The Expanded Universe of Star Wars helped save Phantom Menace and the prequel trilogy

By James On May 4, 2024

Star Wars: The phantom menace is 25 years old and back in theaters for Star Wars Day (“May the 4th be with you”), which inevitably sparks a new round of debate about the film, the prequel trilogy as a whole, and the current, sometimes frustrating , state of Star Wars media. although The phantom menace has been heavily criticized, but has also been reexamined and even embraced in recent decades. There are memes that celebrate highly dramatic dialogue and direct references in tentpoles Solo. The kids who grew up with the prequels as their main Star Wars films have spoken out in their defense.

But what really justified the prequel trilogy was undoubtedly the spin-off culture. The animated series, books, comics, and everything else that fit into the expanded canon delivered on the promises made in the prequels’ seven-hour CG-filled adventure. The phantom menaceand later Attack of the clones, introduced a political conspiracy that encompassed every corner of the world Star Wars universe, a corrupt government working with a somewhat unwitting Jedi order. In an attempt at reasonable runtimes, the films don’t delve too deeply into the Jedi’s request for a clone army, or into interesting characters like Darth Maul, Mace Windu, and Count Dooku, all of whom meet an untimely demise. But the genius of Lucas’ plans – expected or coincidental – is that the films sparked the creativity of other makers.

Del Rey

In 2014, shortly after acquiring Lucasfilm, Disney rebranded most of its “Expanded Universe” media as “Legends” content, with only a handful of stories and lore from outside the films surviving the purge. Yet both the departed and surviving EU strengthen the prequels.

One notable book that has not survived the new post-Disney canon is that of James Luceno Darth Plagueis, which took one of the most important but unknown figures from the prequels and gave us a complete story that fills in a lot of the blanks. The novel was about the Sith lord Darth Plagueis, which was alluded to Revenge of the Sith to be the master of Darth Sidious, and a being who could manipulate midichlorians to create life. The novel tells the story of Plagueis’ training of a teenage Palpatine, his plan to become a politician, and how the duo planned the creation of a clone army, and thus the Clone Wars themselves.

Although the novel is no longer canon, the idea that Palpatine and his master planned everything about the Clone Wars to gain power has been explored in other comics and novels, such as Luceno’s. Tarkin from 2014. Palpatine in the movies was meant to be this mastermind who was ten steps ahead of everyone, but we only really saw him do much Revenge of the Sith. Likewise, we get vague statements about corruption and the “bureaucrats” in charge of the Senate, but in books we finally start to see how much the Senator from Naboo changed the course of history in the galaxy. Tarkin illustrated the damaged political system, and how easy it was for Palpatine to manipulate it to his advantage, something that fleshed out the hooded figure formerly known as ‘The Emperor’ into a cunning man who underestimated everyone until it was too late .

The expanded canon also sheds new light on the Jedi Order better than the films ever could. We knew from the original trilogy that the Jedi were all but gone; the prequels showed them to be a naive, strict organization that could not prevent its demise.

The novels Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray and the audiobook Dooku: Jedi lost by Cavan Scott focuses on why some Jedi across the galaxy became disillusioned with the Order and its close ties to the Republic. Master & Apprentice follows Qui-Gon Jinn as he welcomes Obi-Wan Kenobi as his apprentice, expanding on some of the films’ themes, such as slavery in the galaxy and the role of the Jedi Order in galactic politics. The novel shows Qui-Gon continually questioning whether the Jedi were more than the Chancellor’s police force, and the nature of “balance” in the force.

The phantom menace introduced the idea of Jedi as something akin to the United Nations peacekeepers, who cannot intervene without the full authority of the Republic, and are expected to always be neutral. But how are they supposed to protect the light side of the Force that lives in all living things if they can’t intervene in wars or end slavery? The current EU books confront the contradictions that pushed away members like Count Dooku and ultimately Anakin.

When it comes to the comic books, the anthology runs Era of the Republic sheds new light on the characters we know from the prequels. The Qui-Gon edition continues the story of Master & Apprentice where the Jedi Master became obsessed with prophecies and found a true balance in the force, which he believes the Jedi Order cannot achieve if they remain so rigid.

There is also Obi-Wan and Anakin, written by Charles Soule, it explores the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin and the ten years between Episodes I and II, fleshing out the brotherly bond between the two Jedi. The Darth Maul miniseries focuses on Maul’s insatiable hunger to kill Jedi, and his frustration at being banned from participating in battle before the events of The phantom menacesomething that sends him further to the dark side of the Force, even as he wonders what the light has to offer.

Then there is The Clone Wars, one of the few media that has not previously been decanonized The power awakens was released. What made the animated series special from the start is that it seemed like everyone involved knew that viewers were quite negative about most of the characters in the prequels, so they took it to heart to flesh them out and give them enough depth we just love as much of them as Luke, Leia and Han.

From the first season The Clone Wars showed us the impact the conflict had on the entirety of Star Wars universe. We meet children orphaned by the war, see how the criminal underworld thrived in a war situation, and note why most planetary populations were hesitant to join the war effort – leading to uprisings in some regions. Although the series was primarily aimed at children, it featured some dark and adult material that showed the horrors of war and its human cost.

One of the best parts of the series was getting to know the faceless clone army introduced in the films. We first meet Domino Squad in training and then follow them through their trials and tribulations on the battlefield. The Umbara Arch is the best example of what was created The Clone Wars awesome. The four-episode story follows the Domino Squad and the larger 501st Legion as they embark on a deadly mission to take the capital of Umbara, and watches as tension rises between the clones and their new and reckless commander, Jedi Pong Krell. The series was raw and candid about the war dead and still found room to give the clones personalities despite them all looking the same.

The animated series also did a better job of tying up loose ends. Remember that deleted scene Revenge of the Sith where Padmé actually founds the Rebel Alliance? The Clone Wars shows that there was resistance in different worlds that opposed the war and what the Republic did. This included the introduction of Saw Gerrera, who played a key role in the live-action Villain one. There was also the reintroduction of Darth Maul, who came back to life in the series, with much more than three lines of dialogue.

When it came to filling in the gaps in the prequels, The Clone Wars also gave fans their first canonical look at the infamous Sifo-Dyas in the episode ‘The Lost One’, which was about the conspiracy surrounding the creation of the clone army. In the same season last year, the series showed how the Emperor was able to control the clones with Order 66, giving us a backstory for the devastating order.

Ultimately, it’s for a lot of fans The Clone Wars succeeded where the prequels failed, by keeping audiences interested in Anakin Skywalker’s journey. The arrogant, brutal Jedi gained more dimension and his story became that of a man caught between the light and dark sides of the Force. We witnessed his constant battle with the dark side, his fear of loss, his anger and resentment towards the world, the pressure of being a Jedi, and how it all made him the perfect target for Palpatine’s manipulation. The series gave a deeper, more complex look at the character and made his transition to Darth Vader logical, with much more impact.

The phantom menace is 25 years old, but the prequel era feels fresher than ever. The grievances that have arisen over the past twenty years have been challenged, reversed and matured by the ever-expanding EU. Fear of the prequels leads to anger, anger leads to hatred, and hatred leads to suffering – but most of that can be alleviated by picking up the right book.