Canon (fiction)#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.{{sfn|Urbanski|2013|p=83}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/help/faqs/faq/676.html |title=How do the Star Trek novels and comic books fit into the Star Trek universe? What is considered Star Trek "canon"? |date=10 July 2003 |work=startrek.com |publisher=CBS Studios |archive-date = 28 May 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100528002622/http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/help/faqs/faq/676.html}} 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".

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.{{cite news |title=Meet Leland Chee, the Star Wars Franchise Continuity Cop |first=Chris |last=Baker |url=https://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/16-09/ff_starwarscanon?currentPage=all |magazine=Wired |date=18 August 2008 |access-date=30 April 2010 |archive-date=16 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616063450/http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/16-09/ff_starwarscanon?currentPage=all |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page|title=The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page|work=StarWars.com|access-date=26 February 2021|archive-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910044317/http://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page|url-status=live}}

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.Doctor Who Magazine #388Doctor Who Magazine #356Davies RT, "The Writer's Tales"

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.{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|date=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/anime-filler-guide/ |title=Anime Filler List: What To Skip & What's Worth Watching |author=Ajay Aravind |date=April 7, 2023 |website=Comic Book Resources |access-date=22 July 2023 |archive-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722134945/https://www.cbr.com/anime-filler-guide/ |url-status=live }}

File:The_Field_Bazaar_(The_Athenaeum_Press_1934),_page_1_of_2.jpg in 1934.]]

The canonical status of some works by the original writer but not the same publisher, such as "The Field Bazaar", may be debated.{{cite news |title=Invisible Ink: No 197 - The other Sherlock Holmes writers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/invisible-ink-no-197-other-sherlock-holmes-writers-8917628.html |work=The Independent |date=3 November 2013 |language=en}}

This is because copyright used to be exercised by the publisher of the work of literature rather than the author.{{cite web |title=When Charles Dickens fell out with America |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17017791 |website=BBC News |date=14 February 2012}}

Campaigning by Victor Hugo led to the Berne Convention which introduced author's rights.{{Cite journal |last1=Oman |first1=Ralph |last2=Flacks |first2=Lewis |title=Berne Revision: The Continuing Drama |url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=iplj |journal=Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law |date=1993 |volume=4 |issue=1 |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201927/https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=iplj |url-status=live }}

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),{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Martin |title=We're Off To See The Wizard |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/02/archives/were-off-to-see-the-wizard-were-off-to-see-the-wizard.html |work=The New York Times |date=2 May 1971 |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403000048/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/02/archives/were-off-to-see-the-wizard-were-off-to-see-the-wizard.html |url-status=live }} Porto Bello Gold (1924) (by estate),{{cite journal |title=Porto Bello Gold |journal=Smithsonian Libraries |url=https://library.si.edu/donate/adopt-a-book/porto-bello-gold |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817030106/https://library.si.edu/donate/adopt-a-book/porto-bello-gold |url-status=live }} and Heidi Grows Up (1938) (by estate).{{cite news |title=Is Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman' bound for the 'Interstellar' trap? |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-harper-lee-go-set-a-watchman-new-book-hollywood-20150203-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=4 February 2015 |first1=Steven |last1=Zeitchik }}

In film and television it is common that the original writer does not decide what is canon.{{cite journal |last1=Staiger |first1=Janet |title=The Politics of Film Canons |journal=Cinema Journal |date=1985 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=4–23 |doi=10.2307/1225428 |jstor=1225428 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1225428 |issn=0009-7101}} In literature, the estate of H. G. Wells authorised sequels by Stephen Baxter, The Massacre of Mankind (2017) and The Time Ships (1995).{{cite news |title=Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: A Sequel to 'The War of the Worlds' (Published 2017) |date=3 September 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/03/books/massacre-of-mankind-sequel-to-war-of-worlds-stephen-baxter.html |language=en}} Scarlett was a 1991 sequel to Gone with the Wind authorised by the estate.{{cite news |title=Tomorrow is another Gone With the Wind sequel |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/03/books.usa |work=The Guardian |date=3 November 2007 |language=en |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817030109/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/03/books.usa |url-status=live }}

