Concept of continuity between different fictional works
This article is about the concept of a canon that defines the world of a particular series or franchise. For influential works of fiction, see Western canon. For other uses, see Canon.
The canon of a work of fiction is "the body of works taking place in a particular fictional world that are widely considered to be official or authoritative; [especially] those created by the original author or developer of the world".[2] Canon is contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction and other derivative works.[3]
Canonicity
When there are multiple "official" works or original media, what material is canonical can be unclear. This is resolved either by explicitly excluding certain media from the status of canon (as in the case of Star Trek and Star Wars); by assigning different levels of canonicity to different media; by considering different but licensed media treatments official and equally canonical to the series timeline within their own continuities' universe, but not across them; or not resolved at all.
There is also no consensus regarding who has the authority to decide what is or isn't canonical, with copyright holders usually declaring themselves the authorities when they want to erase or retcon materials that were approved by the setting's original creator (with Star Wars again being an example). The definition of canon is of particular importance with regard to reboots or re-imaginings of established franchises, such as the Star Trek remake (2009), because of the ways in which it influences the viewer experience.[4]
Examples
The official Star Trek website describes the Star Trek canon as "the events that take place within the episodes and movies", referring to the live-action television series and films, with Star Trek: The Animated Series having long existed in a nebulous gray area of canonicity.[5] Events, characters, and storylines from tie-in novels, comic books, and video games are explicitly excluded from the Star Trek canon, but the site notes that elements from these sources have been subsequently introduced into the television series, and says that "canon is not something set in stone".[5]
During George Lucas's time with the franchise, the Star Wars canon was divided into discrete tiers that incorporated the Expanded Universe (EU), with continuity tracked by Lucasfilm creative executive Leland Chee. Higher-tier and newer material abrogated lower-tier and older material in case of contradiction. The live-action theatrical films, the 2008 The Clone Wars TV series and its debut film, and statements by Lucas himself were at the top of this hierarchy; such works invariably superseded EU material in case of contradiction. The EU itself was further divided into several descending levels of continuity.[6] After Disney's acquisition of the franchise, Lucasfilm designated all Expanded Universe material published before 25 April 2014 (other than the first six theatrical films and the 2008 The Clone Wars film and TV series) as the non-canonical "Legends" continuity. Material released since this announcement is a separate canonical timeline from the original George Lucas Canon, with all narrative development overseen by the Lucasfilm Story Group.[7]
The makers of Doctor Who have generally avoided making pronouncements about canonicity, with Russell T Davies explaining that he does not think about the concept for the Doctor Who television series or its spin-offs.[8][9][10]
The television series The Simpsons has as an example of non-canonical material, the Treehouse of Horror episodes, a series of Halloween-themed specials with several stories that take place outside the show's normal continuity[11]
Several anime television series adapted from manga stories count with some extra episodes with original stories that are not part of the original manga, often being referred to as "filler episodes," being outside of the canon of their source material.[12]
Additional works
"The Field Bazaar" was rediscovered and reprinted by A. G. Macdonell in 1934.
Other writers
The canonical status of some works by the original writer but not the same publisher, such as "The Field Bazaar", may be debated.[13]
This is because copyright used to be exercised by the publisher of the work of literature rather than the author.[14]
Campaigning by Victor Hugo led to the Berne Convention which introduced author's rights.[15]
However, sometimes in literature, original writers have not approved works as canon, but original publishers or literary estates of original writers posthumously approve subsequent works as canon, such as The Royal Book of Oz (1921) (by original publisher),[16]Porto Bello Gold (1924) (by estate),[17] and Heidi Grows Up (1938) (by estate).[18]
Fan fiction is almost never regarded as canonical. However, certain ideas may become influential or widely accepted within fan communities, who refer to such ideas as "fanon", a blend of fan and canon.[6][25] Similarly, the term "headcanon" is used to describe a fan's personal interpretation of a fictional universe.[26]
Complete works – collection of all the works of one artist, writer, scientist, musician, group, etc.Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
Catalogue raisonné – Comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist
^Oman, Ralph; Flacks, Lewis (1993). "Berne Revision: The Continuing Drama". Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law. 4 (1). Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
^Gardner, Martin (2 May 1971). "We're Off To See The Wizard". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
^"Porto Bello Gold". Smithsonian Libraries. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
^Parrish 2007, p. 33: 'fanon.' Within an individual fandom, certain plotlines may be reinvented so many times and by so many people—or alternately may be written so persuasively by a few writers—that they take on the status of fan-produced canon.
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