27 major Star Wars events not shown in the movies

There’s a new buzzword in Hollywood: “Shared Universe.” Marvel and DC fans think their franchise of choice created the term, but in reality, Star Wars is the granddaddy of all shared universes. George Lucas loyalists see Star Wars as a kind of hipster blockbuster movie. Why? Because it shared universes before sharing was cool.

With Daredevil and Jessica Jones on Netflix, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter on ABC, Marvel has quickly become the media’s poster child for all things interconnected. Though it hasn’t gotten as much coverage, Star Wars is taking things a step further.

Star Wars is like a religion. Just like actual councils met to decide which books should be published in Old and New Testaments of the Bible, Lucasfilm Story Group officially made a decree: that all of the old (pre-2014) Star Wars“Expanded Universe” material would be given the non-canonical status of Star Wars Legends. From then on, only the six feature films and The Clone Wars would be considered canon.

In the meantime, however, Disney Lucasfilm has been producing novels, comic books, cartoons and video games, all set within the new shared universe, at a pretty fast clip, and it’s a lot to keep track of, so that’s why we’re bringing you the 27 Major Canonical Star Wars Events Not Shown in the Movies. Read this and you’ll be all caught up on the Star Wars universe in time for The Force Awakens.

Anakin Skywalker had a padawan

Between the time of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker took on a Padawan named Ahsoka Tano. While initially reluctant to be responsible for her, Anakin formed a strong bond with Ahsoka, who was training to become a powerful Jedi. Before she could complete her trials and become a full fledged Knight, however, Ahsoka was framed for murder by a former friend. Due to political pressure on the Jedi from Chancellor Palpatine, she was expelled from the Jedi Order.  

This initiated Anakin’s mistrust in the Jedi Council. Ahsoka’s rejection contributed to sewing the seeds of distrust that eventually allowed Anakin to turn his back on the council altogether, side with Palpatine, and accept the mantle of Darth Vader.

You can find more on this in The Clone Wars animated series and Star Wars: Rebels animated series.

Darth Maul is still alive

Star Wars fans were thrilled to see a new and exciting villain, Darth Maul, appear in The Phantom Menace. They weren’t so thrilled to watch his premature death at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. As it turns out, Maul’s bisection and interminable fall into the reactor pit was simply a flesh wound.

Several years later, Darth Maul reemerged with shiny new legs, a powerful apprentice named Savage Opress, and a hunger for revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi.  After subverting a group of Mandalorian mercenaries, however, he was captured by Darth Sidious and witnessed the death of Savage Opress. Maul managed to escape captivity and has remained quiet for all StarWars stories since.

You can find more on this in The Clone Wars animated series and Son of Dathomir comics.

The Jedi and the Sith aren't the only Force users in the galaxy

Star Wars is famous for its clearly defined struggle of good versus evil. The first Episode VII trailer mentioned “the dark side” and “the light” (as embodied by the Sith and the Jedi, respectively), but there are also some gray areas. Several other force users have been introduced, such as the Nightsisters of Dathomir, who practice a sort of dark side witchcraft using the Force, or the mysterious force wielders encountered by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker on the planet Mortis.

This proves that the Force is merely an energy source, and that the Jedi and Sith are more akin to strict religious groups than anything else. This leaves the door open for alternate ideologies among Force users, like the Knights of Ren.

You can find more on this in The Clone Wars animated series.