Skip to main content

Are there any Extended Universe references in “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens?”


Disney/Lucasfilm have claimed to have scrubbed the Extended Universe from future consideration in the future Disney-based Star Wars: Episode VII - XII movie timeline.


That said, are there any Extended Universe references that might have been snuck into “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens?”




Answer



There are a few things from Legends that made its way into Episode VII, but there are many more elements that have an uncanny resemblance to things in Legends.


Same as Legends



  • Crossguard lightsabers first appeared in Legends, although with a different appearance despite the same name

  • "Light" as a term for the Light Side of the Force was first used in Legends

  • The word "Starkiller" has existed since George Lucas' original draft of Star Wars and was the code name of Galen Marek in The Force Unleashed


Seemingly inspired by Legends


To my knowledge, there are no statements from anyone working on The Force Awakens that these were intentionally drawn from Legends, but the similarities are uncanny.




  • The general plot of the Rebellion successfully restoring the Republic and the Empire living on in different forms and under new leadership is common in Legends material, such as the Thrawn trilogy

  • A villain named Kybo Ren existed in Star Wars: Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO

  • Kylo Ren's mask seems suspiciously similar to Darth Revan's mask, which is also worn with a black hooded cloak

  • A Skywalker (Luke) had a son named Ben

  • Han and Leia had a son named Jacen, who trained with Luke at his newly founded Jedi Academy and later fell to the dark side, just as Ben/Kylo Ren did. Also, he killed a family member (Mara Jade, Luke's wife, his aunt) to fully embrace the Dark Side

    • Note that Jacen had a twin sister, Jaina, and there are some theories that Rey is Ben's sister




  • Luke's original lightsaber being recovered from Cloud City and later passed on to others


You could also argue that there were more planet-destroying weapons in Legends, but I think that Starkiller base was more likely to be inspired by the Death Star in the films than by Legends.


Other plots, like Leia having a tumultuous relationship with New Republic leadership, occurred in Legends, but seem to me like they could easily be a coincidence, whereas the things above have an uncanny resemblance.


By the way, this is not a new thing, as all the movies have had Legends elements added to them (yes, even A New Hope via the Special Edition).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Tolkien trying to say in this letter?

In a draft of a letter, later recorded as #246, Tolkien makes a strange statement. I am interested in the first few sentences of the letter, but I will include the remainder for the sake of context. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond . But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power . But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Was Galadriel's temptation of Boromir instrumental to his fall?

We know Galadriel tempted the members of the Fellowship, did she tempt Boromir with visions of taking the Ring and saving Gondor? In the books, Boromir willingly accepts the judgement of the council that the Ring should be destroyed, but after the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel his personality seems to change. Was the temptation offered by Galadriel in some way responsible for Boromir's fall? Answer It's likely, but not certain I believe it is likely Galadriel tempted him with the ring, and in doing so re-ignited a pre-existing idea to take the ring, but to be clear lets break this down into three parts. Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir after setting off Boromir after being tempted Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir pleas for the ring to go to Minas Tirith, to help Gondor in its defense against Mordor. “ Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more