comics that round out the massive story of this shared universe.
Star Wars has always had a rich lore to explore, and the Expanded Universe was providing more Star Wars stories for fans since before the prequels were even conceived. The EU content became non-canonical Legends as a casualty of the decision to make more movies, disappointing many, but that decision cleared the way for a more cohesive universe most fans have come to appreciate.
The vast majority of Star Wars stories in this new continuity take place during the timeline of the 7 movies, but thanks to the help of other canonical materials, a lot of new information about the Star Wars universe is constantly being revealed. It would take weeks of (highly recommended) reading and watching to consume all the material, but as a (somewhat) brief overview, here’s A Complete History Of The Star Wars Universe, Part I.
16. The Journal of the Whills
”A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away…”
The classic opening to every Star Wars evokes the tone of a fairy tale or a legend, but it also suggests that Star Wars might have happened actually long ago in a distant galaxy in our universe - a history we only know about because of a mysterious storyteller. In this case, the stories come from the Journal of the Whills.
The Whills may be one of the more obscure elements of Star Wars, but they were present in most early Star Wars screenplays, showing up on the title page as The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as taken from the “Journal of the Whills”. References to the Whills would remain in the script until 1995, when the continuity script was released with the title Star Wars. Episode IV: A New Hope. They never made it into Star Wars movie continuity, but they did finally enter canon through the novelization for The Force Awakens, which cites a age from the fabled Journal of the Whills.
"First comes the day
Then comes the night.
After the darkness
Shines through the light.
The difference, they say,
Is only made right
By the resolving of gray
Through refined Jedi sight."
―Journal of the Whills, 7:477
Still very little is actually known about the Whills, yet the story of the Star Wars universe ultimately revolves around them and is filtered through their perspective. From the origins of the galaxy to the discovery of the Chosen One and beyond, they’re the only ones that truly know the full story of galactic events.
15. Formation of the Galaxy
Travel all the way to the center of the Star Wars galaxy, and you’ll discover the Deep Core - a dense cluster of stars and planets all drawn in around a supermassive black hole. Near the center of the Deep Core is a nebula containing the unnamed Force Planet, the source of all life in the Star Wars galaxy and the origin of midi-chlorians.
Expanding outward as far as 50,000 light years from the Deep Core, the galaxy is divided into many regions with the Core Worlds being the centermost planets of populated space - and the origin of the human species. Continuing beyond the Deep Core and the Core Worlds are the Colonies, the Inner Rim, the Expansion Region, the Mid Rim, the Western Reaches, the Unknown Regions, and the Outer Rim, all of which are teeming with millions of unique life forms - both intelligent and otherwise.
The galaxy forms the shape of a spinning disk, and each region is referenced according to galactic north, south, east, and west, despite the fact that the planets exist in 3-dimensional space. There are also a number of dwarf galaxies, including the Rishi Maze. While it is possible to travel to the dwarf galaxies and other areas outside of charted space, very little is known about these regions and lack of chated safe routes and established civilization leave very little incentive for any but he most daring of explorers to leave the boundaries of known space.
14. The Force
Residing in and presiding over all life in the Star Wars galaxy is the Force - an energy field created by all living things that binds the galaxy together. While very mystical and spiritual sounding in concept, the Force is just as much a part of the fabric of the universe as time, gravity, energy, and matter. The numerous properties of the Force are comprised of two sides: the living Force, and the cosmic Force.
The living Force is anchored in the physical world. It draws its energy from all life, and allows anyone that taps into it to interact with that energy. This gives Force s the ability to interact with objects, enhance their physical abilities, and gain a deeper understanding of the universe around them.
The cosmic Force is in turn fed by the living Force. The cosmic Force is the more spiritual half - the half that communicates with those that would hear it - telling them things about the universe, granting visions of the past, present, and future, determining the course of the galaxy, and holding reality together.
These two interdependent halves of the Force come together and unite with intelligent beings through microorganisms called midi-chlorians that live inside the cells of all life forms, in varying concentrations. Through training and meditation, Force s can quiet their mind and listen the midi-chlorians speak, allowing them to hear the will of the Force.
