Star Wars expanded to other media
Although the "Star Wars" film series itself has never been rebooted, a decision was made, due to works set after the original trilogy that contradict and deviate from Lucas' own view of the "Star Wars" story, to discard the "EU" works from the franchise canon. Lucas decided to cease creative involvement after selling, in October 2012, the "Star Wars" franchise as well as Lucasfilm (the production company of "Star Wars") to The Walt Disney Company. When Disney began development of a sequel trilogy of films and other works, and needed its films to have full creative freedom unbound by the "EU", nearly all "EU" works were removed from "Star Wars" franchise canon and rebranded as "Star Wars Legends". (The two 2008 "EU" works which remained in canon were and its .)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 American 3D animated science fiction action-adventure film set within the "Star Wars" universe, leading into a produced by Lucasfilm Animation. The film is set during the three-year time period between the films "" (2002) and "" (2005), and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, who also holds the home media distribution rights to this film, even after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The film premiered on August 10, 2008 at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, while screening in wide-release on August 14, 2008 across Australia, and August 15 in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. "The Clone Wars" served as an introduction to the television series of the same name, which debuted on October 3, 2008. Though critical reception was negative, the film was a box office success, and grossed $68.3 million worldwide against an $8.5 million budget. It is the only theatrical "Star Wars" film not to be distributed by either 20th Century Fox or Walt Disney Studios.