Custom Image by Hannah DiffeyUpdated Aug 22, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT
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There is no shortage of great Star Wars stories, but some of the franchise's most memorable adventures exist outside the current canon. Before Disney reset the Expanded Universe in 2014, Dark Horse and other publishers spent decades building a massive library of comics that explored everything from the ancient history of the Jedi to the chaotic years following Return of the Jedi. Those stories were eventually reclassified as Star Wars Legends, but their removal from canon did not make them any less ambitious, entertaining, or influential.
In fact, the Legends era is filled with ideas that could still strengthen the modern Star Wars universe. Some comics introduced characters and concepts that have already inspired the current canon, while others explored unexplored periods of the timeline or gave familiar characters compelling new stories. With the franchise increasingly looking beyond the Skywalker saga, there has never been a better time to revisit the Legends library and ask which adventures deserve another chance. These are the Star Wars Legends comics that should still be canon.
15 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
John Jackson Miller and Brian Ching
Long before the beloved Knights of the Old Republic video game, this Legends comic introduced a galaxy filled with Jedi politics, ancient mysteries, and characters who had nothing to do with the Skywalker family. Set roughly 4,000 years before the original trilogy, the series follows Zayne Carrick, a young Padawan framed for murdering his fellow Jedi. What begins as a desperate escape story quickly grows into a much larger adventure involving the secretive Jedi Covenant and a galaxy on the verge of upheaval.
Canon Needs More Star Wars Stories That Have Nothing to Do With the Skywalkers
One of the biggest advantages of bringing Knights of the Old Republic into canon is its distance from nearly every established character and storyline. The Old Republic remains one of the most unexplored periods in modern Star Wars, and Zayne's story could introduce an entirely different version of the Jedi without conflicting with the Skywalker saga. It would also give the franchise another compelling protagonist whose journey isn't defined by destiny or bloodline.
14 Star Wars: Republic
John Ostrander and Jan Duursema
Few Legends comics captured the darkness and complexity of the Clone Wars quite like Star Wars: Republic. The long-running series followed characters such as Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura while showing just how morally complicated the conflict became for the Jedi. Vos's undercover work pushed him dangerously close to the dark side, while later stories placed him directly in the path of Order 66.
Quinlan Vos Deserves His Definitive Canon Story
Interestingly, Quinlan Vos already exists in canon, which makes Republic an especially obvious candidate for adaptation. The comic's version of Vos has already demonstrated how much potential the character has, particularly through his undercover mission and struggle with the dark side. The final Republic storyline even depicts Vos surviving Order 66 on Kashyyyk, providing a foundation for a much larger story about one Jedi trying to survive the birth of the Empire.
13 Star Wars: Crimson Empire
Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley, and Paul Gulacy
Crimson Empire takes the familiar Imperial era and gives it a completely different perspective by focusing on Kir Kanos, one of the Emperor's Royal Guards. After Carnor Jax betrays the Emperor and attempts to eliminate the remaining Guards, Kanos becomes the final surviving symbol of Imperial loyalty. Instead of following Jedi or Rebel heroes, the story examines the Empire through a warrior who has devoted his entire life to serving its ruler.
The Empire Has Far More Stories Worth Exploring
This is exactly the kind of perspective that would make modern Star Wars feel larger. Canon has explored Imperial officers, stormtroopers, Inquisitors, and even former Imperial agents, but Crimson Empire offers a deeply personal look at the people who stood closest to Palpatine. Kir Kanos could be reworked without bringing every element of Legends continuity with him, creating a brutal character-driven story set during the chaotic years following Return of the Jedi.
12 Star Wars: X-Wing – Rogue Squadron
Michael Stackpole and Darko Macan
The X-Wing – Rogue Squadron comics gave the Rebel Alliance's greatest pilots a chance to shine after the destruction of the second Death Star. Set about a year after Return of the Jedi, the series follows Rogue Squadron as its members continue fighting Imperial forces and helping establish the New Republic. Rather than relying on the Jedi, these stories place ordinary soldiers and pilots at the center of the action.
Rogue Squadron Is Still One of Star Wars' Greatest Untapped Ideas
Canon has gradually begun filling in the years between the original trilogy and the sequel era, but the everyday military struggles of the New Republic remain surprisingly underdeveloped. Rogue Squadron could solve that problem immediately. Its combination of dogfights, espionage, political instability, and character drama would also give Star Wars an opportunity to make the galaxy feel like a functioning society rather than a place where every major event revolves around the Force.
