Since Disney’s takeover of Lucasfilm, much of the history of Star Wars was erased from the official canon. Fortunately, some of the most notable characters in this universe have been gradually reimagined and reintegrated into the official canon of the saga. Here are 7 of the best examples of characters who have successfully made the transition from one world to another.
#7 Le Prince Xizor
Prince Xizor, one of the most iconic characters in the universe Star Wars Legends, first appeared in the story Shadow of the Empire, a work that was even adapted into a video game in the 1990s. As the leader of the criminal syndicate Black Sun, Xizor was trying to curry favor with Emperor Palpatine while plotting against Luke Skywalker and seeking to seduce Princess Leia Organa, thanks to the unique pheromones of his species, the Falleen. However, his ambitions came up against the power of Darth Vader, who had his orbital station destroyed, thus marking the end of Xizor.
Although Xizor has yet to make a direct appearance in official canon, he was gradually integrated into this universe. His silhouette, although anonymous, makes a brief appearance among the extras in the pod-racer race of The Phantom Menace. What’s morehis name has been mentioned several times in recent works, as Star Wars: Crimson Reign et Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon #53.
The Black Sun, the criminal organization he led, was reintroduced into the canon, notably thanks to The Clone Wars, where its ties to the Empire and its internal rivalries are explored. Besides, Although Xizor has not yet appeared in person, members of the Falleen population appear in the series, confirming that it is indeed part of the universe Star Wars.
#6 Cyber Dark Maul
Darth Maul is obviously first appeared in the film The Phantom Menace. Unfortunately, this character, who had fans dreaming from the first trailers, only appeared for less than 10 minutes in a 2-hour film, and above all, he dies cut in two and falls into a bottomless pit. Obviously, for spectators and fans, the frustration was intense. In fact, a comic presenting a still-living Darth Maul with cybernetic legs soon appeared.
Thus, from 2001, in the comic Star Wars Tales #9, we could witness a purely fan-service fight between Vader and Maul. However, it is especially in Old Wounds (2005) that things become clearer. The comic features Maul having survived the events of The Phantom Menace and tracking Obi-Wan Kenobi to Tatooine, threatening the life of young Luke Skywalker, and perishing in a clash with his ancient enemy. Although this story is not part of the canon, and is even predates the Disney era, it nevertheless directly influenced the return of Maul in The Clone Wars, jright down to his cybernetic legs and the idea of longer horns.
Faced with persistent demand from fans and its teams, it was ultimately George Lucas himself who validated the return of Darth Maul in the series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as in another comic, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Sith Hunters by Henry Gilroy, which explains the conditions of his survival (as explained in detail here). Since then, Darth Maul with cyborg legs has even made his way to the cinema, appearing briefly in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
#5 Dark Bane
First appearing in a series of books dating back to 2006, Darth Bane has become a figure of the universe Star Wars Legends. It’s simply the Sith at the origin of the “Rule of Two”, which states that there must only be one Sith master and one apprentice. This rule made it possible to limit infighting between the Sith, favoring their survival in secret. Although Bane is best known for Drew Karpyshyn’s Dark Bane trilogy, he made a gradual transition to the canon of Star Wars.
Although his name is not directly mentioned In The Phantom Menace, the idea of the Rule of Two appears there, depicting Bane’s lasting impact on the Sith Order. First mentioned indirectly in The Phantom Menace (Episode I), via the Rule of Two, Bane finally entered the canon via the series The Clone Wars. In the episodes Sacrifice et The Ghosts of Mortis From season 6, Yoda encounters Bane’s spirit on the planet Moraband (formerly Korriban), where he faces his specter.
#4 Leia and Han Solo’s son
Before becoming Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren, in the official canon of Disney/Star Wars (precisely in the film The Force Awakens in 2015), the son of Han Solo and Leia was first Jacen Solo in the first expanded universe of Star Wars, today considered as Legends (precisely in the book The heir to the Empire in 1991). The parallel is all the more obvious since Kylo Ren finds many echoes of his journey in that of Jacen. Indeed, Jacen Solo, like Kylo Ren, is an heir to the Skywalkers and, at one point, succumbs to the dark side of the Force. Both characters are marked by the temptation to follow in the footsteps of their grandfather, Darth Vader.
