Star Wars Tried Replacing The Empire Before The Force Awakens With A Horrific Twist

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In the late ’90s, the popularity of Star Wars reached new heights, with the theater re-releases of the original trilogy’s Special Editions and the upcoming premiere of The Phantom Menace and the prequel trilogy. After years of Expanded Universe tales shaping the franchise’s history, fans were eagerly anticipating a return to cinemas. This surge in excitement left authors creating books within the Extended Universe with an opportunity to explore new storylines that deviated from the Empire.

The outcome led to “Star Wars: The New Jedi Order,” a novel series that launched in 1999 with great excitement. Since the publication of “Shadows of the Empire” as an extension of the original trilogy, no Star Wars novel had garnered such attention. “The New Jedi Order” would create ripples by eliminating cherished characters, altering the galaxy’s dynamics, and introducing a terrifying new extragalactic villain.

Approximately 22 years following the Battle of Yavin, the Yuuzhan Vong, an extragalactic tribe of religious fanatics who shun technology as profane, launched an invasion. This invasion swiftly overpowered the New Republic. Unlike grey-clad tyrants or secretive Jedi, the Yuuzhan Vong were a brutal and painful race, with demonic features and technology that was entirely alien to Star Wars at that time.

As a movie enthusiast, it’s like Disney rolled into town and dropped a bomb when they announced Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Expanded Universe was swiftly ousted from the main storyline and rebranded as Legends. The Yuuzhan Vong were put on ice, to be thawed out later, which happened, in a sense, with the arrival of the Grysk. However, they’re still light years away from capturing the essence that makes the Yuuzhan Vong so intriguing.

Creation and Origins

In the initial brainstorming for a new villain for Star Wars’ The New Jedi Order, ideas leaned towards more conventional enemies. However, once George Lucas became involved, he rejected the concept and urged the creative team to think more creatively. As a result of his input, the Yuuzhan Vong were conceived as an original group of dark Force users.

The name originated from the Yunnan region in China, inspired by names found on the menu of a renowned French-Thai restaurant named Vong, frequented by Del Rey employees. The Mayan and Aztec cultures served as a foundation for this race’s culture and beliefs, while their fearsome appearance may have been influenced by a particular skull shape, yet crafted from an all-encompassing darkness. The result is a villain unlike any the Star Wars universe has faced, evoking a sense of otherworldly malevolence, as if they were summoned directly from the depths of Hell.

A Killer Entrance

Initially, it was unbeknownst to many that the Yuuzhan Vong had been exploring the galaxy even prior to the Clone Wars. However, in the debut novel of the New Jedi Order, titled Vector Prime, they appeared as if they emerged suddenly from nowhere. Their initial attack force managed to sneak past detection, making a powerful impact on fans by brutally killing Chewbacca and crushing him under a moon dropped onto his location at Sernpidal.

In their conquest, the invaders viewed everyone as non-believers, particularly the Jedi and their faith in the Force. This belief sparked the creation of a monstrous creature called a voxyn, whose role was to track down and eliminate individuals with Force sensitivity. The invasion swiftly overtook Coruscant, which was subsequently renamed Yuuzhan’tar by the invaders, after their original homeworld. The latest film, “The Force Awakens,” seemed to gloss over this aspect, focusing on the First Order’s destruction of the New Republic using Starkiller Base and leaving many aspects unexplored, which appear to be further explored in additional material. If you’ve only watched the movies, you might not catch these details, but we won’t delve into that debate this time around.

At the conclusion of the New Jedi Order, the Yuuzhan Vong’s invasive war resulted in the loss of over 300 trillion lives. The subsequent period was marked by the Galactic Alliance negotiating peace with the surviving Yuuzhan Vong. These aliens moved to Zonama Sekot as their new dwelling, a world hidden deep within the Unknown Regions, which they discovered harbored a connection to their original home. The saga came full circle, as the race resurfaced 100 years later in the Star Wars Legacy comics, ultimately being blamed for the Sith-Imperial War.

Should They Join Canon?

Previously discussed, the alien race known as the Grysk in Star Wars’ canon were influenced by the Yuuzhan Vong. This connection was established in Timothy Zahn’s 2018 book, “Thrawn: Alliances”. However, unlike the fearsome appearance of the Yuuzhan Vong, the Grysk lack that particular trait. In his 2006 novel, “Outbound Flight”, Zahn hinted at a colossal invasion from the “Far Outsiders”, which he later revealed were actually the Yuuzhan Vong, but at the time, it was speculated to be the Grysk.

If you accept this, the storyline is officially part of the Star Wars lore and can be used freely with proper approval – as long as that’s how Lucasfilm distributes their products. However, if it’s just this, we might feel a little let down. As an ardent Star Wars enthusiast, I recall the unveiling of the New Jedi Order and the Yuuzhan Vong as antagonists. It felt like a genuine external threat that challenged the norms of the universe. The things characters had come to know about the galaxy were put into question and overturned by these fanatical warriors, who left them disoriented and scrambling for answers.

How The Future is Shaking Out

It appears that the Star Wars franchise might be experiencing a lull following some less successful Disney+ releases, excluding Andor. Although it seems unlikely that The New Jedi Order will be adapted, there’s potential for the Yuuzhan Vong to emerge as a new antagonist in the animated portion of the galaxy.

In the “New Jedi Order” introduced in a different series, certain ideas were adopted into the main storyline, but it’s yet to be determined how deeply these concepts will permeate. With the emergence of Rey’s version of the New Jedi Order at the end of “The Rise of Skywalker,” there are similarities to the EU novel’s version that prompt comparison. Could this new order represent a path towards understanding the Unifying Force, leading to harmony between light and dark? Or will it become chaotic once governing bodies get involved?

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2025-08-10 18:45