11 Star Wars: Darth Maul
John Wagner and Jan Duursema
Darth Maul only received a handful of minutes of screen time in The Phantom Menace, but Legends wasted no time expanding his character. The Darth Maul comic explores the Sith assassin before the events of Episode I, giving him a far greater opportunity to demonstrate his frightening abilities while illustrating the secretive nature of his relationship with Darth Sidious. It is a violent, focused story that understands why Maul became such an enduring fan favorite.
Canon Has Already Proved There Is More to Maul's Story
Modern Star Wars has already expanded Maul considerably through The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, so adapting the best elements of his Legends comics would not require rebuilding the character from scratch. Instead, the franchise could use the material as inspiration for a darker story about Maul's life as Sidious' hidden weapon. A canon version could fill in the gaps between his training and his eventual emergence on Naboo while giving fans another look at the Sith before the prequel trilogy.
10 Star Wars: Infinities
Chris Warner, Drew Johnson, Dave Land, Davidé Fabbri, Adam Gallardo, and Ryan Benjamin
Star Wars: Infinities was a Legends series that retold the events of the original trilogy in a 'What If' format that Marvel recently brought to the small screen in the MCU. What if Luke didn't blow up the Death Star in Episode IV? What if Luke died on Hoth in Episode V? What if Han Solo couldn't be saved in time in Episode VI? These were the 'prompts' the writers and artists of Star Wars: Infinities ran with, and it made for some pretty outstanding storytelling.
A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away · Eight Questions How Well Do You Know Star Wars? “The Force will be with you. Always.”
🗡️Jedi OrderLight-side guardians
⚡The SithRule of two
⚙️The RebellionA new hope
🪓Bounty HuntersThis is the way
👑The EmpireOrder 66
PUNCH IT! →
01
The original Star Wars film — later retitled Episode IV: A New Hope — opened in just 32 American theatres and proceeded to become the highest-grossing film of its era, redefining what summer blockbusters could be. In which year did it premiere?
A1975 B1977 C1979 D1980
✓ Correct! 1977 — specifically May 25. 20th Century Fox had so little faith in the project they only opened it in 32 theatres at first; queues quickly stretched around the block, and the film expanded to over 1,000 screens within months. It earned $307 million in its initial domestic run, won six Academy Awards (with another four nominations) and inverted Hollywood’s economics for the next 50 years.
✗ Wrong. The answer is 1977. 1975 is when the script was being shopped around. 1979 is when Star Trek: The Motion Picture released as a Star Wars-shaped countermove. 1980 is The Empire Strikes Back. The original Star Wars is May 25, 1977.
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02
A New Hope’s writer-director was a then-32-year-old American Graffiti veteran who’d struggled to get the project greenlit and famously took back-end profit and merchandising rights in lieu of a higher salary — the deal that would build a billion-dollar company. He returned to direct the prequels but stepped away from the original-trilogy sequels. Name him.
ASteven Spielberg BGeorge Lucas CFrancis Ford Coppola DIrvin Kershner
✓ Correct! George Lucas. The merchandising rights he kept (because Fox didn’t value them) became the financial bedrock of Lucasfilm and the basis of the modern toys-and-licensing megabusiness. After A New Hope, Lucas produced but didn’t direct Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner) or Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand), then directed all three prequels (1999–2005). He sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 and stepped away from creative control of the sequels.
✗ Wrong. The answer is George Lucas. Steven Spielberg was Lucas’s close friend (and the godfather of his post-A-New-Hope career) but never directed a Star Wars film. Coppola was Lucas’s mentor at USC and at American Zoetrope. Irvin Kershner directed Empire Strikes Back. The original is Lucas’s.
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03
In 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader delivers cinema’s most-misquoted line at the climax of his Cloud City duel with Luke Skywalker. Vader severs Luke’s hand and reveals their relationship. The exact line is — for the record — “No, I am your father.” What relationship does it confirm?
AVader is Luke’s uncle BVader is Luke’s father (Anakin Skywalker) CVader is Obi-Wan’s brother DVader is Han’s father
✓ Correct! Vader is Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father. The reveal was so jealously guarded that Mark Hamill was only told the real line on set the day they shot it (the script said “Obi-Wan killed your father”), and even James Earl Jones recorded the dub without knowing the full plot context. The line — commonly misquoted as “Luke, I am your father” — rewrote what trilogies could pull off and is broadly considered cinema’s most famous twist.
✗ Wrong. The answer is that Vader is Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker. The whole foundation of the Skywalker saga collapses to this single twist: Anakin (the Jedi prodigy of the prequels) becomes Vader after his fall. Luke and Leia are revealed in Return of the Jedi to be his twin children, separated at birth.
