Re: Star Wars Episode VII
I very much disagree with that. I've read mostly pre-ANH and post-ROTJ novels, so I can't speak towards anything else, but the stuff I've read have all been consistent within themselves and the movies, continuity-wise (except, of course, when the movies contradicted something and they had to explain it away.)
Not to presume to speak for Bryan, but I think he meant continuity re: the films. I think a better description is that they existed in two separate spheres and Lucas never intended to allow himself to be hemmed in by anything created by anyone other than him. And sometimes
including himself. As a result, you'd end up with inconsistencies between novels and films (or TV shows or whathaveyou) that need to be explained away somehow. I think because Lucas could trump anything, that kind of allowed a more free hand in the writing process, which resulted in stories that were all over the place, particularly in the mid-to-late 90s.
I think the important thing to remember -- and something that, understandably, is taking some getting used to -- is that, going forward,
that won't be the case. There will never be a hierarchy of canonical sources in the future, where films trump TV shows which trump books and comics, which trump video games, etc., unless otherwise stated. All sources will now be equal in their canonicity. Nothing will trump anything else. If it gets written into a comic book taking place between Episode VII and Episode VIII, it's just as canonical and binding on Episode VIII as Episode VII was. If it's a video game that depicts how Chewbacca wound up as first mate on the Falcon, it's canon, and binding on ALL material moving forward. The books, comics, video games, TV shows, films, all of it is being told from a single story. Or, at least, that's the plan. We'll see how well that works. It's certainly ambitious, but not impossible.
I'm hoping this also signals a shift in target markets. In the past, my sense is that the novels and comic books were created for a very niche market -- the hardest of the hardcore Star Wars fans, and consequently, the group least likely to say "Man, this stuff is GARBAGE" and stop reading. As such, I don't think it mattered much to the people in control of the brand that the material being put out...shall we say...covered a rather broad spectrum in terms of quality. I'd like to think that the new goal is to radically expand the market of people who consume stuff other than the films and TV shows. As a result, they may be a LOT more careful about putting out quality material, rather than just licensing the use of the logo to any ******* who's willing to pay. Certainly with respect to a lot of the entertainment software developed by LucasArts in the last 15 years, I'd say they've had a rather laissez-faire attitude towards quality control
