The term Expanded Universe (EU) is an umbrella term for officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. The material expands the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. The first Expanded Universe story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues of the series having been an adaptation of the film), followed quickly by Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.
George Lucas retains artistic control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes efforts to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across companies. Elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films, such as the name of capital planet Coruscant, which first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used in The Phantom Menace. Additionally, Lucas so liked the character Aayla Secura, who was introduced in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series, that he included her as a character in Attack of the Clones.
Lucas has played a large role in the production of various television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer. Star Wars has had numerous radio adaptations. A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively, except in Return of the Jedi in which Luke was played by Joshua Fardon and Lando by Arye Gross. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.
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Other articles related to "expanded universe, universes, universe, expanded":
... The Expanded Universe is intended to be a continuation, and an expansion, on the six Star Wars theatrical films produced by George Lucas from 1977–2005 ... make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek, we would have two universes My universe and then this other one ... They try to make their universe as consistent with mine as possible, but obviously they get enthusiastic and want to go off in other directions ...
... The term "Expanded Universe" is used generally to refer to the 'extension' of a media franchise, (such as a television show or a series of feature films), typically via other media, such as comics and ... The "expanded" works are not necessarily by the same authors nor from the same producers ... The term goes back to the book Expanded Universe (Heinlein) by the science fiction author Robert A ...
... The early development of the Expanded Universe was sporadic and unrefined, particularly because there was so little official material for the creators to build on ... For example, the "Expanded Universe" is generally considered to have begun with Alan Dean Foster's February 1978 Star Wars spin-off novel, Splinter of the Mind's ... Alan Dean Foster actually ghost-wrote it, contributing heavily to the Universe in the process ...
... Although there are some exceptions, Expanded Universe works are generally not accepted as canon, or part of the 'official' storyline ... In some (rare) cases, characters created for an Expanded Universe can become 'adopted' by the canonical works associated with that franchise - one example being Star Wars, although, most of ...
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