There are plenty of hot topics fans love to talk about when it comes to Star Wars, but one of the most widely debated is the infamous canon reset for the Star Wars universe. With tons of interesting ways to expand a universe as varied as Star Wars, some were put off by the announcement that the canon of the universe was being majorly cut down. The impact of the reset will likely always be argued about thanks to everything fans lost, even if there were some excellent gains.
There are a number of reasons why a property may want to reset its continuity. When a fan considers just how much lore, characters, and world-building already existed, it’s not too difficult to understand why a reset was appealing. Even though there are benefits and pitfalls with a decision like that, the question of whether the decision to reset the canon was a good move will always exist. Regardless, Disney will always be looking to steer the property in a bold new direction.
What Was The Canon Reset?
While there are debated dates on when the “true” canon reset happened, it’s easiest to say that the process of the canon reset began when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. By that point, there were two Star Wars film trilogies, dozens of video games, TV shows, comics, and even more expansive books. To say that there was a lot of information and lore for the Star Wars universe would have been a massive understatement. It can be easy to forget, but Star Wars fans didn’t even get a third trilogy of films until after the canon reset had already occurred, making a sequel to the original trilogy with a new story and characters possible.
The canon reset was exactly what the average person might expect: a shake-up of the Star Wars property that decided to shift the canonicity of the wider universe. There was so much lore that trying to tell unique stories became a difficult task. Furthermore, Disney would have likely been interested in having their own unique era of Star Wars to bring the franchise back to the public consciousness. While certain things remained canon, the easiest way to sum the infamous moment up is by saying that, essentially, the six movies up to that point and the Clone Wars TV show were all that remanded canon (again, with a few specific instances outside those).
What Does It Mean To Be Canon Or Legends In Star Wars?
There used to be different ranges of canonicity in the Star Wars universe, but now, there are two simple terms: Canon and Legends. The first term, Canon, is self-explanatory. Anything labeled as such is considered to be a part of the ongoing and existing Star Wars universe. All things considered Legends are pieces of the Star Wars continuity that aren’t a part of the official canon, but remain exciting side-stories of the wider Star Wars universe.
It’s almost always the case that the content created for the wider Star Wars universe before 2012 will be considered Legends. However, there have been a few instances where aspects or characters of the Legends continuity have been introduced into the official canon. Luckily for hopeful fans, this means there is always a chance for some of their favorite Legends characters to be brought back into the universe. Still, it is unfortunate that some could only show up with some MCU-style shenanigans with the multiverse.
This shift is so massive that there are now two versions of multiple major characters: the Legends version and the Canon version. Some of the more beloved Legends stories are sadly some of the least likely to be brought into the fold, purely because those tales often include overpowered Jedi or Sith annihilating everyone in sight.
Which Star Wars Characters Were Lost In The Reset?
There are tons of fan-favorite characters who were lost to the great DisneyStar Wars canon reset. As previously mentioned, some characters have two versions, and one of the most notable is Luke Skywalker. In the Legends continuity, Luke Skywalker was essentially a god, capable of taking on armies by himself and arguably the strongest being in the history of the series. In the current canon, Luke is dead and faced much more failure thanks to the events of the sequel trilogy. Luke is far from the only major character who has been robbed of incredible feats, but it was supposedly for a good cause.
Aside from the widely known characters, Star Wars fans lost some fascinating characters for a variety of reasons. Thanks to the story that the sequel trilogy set out to tell, fans lost the later line of Skywalkers, who were each powerful beings in their own right. Fans now have Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, but to gain him, characters like Darth Cadeus/Jacen Solo and Cade Skywalker were lost. Each of those Jedi was a powerful, interesting warrior with a fascinating backstory, and are considered far more interesting and fleshed out than any of the newer Star Wars characters. Then there’s Mara Jade, Luke Skywalker’s Legends wife who was raised as an assassin for Emperor Palpatine. The reset caused many fans to miss out on a fantastic expanded story for the Skywalker family.
Some Legends characters that are more widely known come from Star Wars video games. There are tons of game characters who are no longer canon, much to the dismay of Star Wars fans everywhere. Many aspects of the famous KOTOR games are no longer canon, even if Revan recently received the upgrade to Star Wars main canon. Additionally, fantastic game characters like Galen Marek/Starkiller and Kyle Katarn are no longer canon, despite being in many unique stories across the lore.
What Did The Reset Mean For Star Wars?
At the end of the day, the reset can be viewed negatively and positively, giving both sides of the argument grounds to stand on. Plenty of fantastic characters and storylines were lost, beloved characters were made much weaker and less interesting, and the universe suddenly shrunk. At the same time, a smaller universe allows for new innovations and surprising twists, and there’s always a chance for many Legends characters to pop up at some point when they’re least expected.
Star Wars is available for streaming on Disney+.