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In 2014 the Star Wars universe went through a massive change.

Lucasfilm announced that all previously published Star Wars comics and novels would be rebranded as Legends. The stories would still be in print, but they would no longer be canon. Going forward, all the new comics and novels would be canon and overseen by the newly form Lucasfilm Story Group.

The Story Group would be tasked with ensuring everything could fit into a cohesive timeline without any contradictions. This would also allow for greater brand synergy with the (then) upcoming Disney sequel trilogy.

John Jackson Miller has written Star Wars content during the Legends era, and during the Story Group era. According to the best-selling author, the biggest difference is the size of the sandbox they can play with.

“We were given broad sections of the timeline in the Legends days,” John Jackson Miller tells Popverse. “I was given basically the entire universe in the couple of years in which Knights of the Old Republic was set, the comics, the Knight Errant novel and graphic novels, when they were set. I had a lot of room to move around in because there was nothing really that I had to hue extremely closely to. It is true that Knights of the Old Republic was coming seven years before the video game. But I wrote one timeline year of stories in 50 issues.”

“I was really not constrained too much from having to make sure that things synced up with something else that was coming along. Whereas, you'll have a situation where you're more constrained by other things that are set. My most recent novel, Star Wars: The Living Force, which came out last year, is set one year before The Phantom Menace. And this is a movie where by that point we know a lot about where everybody is and what everybody's doing and what their perspectives are. We know somewhat less about what they were doing before that moment.”

Miller went on to say that the High Republic era reminds him of the Legends days. Since the High Republic is set hundreds of years before the films, the writers have more freedom to play around with characters and concepts.

“I have the High Republic 200 years before the films to sort of play off of. But again, that is the case where with the High Republic, they engineered a sandbox for everybody to play in where they could remake the entire galaxy and sort of have it all coordinated. That does have a sort of a similar feel to what we were doing back then.”

Miller brings up an interesting point. If you miss the Legends era, you should check out the High Republic novels and comics. For the authors, it recaptures the vibes from that era, so you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.