Star Wars canon vs. Legends: what changes?

What changed in 2014?

Lucasfilm announced a coordinated approach to new storytelling across media. Its announcement retained the six existing episodic films and The Clone Wars as foundations, while earlier Expanded Universe tales would remain available under the Legends banner.[1]

The publishing relaunch made the distinction concrete: A New Dawn was announced as a canon novel connected to Rebels. A book could now belong to the coordinated continuity just as a screen story could.[2]

A returning idea does not bring its entire history

Lucasfilm explicitly left the Expanded Universe available as a source of ideas. Its announcement pointed to elements reused in Rebels, including the Imperial Security Bureau. Reusing an organisation or character does not mean every older story about it has also happened in the new continuity.[1]

When comparing two works, ask which version each one depicts. Treat a familiar name as a reason to check the source, rather than a shortcut for merging timelines.

Choose the continuity you want to follow

• For stories connected to the current continuity, choose Current canon in the Star Wars guide’s continuity filter.
• For the older Expanded Universe, choose Legends.
• Use Every continuity to explore the wider catalogue, while keeping each entry’s continuity label in view.

This is an organisational distinction, not a rating of a story’s quality. You can enjoy either route. The useful habit is to keep their histories separate when making connections or looking up what happens next.