Its a good time to be a Star Wars fan. While many were uneasy about Disneys recent acquisition of LucasFilm, the prospects of a new Star Wars movie trilogy, as well as the possibility of numerous Star Wars spin-off films, is pretty exciting. And theres also an ever-expanding universe of Star Wars-themed novels, graphic novels, and video games known as, well, the Expanded Universe (or EU). The EU provides backstories on or fills in missing details from the movies, tells us what happened after Luke
et al defeat the Empire in Return of the Jedi, and even travels farther back in time to explore the roots of the struggle between the Jedi and the Sith. Thanks to the EU, the saga didnt have to end with Episode VI, or falter with the prequels. But the EU is pretty overwhelming. There are literally decades worth of products spanning tens of thousands of years of Star Wars history. Even in the era covered by the films, there are numerous characters in the EU that fans of the films would barely recognize. And then there are the products covering the Old Republic, with fewif anyrecognizable names or faces. So say youre a fan of the films, and have always wondered whats out there. Or you picked up a random Star Wars novel, found it a painful read, but want to give the EU another chance. Or you want to get ready for the new Star Wars films, which will probably draw on EU storylines. Where do you start? Well, Ive been there. And I want to help. So here, in the order in which you should proceed, are seven ways to get into the Star Wars EU.