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star wars - Did Disney officially call Legends/EU material "Not canon"?


I see plenty of (sometimes good natured, sometimes snide) comments that any content that used to be EU (C-canon) is not longer "canon" at all.


Now, personally, to me this treatment seems incorrect, in that Disney seems to treat the former-EU C canon (aka Legends) the same way Lucas Empire always treated it, which is by declaring it as a lesser level of canon as opposed to not canon at all (see details below).


As such, I think the only way this disagreement can be conclusively resolved is by explicit statement of Disney stating that Legends material is "not canon at all, as opposed to different, lower level of canon the way C - or even S - canon always was".


So, my question is: Have Disney ever made a statement calling Legends "not canon" as opposed to "old canon" or "lower level of canon" or simply "Legends/EU"?




As to why I think they treat Legends basically as a C+S canon (and thus why calling it "not canon" requires a proof from Disney that it isn't, in the face of evidence below), it's because:




  • Most importantly, they fully acknowledge its existence as a publisher and as a brand.



    Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.


    ... While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded.



    Now, out of universe, we all know that this is simply a business decision to keep milking a cash cow; AND to not alienate existing fanbase. But whatever the reason, they keep the content as part of the NEW brand and new business. Whether they call it "officially licensed content" as Lucas did, or "Legends", is irrelevant.





  • They very explicitly called the new content "New canon" as opposed to simply "canon":



    On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be Star Wars Rebels.





  • While they consider the new content they create as "main" canon, and don't feel beholden to EU works and free to contradict them - this is 100% identical to how Lucas treated EU C-canon as well! They even mention that parallel explicitly:




    Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe....


    ... While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon...





As such, it seems to me that what they are doing is, instead of calling former EU not canon, they are simply re-juggling canon levels to simplify their business/creative process, by simply creating 2 levels of canon: Main canon (GL created stiff plus anything created and/or licensed by Disney); and Legends canon (all other non-GL previous licensed works).




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