Star Wars is getting ready to do something it has never done before, and it could change the trajectory of the franchise forever, opening up new avenues for future stories. For the most part, Star Wars has followed a pretty specific formula since it came about in the 1970s. The only major departure from that formula (which was movies telling the main story with a couple of TV shows complementing them) came in 2019 with the launch of Disney+. After that, Star Wars put a lot more focus on creating television titles instead of movies. However, another change is getting ready to happen.
On August 5, fans will be able to watch all eight episodes of a brand-new Star Wars television series titled Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi. This animated limited series is historic for a few reasons, but notably, it will be the first time ever that Star Wars has released a full season of TV that follows one continuous storyline that takes place outside of canon.
Star Wars is no stranger to episodic series that tell a cohesive story, but in the past, they have all been canon. For example, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka all followed that episodic template (some more successfully than others), but they all connected to the overarching Star Wars story and were set in canon. The Ninth Jedi will have eight episodes, and all of them will build off of each other to tell one story, but it won’t be recognized as an official part of the canon Star Wars story.
Star Wars is officially taking an enormous leap with the release of this Disney+ series. With it being the first episodic show to be released outside of canon, it opens the door for more non-canon stories to be told in the same manner. Since acquiring Lucasfilm, Disney has been quite careful with Legends content, and has largely made it a point to clearly designate that nothing outside of canon should be made into an on-screen project, except under very specific circumstances (such as the LEGO Disney+ specials).
However, that narrative is changing. Disney is seemingly becoming more comfortable with telling non-canon stories, as evidenced by the three seasons of Star Wars: Visions and the fact that some non-canon storylines (such as Darth Talon) are being incorporated into canon in their own way.
If The Ninth Jedi is successful, it is entirely possible that Disney could open the floodgates and be willing to greenlight more TV shows that take place outside of canon.
Some of the most beloved stories and characters in the galaxy far, far away originated in non-canon projects, so fans would absolutely jump at the chance to see some of those stories adapted into TV shows or movies, even if they weren’t recognized as a part of the canon storyline.
The Ninth Jedi is a standalone series. It is not connected to anything else in the Star Wars universe, and that is what makes it pretty special. No one has to worry about continuity errors, retcons, or anything else. Everyone can just press play and enjoy the story that is being told. If some non-canon stories that have already been established in Legends could be given that same treatment, Star Wars fans would undoubtedly be more than excited.
Star Wars Legends Stories That Could Become TV Shows
The Old Republic
Many Star Wars fans want The Old Republic (specifically the story of Darth Revan that was told in the Knights of the Old Republic video game) to be canonized and for either a TV show or movie (or both) to be made about that era. A canon project would be ideal, but no one would complain if stories in that era were told in a non-canon Disney+ series similar to The Ninth Jedi.
The Old Republic is extremely vast. There have already been an incredible number of stories told from that era in Legends, and there is still room to expand and tell more stories. It is possible that Star Wars could even jump to both sides of the fence and create projects that are canon and not canon set within the Old Republic.
Whatever the case may be, the Old Republic is the most fertile ground for Star Wars to break and sow its seeds for the future. The best course of action Lucasfilm and Disney could take with the Old Republic would include standalone stories that fans can be excited for.
Mara Jade’s Main Stories
Parts of Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy are already being adapted into canon in the MandoVerse, mainly in Ahsoka. However, there are other elements and characters from those books that haven’t been incorporated into any on-screen projects, and the biggest is undoubtedly Mara Jade. For reference, Mara Jade is the love interest of Luke Skywalker in those books, and after her introduction in the novels, she went on to play a major role in other Legends stories.
The Heir to the Empire trilogy is one of the most beloved stories in Star Wars history, and fans would love nothing more than to see it faithfully adapted. It would have to be a non-canon TV series or trilogy of movies, of course, since it wouldn’t make sense with the sequel trilogy to adapt all of the elements of that trilogy in canon. However, there would be no issue with that, especially if it focused more on Mara Jade and her character arc as the Emperor’s Hand.
Alongside that trilogy, Zahn also penned other Star Wars books like Allegiance and Choices of One. Both of those continued to flesh out Mara Jade’s character and her relationship with Luke Skywalker. It would be interesting to see a “what if” scenario regarding Luke being in a romantic relationship, and what a bit of a different post-Return of the Jedi era than what was made canon would look like.
Dark Forces
Another insanely popular story from Star Wars Legends that fans would love to see adapted into a TV series is Dark Forces. Dark Forces was a video game that had a huge player base, and while it was compelling in a lot of ways, it is most notable for introducing Kyle Katarn.
For reference, Kyle Katarn was an Imperial officer who switched sides and joined the rebellion. He later learned that he was Force-sensitive and became a Jedi after the events of Return of the Jedi, when Luke started his New Jedi Order.
Katarn has been featured in multiple Legends stories, but Dark Forces and the Jedi Knight series in general are the most popular. If Star Wars were to create a Kyle Katarn standalone series that wasn’t canon, longtime fans would go crazy for it.
Rogue Squadron
Rogue Squadronis another Star Wars Legends staple that could easily be turned into a television series that takes place outside of canon. Of every idea on this list, Rogue Squadron would actually be the easiest concept to turn into a non-canon television series, because it could simply explore Rogue Squadron and their missions, and it could work extremely well in either animation or live-action.
It is worth noting that Patty Jenkins was in talks to direct a canon film titled Rogue Squadron, but the initial plans fell through. Lucasfilm is adamant that the movie is still going to happen at some point, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
Shadows of the Empire
Shadows of the Empire was as close to a canon project as something could get without actually being labeled a canon project. The multimedia project was set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, so if Lucasfilm and Disney ever wanted to explore the Original Trilogy era again, creating a Shadows of the Empire TV show would be the best way to do that.
Once again, it wouldn’t have to be canon, but making a standalone Shadows of the Empire Disney+ series would also allow fans to reunite with some of their favorite Original Trilogy characters, such as Luke, Leia, Boba Fett, the Emperor, Darth Vader, and more.
