The
Expanded Universe, which technically began in
October 1977 with the
Marvel comic
Star Wars 7: New Planets, New Perils!, existed until April 25, 2014, when Lucasfilm declared its content to be non-canon, organized under the "Legends" banner, in preparation for the
Star Wars sequel trilogy. Although George Lucas permitted the Expanded Universe to run parallel to his personal
Star Wars creations, he never considered its stories to be part of his official canon. As explained by
Pablo Hidalgo in the
2012 The Essential Reader's Companion, "Though these [Expanded Universe] stories may get his stamp of approval, they don't enter his canon unless they are depicted cinematically in one of his projects. That said, unless something occurs in a canon project to directly contradict a published source, it can reliably be said to have occurred."
According to Lucasfilm senior editor Jennifer Heddle, the Expanded Universe now exists as a non-canon resource for
Star Wars authors, who may use any Expanded Universe subject in a new canon work, subject to approval by the Lucasfilm Story Group. In the event an Expanded Universe subject is referenced in a new canon work, that subject becomes official canon once again. However, the subject's previous Expanded Universe history does not necessarily become canon. Heddle confirms that the Expanded Universe now basically stands as a non-canon alternate universe and that no new stories will be added to the Expanded Universe line of continuity.