46 pages • 1 hour read
Darth Plagueis
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Background
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains depictions of graphic violence, illness, and death.
Series Context: The Star Wars “Legends” Continuity and the Prequel Era
Published in 2012, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis belongs to the vast collection of novels, comics, and games in the Star Wars Universe, now known as the “Legends.” In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm from George Lucas, including all Star Wars IP. In 2014, Disney separated the IP into “canonical” and “non-canonical.” The “Expanded Universe” of licensed books, comics and games created before 2014 became non-canonical and were rebranded as “Legends,” with the film franchise and The Clone Wars becoming canonical. As a result, the Canon and Legends have diverged into separate continuities, with post-2014 Disney releases belonging to the Canon.
Understanding the novel’s place in the Star Wars timeline is crucial to perceiving its context and meanings. The IP is huge, and the order of release is no guide to a work’s place in the chronology of the narrative. This chronology can be usefully broken into “eras,” following the BBY/ABY dating system. BBY/ABY is “Before” and “After the Battle of Yavin,” the point when the Death Star is destroyed at the end of Episode IV (the first-released movie, 1977). These eras are:
- The “Dawn of the Jedi”: 25,000 BBY.
- The “Old Republic”: 4,000 BBY.
