As the ambitious movie-less multimedia program Shadows of the Empire celebrates it's 10th anniversary (Shadows of the Empire: A Decade Later), what better time to take a look at the past, present, and future of Star Wars continuity as it applies to transmedia storytelling.

THE PAST
The Expanded Universe as we know it today began in 1991 with the release of the novel Heir to the Empire. It was followed soon after by the Dark Empire comic series. Though the stories took place 5 and 6 years after Episode VI, there was relatively little overlap between the two stories. The best that could be hoped for was to avoid direct contradictions. Transmedia storytelling evolved with the works of Kevin J. Anderson who placed Exar Kun in pivotal roles in both the Jedi Academy novel trilogy and the Tales of the Jedi comics. Mike Stackpole told the stories of Rogue Squadron in both novel and comic form. Shadows of the Empire brought video games and merchandise into the fold. When Attack of the Clones launched the Clone Wars in 2002, interest in the previously untold era exploded. Fans could immerse themselves in the Clone Wars through TV cartoons, video games, novels, comics, juvenile books, short stories, online comics, and merchandise. With different story arcs in each platform, with occasional nods to the stories told in the other platforms, Clone Wars created a continuity many times more complex than Shadows. To help fans keep track of things, a constantly updated Clone Wars event timeline was created and featured in many of the books.

THE PRESENT
Knights of the Old Republic era
With origins in the Tales of the Jedi comics, the era lept to the forefront with the success of the Knights of the Old Republic video game. Currently, there's a Knight of the Old Republic comic series set in the time period that bridges the Tales of the Jedi comics with the video games. The novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, written by the lead writer of the first KOTOR game, is a best-seller. Also worth a mention, 6 KOTOR-era characters made the top 25 in a recent Hasbro Fan Choice poll, with Darth Revan being selected as the Fan Choice figure.

Clone Wars era
Comparatively dormant since the release of Episode III, the Clone Wars Adventures digest comics continue, and there's no end in site for merchandise based on the era. Expect a resurgence of interest in the Clone Wars when the Clone Wars animated TV series hits.

The Dark Times era
With the release of the final film of the Star Wars saga, everyone wanted to know what happened in between Episodes III and IV and at last, the story could be told. Or so we thought. Though portions and edges of the era have been explored in the video games (the 501st Legion's exploits in Battlefront II), comics (the fates of many of the Jedi order in Republic, Purge, and Dark Times) , a novel (Darth Vader getting used to his armor in Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader) and juvenile fiction (the continuation of Jude Watson's previous Jedi series in Last of the Jedi), and online comics, huge chunks of the 19-year-long era remain untapped. Expect many Dark Times revelations in 2007 and in the coming years with the live-action TV series.

The Death Star
The complex history of the Death Star continues to evolve in the upcoming Lethal Alliance video game and a future Death Star novel. I think it's safe to say that we can expect more suprises on the horizon.

Rebellion "Classic trilogy" era
Stories are still being told in the Rebellion comic, and the Timothy Zahn novel Allegiance due out early next year, along with online comics.

Legacy era
The Legacy era launched this past summer with the release of the first book of the 9-book Legacy of the Force series and the Legacy comic series. The Legacy of the Force novels follow Jacen Solo's path towards the dark side while the Legacy comic series takes up nearly a century later in the aftermath of the novels.

THE FUTURE
Though some fans may have missed out on or have forgotten about the exploits of Dash Rendar, Prince Xizor, and Guri, Shadows of the Empire's impact on how Expanded Universe stories are told across multiple mediums will be felt indefinitely. 2007 promises to expand on this in whole new directions. With the Star Wars movie saga complete, it's up to the Expanded Universe to prove Star Wars truly is forever.