8 Star Wars Expanded Universe Changes That Were Completely Justified
1. Everything That Happened To Luke After Episode VI
Love it. Hate it. Whatever. The Last Jedi is here to stay.
Before Rian Johnson's film, it's fair to say that Luke Skywalker was fairly one dimensional. Yes, he was the heir to the greatest pilot the galaxy had ever known, but he was never destined to be anything other than a typical hero - a young farm-boy who gets swept up in a rebellion, rescues a princess, and saves the day. To be fair, he didn't need to be anything else, but The Last Jedi goes to great lengths to extract just how the legacy of the Skywalkers would impact Luke, and what the way of the Jedi - or, rather, Luke's own way - should actually be.
In the end, Luke dies on his own terms - at peace, and with the knowledge of having saved the lives of his friends. He does this not by needlessly twirling his lightsaber around, or by lifting an AT-AT onto a hoard of stormtroopers, but by depriving Kylo of the thing he wants the most: Luke's death by his hand, and with it the knowledge that the most vapid, superficial and violent aspects of the Force are its true defining traits.
Ironically, the old EU paints a picture of Luke that plays into the things Kylo adores the most; Luke dons his father's old armour for a period of time, and becomes so powerful that he eventually becomes untouchable. Factor in his eventual turn to the dark side and a fundamental lack of character development, and it becomes clear that the Luke of the old canon was, in truth, really quite boring.
He founds a temple, trains a new generation of Jedi, and dares not to question its traditions. He then turns to the dark side himself before turning back again, and soon becomes the most powerful force-user in the galaxy, but isn't this - not Luke's depiction in Episode VIII - what really betrays the character?
In truth, the Luke seen in the old EU became a mythic figure - the kind spoken of before Rey meets him - but it's not the Skywalker seen in the Original Trilogy. That man was a flawed character, and the one presented in the old EU - save for an uninspired turn to the Dark Side - couldn't be further from that depiction.