Disney's 'Star Wars' Kills Millions Without Even A Ripple In The Force

"Star Wars" fans have Disney to thank for the fact that the saga will be returning to theaters with new movies.

That's welcome news for fans both casual and diehard, but the new films, which take place 30 years after "Return of the Jedi," come with a huge caveat.

The new emperor of the "Star Wars" brand wiped out the Expanded Universe killing millions of characters and stories which has barely been commented on in the euphoria over the new films.

This may mean nothing to people who only know "Star Wars" from the movies, but it's a giant slap in the face to the most loyal fans who have followed the saga into comic books, novels, games, and other avenues of advancing the stories.

Disney may have felt it was necessary for the writers of "Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens" to have as blank as slate as possible, but doing that required insulting the brand's most fevered following.

What is the Expanded Universe?

The Expanded Universe is all the "Star Wars" stories released by the various Lucas licensees which have filled in details between the movies and continued the adventures of its most popular characters.

It's a world which contains hundreds of books and thousands of comics, some of which tell tales thousands of years before the films and some which logically followed Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest.

In the EU, Han Solo and Princess Leia got married and had children, as did Luke, to Mara Jade, a fan favorite who was later killed, leaving behind the Jedi Master and son, Ben.

The three Solo children became heroes, one a villain, and Chewbacca died.

There were some silly stories early on and some continuity/logic flaws, but in recent years the EU has been extremely well done.

The EU also offered endless directions for future movies and plenty of wiggle room to introduce new characters and new story lines for the films.

Instead, in the fictional world of "Star Wars," the EU no longer counts and the stories started there seem likely to now be ended. Sorry about those 200 or so books you read, now watch our new movie.

The sad thing is that I'll be there opening night. But, while I will be happy for the new films, I'll also be sad for the characters who now never were and mostly never will be.

Yes, it's all fiction, but EU fans invested countless hours in this world and we deserved better than being told it no longer matters.