In 2010, the Conan Doyle estate authorised Young Sherlock Holmes{{Cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/18/young-sherlock-holmes-macmillan|title = Macmillan reveals adventures of young Sherlock Holmes|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 18 March 2009|access-date = 18 June 2021|archive-date = 5 June 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200605213853/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/18/young-sherlock-holmes-macmillan|url-status = live}} and The House of Silk.

Sequels to the stories by P G Wodehouse about the butler Jeeves were sanctioned by Wodehouse's estate for Jeeves and the Wedding Bells (2013) by Sebastian Faulks and Jeeves and the King of Clubs (2018) by Ben Schott.{{cite web |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/jeeves-and-the-leap-of-faith-by-ben-schott-review-mpr38csq2 |title=Jeeves and the Leap of Faith by Ben Schott, review – a 'new' Wodehouse |last=Grylls |first=David |date=24 October 2020 |website=The Times |access-date=13 December 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125145202/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jeeves-and-the-leap-of-faith-by-ben-schott-review-mpr38csq2 |url-status=live }} The Monogram Murders (2014) by Sophie Hannah is a sequel to Hercule Poirot novels authorised by the Agatha Christie estate.{{cite news |title=Poirot is a show-off, but he's brilliant. That's why I brought him back to life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/04/hercule-poirot-new-lease-of-life-agatha-christie-orient-express |work=the Guardian |date=2017-11-05 |language=en |access-date=11 June 2021 |archive-date=21 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121113438/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/04/hercule-poirot-new-lease-of-life-agatha-christie-orient-express |url-status=live }}

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.{{harvnb|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. Similarly, the term "headcanon" is used to describe a fan's personal interpretation of a fictional universe.{{cite web |last=Romano |first=Aja |date=7 June 2016 |title=Canon, fanon, shipping and more: a glossary of the tricky terminology that makes up fan culture |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/6/7/11858680/fandom-glossary-fanfiction-explained |access-date=February 19, 2022 |publisher=Vox |archive-date=20 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320095339/https://www.vox.com/2016/6/7/11858680/fandom-glossary-fanfiction-explained |url-status=live }}

• {{Annotated link |Alternative universe (fan fiction)}}
• {{Annotated link|Complete works}}
• {{Annotated link |Catalogue raisonné}}
• {{Annotated link |Continuity (fiction)}}
• {{Annotated link |Expanded universe}}
• {{Annotated link |Fictional universe}}
• {{Annotated link |Shared universe}}
• {{Annotated link |Parallel universes in fiction}}
• {{Annotated link |Reset button technique}}
• {{Annotated link|Sequel}}
• {{Annotated link|Text corpus}}
• {{Annotated link |Middle-earth canon}}
• {{Annotated link |Retroactive continuity}}
• {{Annotated link |Canon of Sherlock Holmes}}

{{Reflist}}

• Rebecca Black, "Digital Design: English Language Learners and Reader Reviews in Online Fiction", in [https://web.archive.org/web/20100429042546/http://www.soe.jcu.edu.au/sampler/ A New Literacies Sampler], p. 126
• {{cite web | first = Juli J. | last = Parrish | year = 2007 | title = Inventing a Universe: Reading and writing Internet fan fiction | url = https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/8963/ | citeseerx = 10.1.1.93.419 }}
• {{cite book |last=Urbanski |first=Heather |title=The Science Fiction Reboot: Canon, Innovation and Fandom in Refashioned Franchises |year=2013 |publisher=McFarland |location=Jefferson, NC |isbn=978-0-7864-6509-5 |url=}}

• {{Wiktionaryinline|canon}}

{{Superhero fiction}}