In an attempt to end months of fan speculation, discussion and concern, Lucasfilm has released a statement about the position of the “Expanded Universe” of the Star Wars franchise in relation to the new movie trilogy.

“While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, [Franchise creator George Lucas] always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU,” the statement explains, clarifying that the official canon for the franchise consists of the six movies to date, as well as the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.

“These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align,” the statement states.

The upcoming new animated series Star Wars Rebels is also identified as canon. It continues, “In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe,” adding that elements introduced in the Expanded Universe material remain available for use in future; Star Wars Rebels will feature concepts that first appeared in roleplaying games related to the series in the 1980s, it points out.

More to come...