10 Star Wars Characters SAVED By The Expanded Universe

Prior to Disney's multibillion dollar acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, the Expanded Universe took readers, gamers and viewers back to the origins of the Jedi and some centuries beyond the events of Return of the Jedi. Sadly, the House of Mouse opted to consign these numerous tales to the realms of non-canon and much of the fanbase were devastated to learn their favourite EU characters would forever be 'Legends'.

This doesn't mean the stories can't still be enjoyed, but with so much material lost to the realms of non-canon, it does mean that an awful lot of characters lost a lot of the development so many authors, game devs and other media producers had taken the time to flesh out.

Disney were never going to spend such an incredible sum of money on the Star Wars franchise without introducing new material, however, and much of the new iteration of the Expanded Universe utilises existing characters and puts a whole new spin on their backstories and ongoing adventures.

Some characters have lost a bit of their quality as part of the new Expanded Universe, with the likes of Saw Gerrera appearing as a husk of a man in Rogue One, but there are many characters who have benefited immensely from the new EU tales. For some, it may have even saved them.

The Jedi High Council were introduced as something of a committee in The Phantom Menace as they sat in their chamber discussing all things the Force and judging prospective Padawan learners, but it did seem as though it was Master Yoda and Mace Windu taking the lead on things.

With this in mind, Jedi Master Plo Koon never actually says a word in any of the prequel movies and the only action we see from him is some background gestures, a few glimpses at the Battle of Geonosis and his death at the hands of his battalion of Clone Troopers in Revenge of the Sith.

So how can what is effectively a background character be saved exactly? Well, Plo Koon's appearances throughout the Clone Wars series shed some light on what an exceptional Jedi he truly is, as one piece of dialogue paints a picture of the most compassionate Jedi of them all.

In only the second episode of the series, Plo Koon and his clone squadron are stranded above Abregado and his clone troopers state they do not believe they will be rescued as they consider themselves 'expendable' - Master Plo responds simply with: "Not to me".

Granted, this act of compassion is somewhat undermined by Plo Koon's decision to expel Ahsoka from the Jedi Order towards the end of the series, but he is humble enough to apologise for his mistake - manners maketh the man.