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04
Yoda — the green, ear-twitching Jedi Master — was puppeted and voiced from his Empire Strikes Back debut through the prequels and the sequels by a single Muppet-show-veteran performer who also voices Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. Name him.
AJim Henson BFrank Oz CSteve Whitmire DBrian Henson
✓ Correct! Frank Oz — longtime Jim Henson collaborator and voice/puppet work on Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle and Grover. Oz puppeted Yoda directly through The Phantom Menace before CGI took over for Attack of the Clones onward, but he’s continued to voice the character through the sequels and animated series. Yoda’s syntax was developed jointly by Lucas and Oz to feel old, foreign and hard-won.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Frank Oz. Jim Henson was Oz’s mentor and collaborator (he created the Muppets) but didn’t voice Yoda. Steve Whitmire took over Kermit after Henson’s 1990 death. Brian Henson is Jim’s son and runs the Henson company today. Yoda is Frank Oz’s.
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05
In a deal that reshaped Hollywood, Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion in cash and stock — bringing Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ILM and Skywalker Sound under the Disney umbrella. The deal also kicked off the sequel trilogy production. In what year did Disney close the acquisition?
A2009 B2010 C2012 D2014
✓ Correct! 2012 — specifically October 30. The deal was announced with simultaneous reveal that a Star Wars Episode VII was being developed for a 2015 release. Lucas had been quietly preparing his exit from Lucasfilm for years; Kathleen Kennedy had been brought in as co-chair months earlier specifically to take over. The Force Awakens came out three years later, in December 2015, kicking off the modern era.
✗ Wrong. The answer is 2012. 2009 is when Disney acquired Marvel ($4 billion). 2010 is the year before Lucas began signalling exit plans. 2014 is when production proper began on The Force Awakens. Lucasfilm joined Disney on October 30, 2012.
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06
The Mandalorian launched as Disney+’s flagship original on November 12, 2019 — the day the streaming service itself launched. Created by Jon Favreau and run by Dave Filoni, the show centres on a helmeted bounty hunter who reluctantly becomes a foster father to “The Child” (Grogu). What is the Mandalorian’s real name?
ABoba Fett BCobb Vanth CDin Djarin DBo-Katan Kryze
✓ Correct! Din Djarin — played by Pedro Pascal under the helmet (with body double Brendan Wayne handling much of the physical work). The Mandalorian is widely credited with reviving Star Wars on TV, popularising the StageCraft LED-volume virtual production technology now used across Hollywood, and turning baby Yoda — Grogu — into the meme-economy phenomenon of late 2019. Three seasons have aired with a feature film, The Mandalorian & Grogu, set for May 2026.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Din Djarin. Boba Fett is the famous bounty hunter from the original trilogy, with his own Disney+ spinoff (The Book of Boba Fett, 2021). Cobb Vanth is the Tatooine marshal played by Timothy Olyphant. Bo-Katan Kryze is the Mandalorian princess played by Katee Sackhoff. The Mandalorian himself is Din Djarin.
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07
Order 66 — the secret directive that turns the Republic’s clone troopers against their Jedi commanders and effectively ends the Jedi Order — is dramatised in the climactic third act of which prequel film?
AEpisode I: The Phantom Menace BEpisode II: Attack of the Clones CEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith DRogue One
✓ Correct! Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). Palpatine’s “Execute Order 66” comm to the clone armies leads to the methodical, planet-by-planet liquidation of the Jedi Order — one of the saga’s most operatic sequences, scored to John Williams’ “Anakin’s Betrayal” cue. The same film features Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side, the Mustafar duel with Obi-Wan, and his rebirth as Darth Vader in the suit. Widely re-evaluated as the best of the prequels.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Revenge of the Sith. Phantom Menace ends with Qui-Gon’s death and the unveiling of Darth Maul. Attack of the Clones ends with the Clone Wars beginning. Rogue One is set just before A New Hope, after Order 66 has long since happened. The Order 66 sequence is the climax of Episode III.
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08
Andor (2022–25) is widely regarded as the most adult, politically literate Star Wars project ever made — a slow-burn prequel to Rogue One charting Cassian Andor’s radicalisation against the Empire. The series was created and showrun by a writer/director best known for the original Bourne trilogy and Michael Clayton. Name him.
