Sam Witwer, the voice of Darth Maul in both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the popular animated series Maul – Shadow Lord, recently shared his understanding of how Star Wars canon functions. While the idea is to create a consistent universe across different stories, it gets complicated with so many different ways those stories are told. Previously, Star Wars had a ranking system for its expanded universe, with the highest level reserved for content directly approved by George Lucas. However, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, they designated everything outside of Lucas’s direct projects as “Legends.” Even within that system, the official canon has become somewhat inconsistent over the past 14 years.
In a recent interview with ComicBook, Star Wars actor Sam Witwer described the franchise as essentially a collection of shared stories. He explained that details can vary depending on who is telling them – like different versions of the same tale told around a campfire. For example, the color of Ahsoka Tano’s lightsabers or the specifics of Starkiller’s feats can change depending on how the story is remembered and shared. Witwer, who has worked on Star Wars projects during both the Lucas and Disney eras, believes this fluidity is a key part of the franchise’s appeal.
According to actor Sam Witwer, George Lucas established a distinct version of Star Wars specifically for video games while they were working on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (where Witwer provided the voice for Starkiller). Lucas made it clear this version allowed for a larger scale of Force powers, which is why The Force Unleashed features such abilities. This principle continued with Dave Filoni in the current Star Wars canon. Witwer recalls being concerned when an audiobook contradicted a story he’d previously told in The Clone Wars, so he sought guidance from Filoni.
Filoni didn’t seem worried about the differences at all. He explained to Witwer that having variations was a good thing, as it gave each medium a unique purpose. He believed stories told in books should focus on the strengths of writing, while video game stories should take advantage of what video games do best.
Star Wars Doesn’t Really Have a Single Unitary Canon At All
The original Star Wars stories were built in a flexible way, allowing for additions and changes as needed. This system had levels, which was clever because it let George Lucas pick and choose what he liked and disregard anything he didn’t. Writers contributing to the Expanded Universe would then work to smooth out any resulting plot holes. However, when Disney took over, they announced a fresh start. Dave Filoni even wrote an introduction to the novel A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller to explain this new approach.
The traditional idea of what’s officially part of the Star Wars story and what isn’t is no longer relevant. From now on, all our stories and characters will share one single universe. For the first time ever, the creative teams behind the movies, TV shows, comics, video games, and books are all working together and coordinating their efforts.
Fans quickly understood this to mean all Star Wars stories were now equally official. However, with so much new content released monthly, this was unrealistic. Contradictions were bound to happen, and that doesn’t even account for intentional changes made to fit different formats or new creative ideas. Questions like whether Clone Force 99 saved Kanaan Jarrus, how the Star Destroyer ended up on Jakku, or the true events of the Siege of Mandalore highlight these inevitable inconsistencies.
Witwer argues that fans are taking the show’s history too seriously. He sees each story as a different perspective on the same events, which explains any inconsistencies – you just need to decide whose version you believe, or simply accept them and enjoy the story. He describes these stories as more like shared tales around a campfire than strict historical accounts, and believes debates about official lore miss the point of how the show was intended to be enjoyed.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Read More
- Marvel Officially Confirms Deadpool’s Most Brutal Redesign
- Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun season 4 release schedule: When are new episodes on Crunchyroll?
- Nintendo Switch 2 Reportedly Getting Remake of One of the Best PS3 and Xbox 360 Games
- Michael Jackson Biopic’s Record-Breaking Debut Unseats 2026’s Biggest Box Office Hit On U.S. Chart
- Crunchyroll Confirms New Isekai Anime Releases for 2026 and Beyond (With Major Returns)
- The Boys Season 5, Episode 2’s Soldier Boy Ending Twist Changes Everything for Homelander & Butcher
- 10 Movies That Were Banned in Different Countries For Random Reasons
- 5 Best Open-World Games You Can Beat In A Weekend
- The Fairly OddParents’ Creator Reveals Who Timmy Ended Up With
- Gold Rate Forecast
2026-05-01 18:11