13. Force Factions
Over the eons, many different sensitives have come together to form groups centered around tapping into the Force. Each group would have different names for the Force, as well as different beliefs about how to commune with and manipulate the Force.
The Jedi order used the Force to gain knowledge and understanding, valuing comion and using their abilities selflessly to protect the Galaxy. This selflessness would allow some Jedi to retain their consciousness after the death of their body when their energy flows into the cosmic Force.
The Sith leveraged their Force abilities to amass knowledge and power for themselves, believing that feeding their ion enabled them to wield the Force - often called the “dark side” - to a greater effect. This self-focused perspective led many Sith to seek immortality, largely without success.
The Nightsisters wielded the dark side of the Force, but did not tap into it like the Sith, instead using dark magick to wield it on their behalf, allowing them to benefit from its strength, but keeping them from losing themselves in the dark side as the Sith did.
The Dagoyan Masters were an order of Force s that had a ive relationship with the Force, trusting in the cosmic Force to guide them instead of actively tapping into the energy of the living Force. Seeking universal harmony, the Dagoyan Masters were pacifists that didn’t believe the Force was something to be bent to one’s will.
The Force wielders were a species of extreme Force sensitivity, and are possibly even manifestations of the Force itself. Only 3 were known to exist in Wild Space on Mortis: the Daughter, representing the light side; the Brother, representing the dark side; and the Father, who served to maintain the balance.
The Force Priestesses are beings even more mysterious than the Force wielders. Found on the unnamed Force planet in the Deep Core, the five priestesses represent different emotions: serenity, joy, anger, confusion, and sadness. Only revealing themselves to a trusted few in the entire history of the galaxy, the Force Priestesses are among the small number of beings to possess the secret to immortality.
Force s don’t need to follow any of the existing groups, though. There are many that have a connection to the Force that follow their own path instead of subscribing to any particular dogma or doctrine.
12. Galactic Colonization
Early history of the Star Wars galaxy is exceptionally sparse, but most s begin with the invention of hyperspace. Many planets had years of history leading to space flight, but a shared galactic history was all but non-existent before hyperspace permitted interstellar travel, allowing beings from disparate locales to cross-pollinate their cultures and knowledge.
The first civilizations to utilize hyperspace travel gained the ability from studying it in nature. The Purrgil are a migratory space faring species of whale-squid creatures that have the natural ability to jump into hyperspace to travel between star systems.
Hyperspace, as opposed to “realspace,” is an alternate dimension that can be reached by traveling past light speed - essentially taking a shortcut through the fabric of the universe.
Hyperspace travel is dangerous without the proper coordinates, though. The first beings to explore hyperspace routes didn’t have the developed navicomputers and index of charted routes of later generations, making galactic travel a tedious affair. In the early stages, maps had to be charted manually using shorter jumps and oriented by hyperspace sextants.
Once these civilizations started creating hyperspace routes and interacting with other planets, the galaxy began to change shape in ways that would affect galactic history for thousands of years to come.
11. The Old Republic
After sentient life forms had harnessed the ability to utilize hyperspace to travel the galaxy, they began to form alliances with other systems, banding together into larger and larger organizations that would eventually come together to create the massive Old Republic.
With the formation of the Republic, based out of the Core world of Coruscant, civilization began to spread out toward the far corners of the galaxy, setting hyperspace beacons, exploring new trade routes, and colonizing and settling new planets. While Republic rule diminished in the most distant systems, it was the infrastructure provided by the Republic that allowed society to stretch as far as it did.
Long after its dissolution, the lasting impact of the Old Republic could still be seen through the use of established trade routes, colonization of far flung systems, a somewhat common currency, language, and other semi-consistent cultural touchstones.
10. Formation of the Jedi Order
There are many ancient orders of Force sensitive beings, but the most prolific order was that of the Jedi. As with the formation of the Old Republic, it was the advent of hyperspace travel that truly allowed the Jedi to grow. The ability to easily travel between systems allowed Force s from various worlds to come together and form the Jedi Code, and then set out to establish temples, the first of which was built on the planet Ahch-To.