ATony Gilroy BRian Johnson CJon Favreau DDave Filoni
✓ Correct! Tony Gilroy. He’d previously been brought in for extensive Rogue One reshoots in 2016, and Lucasfilm gave him near-total creative independence on Andor. Season 1 (12 episodes, 2022) is widely regarded as Star Wars’ finest dramatic writing ever; Season 2 (also 12 episodes, in four three-episode jumps across 2025) closes the gap to Rogue One’s opening scene. Gilroy’s prior credits: Bourne Identity / Supremacy / Ultimatum / Legacy, plus directing Michael Clayton (2007).
✗ Wrong. The answer is Tony Gilroy. Rian Johnson directed The Last Jedi (2017). Jon Favreau created The Mandalorian and is Lucasfilm’s Disney+-era animation/live-action lieutenant. Dave Filoni runs the Filoniverse (Clone Wars, Rebels, Ahsoka, the upcoming Heir to the Empire film). Andor is Tony Gilroy’s.
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The Force Has Spoken · Final Tally Your Galactic Standing
🗡️
/ 8
Jedi Master — or moisture farmer on Tatooine?
⤴ ANOTHER GO
Star Wars: Infinities' inclusion on this list isn't to say that Star Wars should rewrite the events of the OT, only that making this series canon would allow Star Wars to follow in the MCU's footsteps, and establish a 'What If' series that explores alternate outcomes in every chapter of the iconic saga.
9 Star Wars: Jango Fett: Open Seasons
Haden Blackman and Ramon Bachs
Star Wars: Jango Fett - Open Seasons tells the entire origin story of Jango Fett. As a child, Jango was saved by the Mandalorians and became a foundling, before getting his own armor and fighting alongside them against Death Watch. Jango wasn't just a bounty hunter wearing Mandalorian armor, he was a Mandalorian, which is something that greatly gets swept under the rug in Star Wars canon. This story also showed Jango's Jedi-killing skills, revealing exactly why he was chosen as the Clone template.
Jango Fett's Original Origin Story Needs to be a Part of His Official Lore
While much of Jango's origin story has already been made canon in The Mandalorian, when Boba Fett explains to Din Djarin why Jango's armor does, indeed, belong to him, there are certain specifics from Open Seasons that need to be a part of Jango Fett's official origin. Plus, this story is just too badass not to have an official live-action/animated adaptation.
8 Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi
Tom Veitch and Chris Gossett
Tales of the Jedi is less of a single storyline, and more of an 'age', akin to the High Republic era of Star Wars canon. Set during the Old Republic, Tales of the Jedi spans a number of titles that tell the earliest stories of the Jedi as an established Order in Star Wars history. Not only is it thrilling to see the origins of the Jedi Order as fans know it today, but the stories set in this era (including the rise of a particularly brutal Sith Lord, Exar Kun) are especially awesome.
Star Wars Fans NEED to See the Earliest Exploits of the Jedi in Action
The Jedi Order in its infancy, hidden Sith all around them, a newfound Galactic Republic, a power-hungry Mandalorian empire - these are what fans have in store for them when they read Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. And now, Star Wars needs to make it canon, and allow fans to explore this era even further.
7 Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi
John Ostrander and Jan Duursema
While Tales of the Jedi shows the Jedi Order in its infancy, Dawn of the Jedi takes things a bit further by revealing the ancient, shared history of the Jedi, Sith, and Force-wielding as a whole. Dawn of the Jedi takes fans back to the earliest point on the Star Wars timeline, before hyperspace travel, the Galactic Republic, or practically anything modern Star Wars fans would find familiar.
Star Wars Tells the Origin of the Jedi and the Sith in a High Fantasy Epic
Dawn of the Jedi is less Sci-Fi, and more epic High Fantasy, which delves into the cosmic balance of the Force and the nature of those who wield it like no other Star Wars story has done before. It is the definitive origin story of the entire Star Wars universe, and therefore needs to be more than just a 'legend'.
6 Marvel's Star Wars Vol. 1
Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin
The first six issues of Marvel Comics' original Star Wars comic run were just a retelling of A New Hope, but with issue #7, the series took a drastic turn for the absurd. It was during this era of Star Wars history that the Millennium Falcon crew were going toe-to-toe with excentric pirates, running into fake Jedi Knights, and aligning themselves with aliens of all sorts (including an anthropomorphic bunny named Jaxxon).
Star Wars' Original Marvel Comics Run is the Most Fun the Series Has Ever Been
These Star Wars comics were weird, ridiculous, and a lot of fun. But what they weren't (most importantly of all) was overly impactful. Just like how the current era of canon Star Wars comics takes place between the original films, this Star Wars run showed the famous heroes going on side adventures and meeting new friends and enemies without overstepping the boundaries set by the OT, which means there's no reason these outrageously fun comics can't be canon.
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