In an announcement today, Lucasfilm clarified its approach to the Star Wars canon as we approach the launch of the next trilogy of films. The stories told in the Expanded Universe--which consists of games, books, comics, and so on--has always been considered non-canon, distinguishing it from the main content found in the six movies and the animated Clone Wars series. While elements of the EU have found their way into the main series, series creator George Lucas has made it clear in the past that his works would not be stuck abiding by anything in the EU.

Now, in the wake of The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, changes are being made. With the help of a new story group that will oversee "all Star Wars creative development," today's announcement states that "all aspects of Star Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected."

That means that all Star Wars media released in the future will be part of the official canon, which will continue to disregard anything in the existing EU. New novels from Del Rey Books, as well as the upcoming Star Wars Rebels TV animated series, will be among the first releases to tell new canonical stories. "While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe."

A Lucasfilm representative confirmed to GameSpot that future game releases will also be canonical. This includes DICE's Battlefront and Visceral's new Star Wars game being written by former Naughty Dog creative director Amy Hennig and Uncharted actor Todd Stashwick. Both games are being published by Electronic Arts, which signed a multiyear deal to produce Star Wars video games in 2013.

The recent delay of the latest expansion for another EA title, Star Wars: The Old Republic, is unrelated to today's announcement. The Lucasfilm rep told GameSpot, "[A]s far as The Old Republic MMO is concerned, nothing is going to change. [TOR] has always been a part of the Expanded Universe, and that's not going to change."

What do you make of these changes to the franchise? Are there any parts of the Expanded Universe you wish were considered canon? Let us know in the comments.