Max endeavors to find the boundary separating Legends and Canon
Star Wars has always had a large role-playing presence. West End Games was the only Star Wars content at ALL in 1987 and could be seen as the catalyst for the franchises’ “return” in 1991. Now in modern times, the role-playing games belong to Fantasy Flight Games or FFG for short. FFG released tons of manuals and sourcebooks full of lore and information and Wookieepedia determined that all material released after 2016 was “canon” and everything before 2016 was “Legends” even though the reboot was 2014.
I can understand things took some time to adjust and 2016 books are labeled as both. It seems like the correct way to go, but for meticulous information junkies like myself; it’s irksome to not be totally sure what you’re reading, exists in the “real” universe. I reached out to the Keeper of the Holocron, Leland Chee on Twitter and he responded that FFG content should be taken as [sic] “assume its Legends until otherwise”. Basically, this is like Schrodingers Cat; the canon is both dead and alive until you open the box; yet lean towards stuff being dead.
This still does not satisfy me. When you are reviewing content that is presented to you, you should set rules on what is part of the story and what is not. Role-playing is a tricky area; I’ll admit since it’s designed for players to make their own “stories” which of course are not canon. Yet the material – does it hold water or does it not? I recently saw that the famous Legends character Ulic Quel Droma was “recanonized” with a mention in an FFG product. So is it? Is Ulic part of Canon? Or is he Legends? It’s very frustrating and if I were on the Lucasfilm Story Group; I would have powwow meetings every week, trying to determine what to label this stuff. Unfortunately, for now, Ulic and other stuff are Legends until proven Canon.
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Max Nocerino is a new addition to the Future of the Force roster. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter @MaxN2100 where he channels his passion frequently!
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Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