This network of temples would expand to include many more planets, including an especially precious temple on the planet Ilum, the home of the Jedi’s supply of kyber crystals, which Jedi younglings would harvest during The Gathering - one of the most sacred Jedi trials. Once a Jedi youngling had obtained a Kyber crystal, they would use it to build a lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi, and often their only posession. The Jedi younglings were trained by Jedi Masters until they had gained a sufficient mastery of the Force. At this time, they would either be paired with a Jedi Knight as an apprentice - called a Padawan - or go into one of the many other professions in the Jedi Order, such as archivist or temple guard.
As the Jedi Order grew and expanded, so did the Old Republic. The Jedi Order eventually came to serve as protectors of the Republic, allowing the government to expand into new systems, spreading civilization to more and more planets.
9. The Sith Emerge
Unfortunately, the early days of the Jedi weren’t marked solely by success and growth. In the nascent days of the order, a Jedi experimented with the dark side of the Force, finding that he could draw on immense power by giving into selfish emotions. When the Jedi Council discovered his meddling, he was banished, taking followers with him and giving birth to the Sith. The schism in the Jedi Order and the formation of the Sith marked what would be known as the Hundred-Year Darkness.
The Sith used slavery to build a massive empire, ranging from Yavin IV (where they enslaved the Massasi, forcing them to build giant temples), to Coruscant, where the Sith were headquartered for a time, building a Sith shrine in the deep levels of the core world.
The years of wars between the Jedi and Sith spanned the entire galaxy, with major battles hitting planets like Takodana and Malachor before the Sith were eventually forced to abandon their home planet of Moraband, their Empire collapsing due to greed and infighting.
Only a powerful Sith Lord, Darth Bane, managed to survive. Hiding in the shadows, he would take on and train an apprentice, forming the Sith Rule of Two. While the Rule of Two was in no way a new concept - it had been practiced by the Sith before - it was Darth Bane that made it an absolute rule, knowing that the Sith were too greedy to survive if their numbers were too numerous.
The Sith continued to exist as such for thousands of years, completely unbeknownst to the Jedi Order. A Dark Lord of the Sith would take on an apprentice who would eventually try to kill his master and take his place. If he failed, the Dark Lord would simply get another apprentice. This order of succession had no tolerance for weakness and ensured that the Sith only became more powerful with each generation.
8. The Galactic Republic
As the Sith Empire crumbled, so did the Old Republic. Wars with the Mandalorians and the Zygerrian Slaving Empire had worn the Republic down to the point of collapse. With the aid of the Jedi, the Old Republic reorganized, reformed, and rebuilt as a democracy - the Galactic Republic.
A part of this reorganization included disbanding any standing military presence. Member systems were allowed to maintain their own defense forces, but the Galactic Republic wanted to set an example by putting down its guns.
Not all systems were fans of this policy. While most of the galaxy was ready for peace, the warriors of Amaxine opposed this decision, especially because their main industry was in weapons trade. Withdrawing from the Republic, the Amaxine warriors traveled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, possibly leaving it altogether in search of a new home.
The Republic returned its capital to Coruscant, also making the planet the home for the new Galactic Senate where delegates from each member system could represent their people in the crafting of new legislation and election of Republic leadership.
7. The Jedi Gain Prominence
Uninhibited by the Sith, or any other galaxy wide conflict, the Jedi Order also flourished during this time. Yoda, a future Jedi Master and head of the Jedi Council, was born on an unknown planet nearly two centuries after the end of the Old Republic and the formation of the Galactic Republic. The Jedi Code slowly shifted to deter the Jedi from conducting larger military operations, encouraging the order to focus their efforts on peacekeeping efforts on behalf of the new Galactic Republic.
Making Coruscant their primary home, the Jedi built a massive Jedi Temple on top of the old Sith shrine in an effort to contain its influence. The order moved the Jedi Council chambers to the highest point in the tower, making Coruscant the epicenter of the Jedi Order.
As they grew into this new role, the Jedi frequently served as negotiators and arbiters responsible for ensuring isolated conflicts didn’t fan the flames of violence to instigate larger confrontations. Under their watch, the galaxy would experience generations of relative peace.
In further efforts to avoid allowing the mistakes of the past to repeat, the Republic built a prison called the Citadel on the planet Lola Sayu. The Citadel was designed to be an inescapable fortress where rogue Jedi could be detained, in order to limit the potential for another schism.
