Star Wars Fan Documentary Revisits the Franchise’s Most Divisive Saga (and It’s Not the Sequels)

A groundbreaking fan documentary aims to unravel one of Star Wars‘ most ambitious and controversial storytelling experiments: the 19-book New Jedi Order series that forever changed the franchise’s literary landscape. Crafting An Epic: The Making of the New Jedi Order, a seven-part documentary series released on YouTube, delves deep into the massive undertaking that spanned from 1999 to 2004. Using over 120 interviews gathered across 25 years, including previously unreleased material, the documentary chronicles the series’ creation and impact through the words of those who brought it to life.

The project, which began releasing episodes on January 8th, examines how this unprecedented publishing venture reshaped Star Wars storytelling. The New Jedi Order (NJO) series represented a radical departure from previous Star Wars novels, introducing a devastating alien invasion that would claim beloved characters and transform the galaxy far, far away.

The series emerged from ambitious planning sessions at Skywalker Ranch in 1997 and 1998, where representatives from Del Rey, Lucasfilm Ltd., and Dark Horse Comics mapped out what would become the franchise’s longest continuous storyline. Twelve authors contributed to the series, which covered four years of galactic history and chronicled the invasion of religious zealots known as the Yuuzhan Vong.

Each of the series’ 19 novels made the New York Times Best Seller List, with more than 4 million books sold worldwide by 2005. Despite its commercial success, the series remained controversial for its darker themes and significant character deaths, though many now view these elements as having paved the way for more complex storytelling in the Star Wars universe.

The documentary’s first installment, “Creation,” explores the series’ conception through seven segments, including “Birth of a Universe,” “Dreaming of an Epic,” and “Creating the Yuuzhan Vong.” Future episodes will examine individual books in detail through discussions with their authors.

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The NJO’s legacy remains complex. While initially polarizing for its darker tone and high-stakes storytelling that saw the death of major characters, time has softened many fans’ views. The series is now often praised for its ambitious scope and willingness to take risks with established characters. The documentary promises to shed new light on controversial decisions, including the death of Chewbacca in the first novel – a choice that earned author R.A. Salvatore death threats but was actually mandated by George Lucas himself. As Salvatore noted at the 2015 Salt Lake Comic Con, most reader response was ultimately positive despite initial backlash.

Through interviews with the creative team, the documentary explores how the series balanced multiple authors while maintaining narrative coherence. Author Troy Denning reflected on the collaborative process in a March 2014 interview, noting, “As many pages as we wrote in manuscript, we probably wrote that many pages again in emails” to ensure consistency between books.

With new episodes releasing weekly, the documentary offers both longtime fans and newcomers an unprecedented look behind the scenes of this pivotal moment in Star Wars publishing history, examining how this ambitious project has impacted the blockbuster franchise’s storytelling.