Pictured from left to right at Celebration Orlando are: Andi Gutierrez and Anthony Carboni, hosts of The Star Wars Show, alongside Lucasfilm Story Group members Matt Martin, Diana Williams, Steve Blank, Josh Rimes, Rayne Roberts, and Leland Chee.
The Lucasfilm Story Group, alternatively referred to as the Lucasfilm Story Team or the Franchise Story Team, serves as a division within Lucasfilm Ltd.. Established in 2013, its primary function is to maintain oversight of Star Wars canon. This ensures consistency and provides support to writers and directors during the creation of new narratives. As of May in 2017, the group is composed of eleven members. Since its inception, Pablo Hidalgo, a Lucasfilm creative executive and author, has been a key part of the Story Group, offering his knowledge of Star Wars details, past Lucasfilm endeavors, and the values espoused by George Lucas.
The formation of the Lucasfilm Story Group was initiated by Kathleen Kennedy in 2012. Kiri Hart, the Lucasfilm Vice President, played a significant role in establishing the group as its Development Lead. Their stated objective was to eliminate the existing canon hierarchy system and replace it with a unified and coherent continuity. The Lucasfilm Story Group, including members such as Rayne Roberts, Carrie Beck, Diana Williams, Leland Chee, Pablo Hidalgo, and Matt Martin, contributed to the development of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Galactic Starfighter, a digital addition to the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, and received acknowledgement in the end credits.
On April 25, 2014, the Lucasfilm Story Group effectively relaunched the Star Wars universe. This involved discontinuing a large portion of the Expanded Universe storyline, which was then rebranded as "Star Wars Legends." Aside from the six original films by Lucas, the only previously created content that remained part of the official canon was the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series and film, along with the standalone comic series Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir, which was adapted from unused scripts from the The Clone Wars TV show. All subsequent material, including the Disney XD television show Star Wars Rebels and all novels starting with A New Dawn, is considered part of the new official continuity and is produced in collaboration with the Story Group.
Carrie Beck and Leland Chee, who are members of the Story Group, were involved in the creation of the 2016 animated series LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, a non-canon show on Disney XD. Their involvement was to ensure that the show did not clash with the newly established canon.
According to author Jason Fry, a common misconception about the Story Group is the belief that they possess complete knowledge and should be flawless. He stated, "Of course, there will inevitably be inconsistencies and errors."
Delilah S. Dawson has stated that the story group often encourages creators to come up with new ideas rather than relying on existing ones.
- Carrie Beck —Senior Vice President responsible for Development & Production [15]
- James Waugh —Senior Vice President, overseeing Franchise Content and Strategy [16]
- Rayne Roberts —Vice President in charge of Film Development [7]
- Steve Blank —Director, focusing on Franchise Content and Strategy, also a Creative Executive [17]
- Leland Chee —Sr. Creative Executive, known as the Keeper of the Holocron [18]
- Pablo Hidalgo [19] — Serves as the Star Wars Lore Advisor [20]
- Phil Szostak — Holds the position of Creative Art Manager [21]
- Matt Martin —Sr. Creative Executive, specializing in Franchise Story and Content [22]
- Jason D. Stein —Works as a Creative Executive [23]
- Lauren Olsen — Creative Executive, focusing on Franchise Content and Strategy [24]
- Kelsey Sharpe —Jr. Creative Executive [25]
- Emily Shkoukani —Jr. Creative Executive [26]
- Shiree Cole [4] —Functions as the Executive Assistant [27]
- Kate Izquierdo [4]
- Cara Pardo (previously employed) [28]
- Stephen Feder (previously employed) [29]
- Kiri Hart (previously employed) [29]
- Josh Rimes (moved to a different role) [30]
- Diana Williams (previously employed) [31]
- Inside the 'Star Wars' Writers Room: Meet the 5 Architects of the Franchise on www.hollywoodreporter.com (archived from the original on June 22, 2020)
- 'Star Wars' story group manages teeming galaxy on www.cnn.com (archived from the original on April 20, 2020)
- How Star Wars authors work with Lucasfilm and earn creative control on www.syfy.com (archived from the original on May 12, 2020)
- The Women Who Run the 'Star Wars' Universe on www.nytimes.com (archived from the original on September 18, 2020)