Some may say that no franchise features a more robust andconvoluted storyline than theKingdom Heartsseries. Frankly, they’re probably right. But that isn’t to say other big names don’t sometimes require their own condensed primer for those unwilling to sit through a lifetime’s worth of movies, shows, books, games, and probably some weird laser-disc exclusive things at this point. So it’s lucky somebody did just that in time forStar WarsDay (the primer, not the laserdisc).
Appropriately named YouTube channelStar WarsExplained just released an hour-long video going through the entire canon timeline of theStar Warsseries as of 2021, and in this case, the entire canon timeline means theentirecanon timeline. This means that even the fans who love the series to death, watching and rewatching every movie and series annually, have probably missed something that’s in this video. That’s how in-depth it is. Yet it’s stillnot as complicated as Mortal Kombat, somehow.
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The thing is, though, it’s not some dry video essay explaining motivations and speculating on various unanswered questions. No, this is just a straight recitation of facts, walking through every important moment inStar Warshistory in chronological order. Everything from the basics like the Battle of Yavin and Luke Skywalker’s training with Yoda to far more obscure (but still completely canon) elements like the redemption and ultimate fate of Count Dooku’s apprenticeAsajj Ventress fromStar Wars: The Clone Wars. Everything that’s part of the canon, even children’s books like Tom Angleberger’sThe Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear!receive a proper summary. Hey, ifThe Mandaloriancan reference Life Day, everything is fair game.
Possibly the most impressive aspect of this is the fact that so much is covered even after Disney’s “reboot” of theStar Warscanon roughly 7 years ago. At that point, theStar Warsexpanded universe had been slowly developed through games, comics, and novels for as long as the series itself had existed. But now, everything before that cutoff point in 2014 that isn’t one of the mainline films or part of theClone WarsTV series has become “Legends,” meaning they aren’t part of the canon any longer. However, that doesn’t mean they’re forgotten, as works developed since then have still been adapting elements from various Legends stories back into canon, such ascharacters like Grand Admiral Thrawn.
So even with all of the Legends stories cut out, the video fromStar WarsExplained is still jam-packed full of a nearly overwhelming amount of canon materials. For those who haven’t gotten a chance to read through novels like Chuck Wendig’sStar Wars: Aftermathtrilogy or comics like theDoctor Aphraseries, perhaps an hour-long summary addressing them all might be a more palatable medium.
Still, it might be worthwhile to take a look at all the books currently in the canon and see if any of them look interesting.Aftermathis a fascinating glimpse into the galaxy immediately followingReturn of the Jedi, and there are even rumors thatDoctor Aphra herself may be making the jumpto live-action soon. But however people decide to enjoyStar Wars, whether they read everything or simply watched one of the movies and really liked it, they’re all still genuine fans.
TheStar Warssaga is now available on Disney Plus.
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