Having just read Dan Wallace's blog on continuity, I got to thinking.

(As a quick sidebar, my first reaction was that comic books shouldn't worry about continuity--but then I realized I probably only think that because I'm not a fan. But to me, the sliding timeline rule seems to work fine, especially if, like in the X-Men movies, for instance, the story is simply set in the "not-too-distant future," or something to that effect. But I'm sure were I a big superhero fan, continuity would be a big deal to me. As Wallace points out, we're lucky to have a universe completely unconnected from reality--it makes continuity so much easier.)

Anyway, back to the point. While pondering continuity, I realized something--there's more than one Star Wars universe out there. And no, I'm not talking about a parallel universe retcon. What it comes down to is that Star Wars fans do not have a collective consciousness, each individual Star Wars fan has their own personal Star Wars universe. And I'll bet you no two fans have the exact same universe.

There's a number of different things separating these universes:

--Misconceptions: In all actuality, probably the biggest universe-separator out there. Plenty of fans believe things that are simply wrong. I know someone who misunderstood The Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy to think that it was in fact troops of Xizor's who killed Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru (I'm afraid I was unable to set him straight as I had at that point not read the BHWT). And I'm sure thousands of such cases exist, particularly among more casual fans.

--Alternate Decisions: Some fans I'm sure decide to mentally set their universe differently. These could be your movie purists, for instance. The thing about a movie purist is, it's not that they believe everything existing outside the movies is false, it's that they've decided to create the universe outside the movies as they want it. And although they're not all movie purists, I'd speculate that you'll never find an EU junkie among this group. This could be the fan who's decided Boba Fett did in fact meet his end in the Sarlacc. Not because he's misinformed, but because he's disregarded those events.

--Alternate Versions: And this is where The Flanneled One himself comes into play. By GL's own tinkering with the movies, he's borne alternate universes in the minds of fans. This is different than an Alternate Decision in that a fan has decided to accept something that was at least at one point canon. Maybe Han shoots first. Maybe Jabba never met Han outside the Falcon. Heck, maybe Lapti Nek is still performed. Whatever it be, a fan has taken an older version of the movies and maintained its canoninity, even if it has been discounted by a newer version.

--Alternate Interpretations: This is where it really starts to get hairy. Because now we've entered the realm where it's impossible to simply cry, "Well, you're wrong." This is where no fan can solidly declare himself more in-line with the "real" Star Wars universe than another. How did the Chosen One fulfill the Prophecy? And what exactly does that fulfillment mean? Was it the destruction of the Sith? Does that mean for all-time? Was it simply by returning from the Darkness to the Light Side? Here, there is no "truth." Many interpretations could be taken to be equally valid.

--New Events: Fan fiction authors and roleplaying gamers especially fall into this category, as do devoted fans of Infinities work. This is where fans add events either of their own creation or another author's to the Star Wars universe, events that do not conflict with canon, but that are not universally recognized as having occurred. It's almost as though the fan is privy to certain events that other fans either do not know about, or in the case of Infinities, may have heard of but do not recognize their "correctness."

--Personal Retcons: Often evolving from Misconceptions, but not necessarily so. This is where a fan sees a hole in continuity, imagined or otherwise, but dreams up a solution on his own. Thus, the universe is maintained, though the tools of its maintenance may be limited to this single fan.

And of course, most fans manage to stir in a mixture of these ways to differ, adding each one any number of times.

Now, is it wrong to create these alternate Star Wars universes? I'd like to answer with a resounding No. Maintaining an official continuity is important, yes, but to truly appreciate Star Wars, one must contribute to it himself, even if that contribution is in deciding to fully accept the universe as Lucasfilm presents it. Because even in that, events are open to interpretation, and gaps appear in the timeline, if not in continuity. Cohesion is important, but we can find cohesion on a personal level and smooth out the wrinkles of the timeline ourselves.

This by no means lessens the job done by Lucasfilm in providing us with a continuity-abiding galaxy. We need this starting level of agreement to build off of. But build off of it, we can. That's the beauty of a make-believe universe. In truth, there is no real truth. We can view and even rewrite history on a whim.


So enjoy your Star Wars galaxy. You're the exclusive owner. Do with it as you wish.