The Difference Between Star Wars Canon and Star Wars Legends

What is Canon -- and what is Legends -- in Star Wars?

I bet you’re wondering: what IS the difference between Star Wars Canon and Star Wars Legends?

Wait–you didn’t ask? That’s OK. We’ve mentioned both Canon and Legends on this show a bunch of times already, so I figured it’s a good time to clarify the difference.

Let’s start by clarifying that Canon doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means in this context. In terms of Star Wars book publishing, a Canon novel – capital C – is any Star Wars book published in 2014 and beyond. If it was published before 2014, it’s considered Legends. Capital L.

Basically, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, they wanted to tell a different post-ROTJ story on the big screen than the books did. But instead of erasing these stories from existence, they reclassified everything that came before it as Legends. You might hear people refer to the EU, or expanded universe – this was what it was called before it was officially branded as Legends. Some people still call it that, which isn’t wrong technically. But the two terms are referring generally to the same thing.

Star Wars Canon and Legends are Two Distinct Timelines

It’s easiest to think of Legends and Canon as two different timelines. Canon events actually  happened, while Legends are like stories within the larger Star wars story, if that makes sense. They still matter. They just don’t follow the events of the movies.

Legends books span from the Old Republic – thousands of years before the original trilogy – so far forward into the timeline that Han and Leia have a grandchild. The daughter of a Sith Lord! It’s a whole thing. The first Legends novel that wasn’t a novelization, Splinter of the Mind’s eye, was published in 1978. Fun fact about this book: It wasn’t confirmed that Luke and Leia were siblings yet. So there are some … vibes. Romantic vibes. It’s A LOT. But honestly, that’s kind of Legends in a nutshell for you.

These books really took off in the early 90s when Timothy Zahn published Heir to the Empire and the subsequent novels. And authors kept cranking out these books until 2013. John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi novel barely made the cut! It’s Legends, but obviously still worth a read.

Starting in 2014, every new book reflected the new Canon timeline. That’s the story that aliigns with the events of the sequel trilogy films. There are major differences in terms of plot and characters, but many of the themes and ideas remain the same.

The earliest book in Canon is The High Republic’s Light of the Jedi which takes place about 200+ years before the prequel trilogy, and the latest in the timeline is the Rise of Skywalker novelization. Whether or not we’ll get books set after this one – and when – is still a mystery.

How to Spot a Star Wars Legends Book in the Wild

When you’re searching for Star Wars books, the easiest way to often tell if a Star Wars book is a Legends book is that now, when Legends books are printed, they have a gold banner across the front cover at the top that says “Legends.” To make it easier for you.

Canon books don’t have this. If you put a canon and legends book without the banner side by side you might not be able to tell the difference by the size or cover alone, depending on which edition or format you have. The internet really is going to be your best friend here.

If you find a Legends book at a resale shop or a garage sale or something, and it was printed before 2014, it won’t have that. But you can always do a search on Goodreads or Bookshop.org and you’ll be able to determine whether or not the book is Canon.

What about the Star Wars Film Novelizations—Are They Canon?

You might be wondering now … what about the Star Wars film novelizations? Are they canon? Are they Legends? Are they something else?

“Something else” is the correct answer here. Some use the term canon-adjacent. Others just classify them as Legends. It’s best not to make this too complicated, so put simply – let’s use the Revenge of the Sith novelization as an example. It’s not canon. The film it’s based on is. But it’s … sort of like a retelling of a true story. We can kind of classify all Star Wars novelizations like this. I wouldn’t put them on my Canon shelves, but I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss them as Legends either. They’re their own thing; they have their own separate section on the bookshelf. They’re unique. They don’t really fit into one preset category, and honestly, I kind of like it that way.

So when you read a novelization, it’s sort of like, you’re reading the movie. But you’re getting a slightly different version. It’s fun. Highly recommend.

So there you have it! That’s a simple breakdown of the difference between Star Wars Canon and Star Wars Legends – as simple as I can make it, anyway. You can read both. Both are equally important. You might have to do a little extra work when reading both to remind yourself that Mara Jade only exists in one timeline, and Thrawn exists in both. But it’s OK. You got this.

And of course, if you have any further questions or need clarification on anything else about these two Star Wars book timelines, you know where to find me. All the info is in the show description.

And if you’re wondering … what’s the Essential Legends Collection? Stay tuned. You might hear all about that very, very soon.

This text is a transcript of Episode 7 of Now This Is Lit: A Star Wars Books Podcast “The Difference Between Star Wars Canon and Star Wars Legends.”