Kylo Ren, in his desire to become as powerful as Vader, seeks to contact him and inherit his power. Jacen, for his part, studies Anakin Skywalker’s past to justify his choice to fall into darkness. Both are seduced by figures from the dark side : Snoke for Kylo Ren and Lumiya for Jacen Solo. In addition, their transformation into Sith involves the need to sacrifice a loved one: Kylo kills his father, Han Solo, while Jacen kills his aunt, Mara Jade. Both eventually become leaders, Kylo Ren as Supreme Leader and Jacen as head of state under the name Darth Caedus.
#3 Durge
Durge is a fascinating, but relatively confidential character in the universe Star Wars. He makes his first appearance in Star Wars: Republic #51 in 2003, a few months before being introduced in the animated series Clone Wars directed by the brilliant Genndy Tartakovsky. In this series, Durge, a Gen’Dai bounty hunter, is presented as a formidable enemy of the clones, possessing the ability to regenerate his body after each injury. His main role is to fight clones created from Jango Fett’s DNA, but also to oppose the Jedi, notably Obi-Wan Kenobi.
However, the situation becomes complicated when George Lucas decides to apply a first retcon regarding the series Clone Wars by Tartakovsky. Although this was initially canonical, it was quickly considered non-canonical after the series’ introduction The Clone Wars ssupervised by Dave Filoni. Durge, then becoming a character in the Expanded Universe, thus passed from canonical status to that of Legends. Despite this change, Durge is eventually reintroduced into canon Disney/Star Wars in 2020, in theepisode 11 from comics Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, where he teams up with Boba Fett.
#2 Dark Revan
One of the most captivating characters and complexes of the entire chronology of the Expanded Universe Star WarsDarth Revan, first appeared in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Originally, Revan was a Jedi who broke away from the Order to fight the Mandalorian invaders. Soon after, Revan turned to the dark side, became a Sith and attempted to conquer the Republic. Eventually, Revan was redeemed and played a crucial role in saving the Republicdefeating his former apprentice, Darth Malak, and stopping the Sith Empire from invading the galaxy for centuries.
Revan almost appeared as a Sith spirit alongside Darth Bane in the episode The Ghosts of Mortis the Star Wars: The Clone Wars (as mentioned above in the paragraph on Darth Bane). However, this scene was cut, George Lucas and Dave Filoni having decided that the preservation of life after death should remain an ability exclusive to the light side of the Force. Although Bane was included in spirit form, the addition of Revan would have been an even bigger departure from this rule.Revan was eventually reinstated into canon when the Visual Dictionary of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker designated one of the divisions of the Sith Troopers (the Red Stormtroopers) as the Revan Legion.
#1 Grand Amiral Thrawn
Among all the characters in Star Wars Legends which have become canons, Grand Admiral Thrawn is undoubtedly the one who has been highlighted the most. However, like Durge, which we spoke about above, Thrawn has an extremely complex journey between his first appearance in the trilogy of The Heir to the Empire, published in 1991, and his role as the big bad in the Ahsoka series on Disney+. Indeed, although the canonical status of the trilogy The Heir to the Empire has always been a subject of debateThrawn’s appearance in the series The Clone Warsvalidated by George Lucas, should have guaranteed its inclusion in the canon. But when Disney redeem Lucasfilmhe did not immediately obtain full rights to the series The Clone Warswhich was until then operated by Warner Bros.
Thus, Thrawn’s place in canon Disney remains uncertain until Dave Filoni reinstates him in the series Star Wars Rebels, entirely produced under the auspices of Disney. This time, Thrawn officially becomes canon. With the official return of The Clone Wars in the Disney canon, Thrawn definitely gains importance. He even becomes the major antagonist of the live series Ahsoka, where he is played by actor Lars Mikkelsen. Finally, in all likelihood, the circle should come full circle with the announcement of a film titled The Heir to the Empire (although it has almost nothing to do with the 1991 novels). This film should bring together several protagonists from the live series of Disney+ and put Thrawn in the position of big bad to take down.
And if you want to know even more about Star Wars secrets, you can also check out Star Wars: The Galaxy’s 12 Crime Syndicates Explained or Star Wars: The Dark Secrets of Planet Tatooine
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