Be mindful of the future: information and knowledge management in Star Wars tie-in fiction

Abstract

In the last fifty years, media franchises have been using tie-in fiction to expand their universes and tell stories outside main events. This paper examines how information is used specifically in Star Wars tie-in fiction and its recent transition to using knowledge management. To start, this paper looks at the history of tie-in fiction from its roots in the 1960s to the modern day, before transitioning to the role of brand managers and editors as information managers. Then, this paper documents the history of Star Wars tie-in fiction and how information strategies were implemented through 2014 and how it impacted the franchise’s canon. Finally, this paper examines the recent move towards a unified canon and how this shift towards knowledge management has impacted storytelling. This paper concludes that while it is too early to evaluate its results, Star Wars was uniquely situated among franchises to move towards knowledge management through its prior information management efforts.