The Yuuzhan Vong: A New Threat in the Star Wars Canon

Introduction

With the next Star Wars trilogy on the horizon led by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Star Wars: New Jedi Order, many are speculating that the Yuuzhan Vong might be making their canon debut as the movies’ main villains. There have been many clues in recent canon content that suggest the Yuuzhan Vong, who first originated in Star Wars Legends, could be showing up in a big way. If this debut were to take place as a part of Rey’s upcoming Star Wars trilogy, this could mean big changes to the pattern of the franchise as a whole.

Introduction

The Legacy of the Yuuzhan Vong

First identified as the Yuuzhan Vong in the novel The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, this cruel extragalactic species has been terrorizing Star Wars Legends content since the nineties. During many of their featured stories, they have targeted Jedi, existing outside the Force and being their perfect thematic foil, all the while making the main Star Wars galaxy their mission of conquest. If they were to appear in canon via the upcoming trilogy, they would be a brutal enemy for any fledgling Jedi to defeat.

The Jedi fight against the Yuuzhan Vong in Star Wars Legends

Starting with The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime in what would have been the year 25 ABY, Star Wars Legends' New Jedi Order era kicked off with the invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong. Not only does this era show an older version of the classic original Star Wars trilogy characters, but it also depicts the children of Leia Organa and Han Solo, characters who have since been replaced in canon by Ben Solo. Although the movies have already begun to reflect this period of time with Luke and his failed revitalization of the Jedi Order, Rey's trilogy and her version of the Order will be canon's real answer to the possibilities brought about in several Expanded Universe stories.

Grand Admiral Thrawn in Ahsoka.

Clues to the Arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong in Canon

There are multiple clues that suggest the potential arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong in the Star Wars canon. These clues include the introduction of the New Jedi Order era, Rey’s generation facing the Yuuzhan Vong in Legends, the increasing inspiration drawn from Legends, and the consideration of introducing the Yuuzhan Vong in The Clone Wars series. Additionally, the extragalactic elements introduced in the Ahsoka series and the introduction of creatures and living planets crucial to Yuuzhan Vong mythology in The High Republic content further hint at the arrival of this formidable species in the canon.

Thrawn holding the Kalikori from Star Wars Rebels Season 3, Episode 1