I'm interested in expanding Funeral of Anakin Skywalker, so I'm currently going through the sources to find all the available information I can about it. A question I have arose when you compare the funeral in the film to the funeral in the Return of the Jedi radio drama. In the film, of course, Luke stands there silently and watches the pyre before heading to the Ewok celebration. In the radio drama, C-3PO is with Luke when he lights the pyre, and Luke explains what he's doing (you can see a quote from this at the top of the article already). 3PO then calls for him to join the celebration.
Since the events of the radio drama don't conflict, but rather expand, upon the events of the film, are the radio drama's events still considered canon? I checked the canon policy but wasn't entirely clear, since the radio dramas aren't referenced there, so I wanted to ask here before I start writing anything. Any help would be much appreciated! - Brandon Rhea (talk) 22:07, December 23, 2013 (UTC)
- In retrospect (aka, as soon as I posted this), I realized the title of this SH thread isn't really accurate. Sorry for any confusion. - Brandon Rhea (talk) 22:08, December 23, 2013 (UTC)
- In reference to the canon policy, yes, in general the radio dramas are considered canon, and their omission from the policy is simply an oversight that should be fixed. Having never dealt with the radio dramas directly myself, however, I will let someone else more familiar with them determine how this specific situation should be handled. —MJ— Training Room 23:09, December 23, 2013 (UTC)
- Yeah, a lot of stuff in the radio dramas differ from the film purely due to the nature of the medium --- Anakin's funeral wouldn't have worked if it had just been Luke standing there saying nothing with music playing; Threepio being there talking to him allows the listener to know what's going on. In those kinds of cases we should treat the film's events as G-canon and mention the radio drama in "Behind the scenes;" that's generally how we treat film adaptations that differ significantly from the film. Menkooroo (talk) 00:39, December 24, 2013 (UTC)
- Thank you both for the reply. That sounds fair, Menkooroo. Does the radio adaptation different that extensively from the film, though? Seems to be more of an expansion of the events rather than a huge difference, where nothing in the film would outright suggest that the radio drama version didn't happen (which, if I understand things right, is how films and their novelizations would be treated). Putting the info on the BtS makes sense, but I just want to be 100% sure first. - Brandon Rhea (talk) 00:44, December 24, 2013 (UTC)
- If Threepio is there and Luke is talking to him when he lights the pyre, seems like that would contradict the film, where Luke lights the pyre alone. Menkooroo (talk) 00:47, December 24, 2013 (UTC)
- I think the implication of the radio drama was that 3PO was off to the side, shouting to Luke to join him. The way the film is shot doesn't preclude 3PO being there. That said, I'll go with what you said anyway, and include it in the BtS. Thanks again. - Brandon Rhea (talk) 00:49, December 24, 2013 (UTC)
- If Threepio is there and Luke is talking to him when he lights the pyre, seems like that would contradict the film, where Luke lights the pyre alone. Menkooroo (talk) 00:47, December 24, 2013 (UTC)
- Thank you both for the reply. That sounds fair, Menkooroo. Does the radio adaptation different that extensively from the film, though? Seems to be more of an expansion of the events rather than a huge difference, where nothing in the film would outright suggest that the radio drama version didn't happen (which, if I understand things right, is how films and their novelizations would be treated). Putting the info on the BtS makes sense, but I just want to be 100% sure first. - Brandon Rhea (talk) 00:44, December 24, 2013 (UTC)