reality. And in my mind Mara Jade and Luke totally got together. (Disney... don't go there. Just don't. But if they do, I'm super stubborn and can accept what I wish.)
But after all is said and done, I have the action figures, and having the action figures of characters I grew up loving makes them more real to me.
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