One difference I noticed between the old EU and Disney canon is that when the old EU went into a character's backstory, they're having a stand alone adventure. The new stuff? Everyone is connected, and they all somehow had a role in the movies even though you haven't heard about them till now.
I'd chalk that up to the EU writers trying to make the novels and comics relatively nu-reader friendly, as well as trying to create their own narrative corner where their use of certain characters or elements wouldn't clash with someone else's.
For instance, I brushed through a few of Jude Watson's
Jedi Apprentice books a few months back (and by the way, they sure as fuck hold up in spite of being junior novels written in the early 2000's), and one thing I appreciated was how Watson restrained herself from making the novels a memberberry-fest of familiar faces and locales, and sought to tether new ones to the story. In fleshing out Qui-Gon's personal history, for instance, Watson didn't attach even most of the characters and locales we know from the films. Instead, she created new characters--an old apprentice in Xanatos, an old female comrade-turned-flame in Tahl. Likewise, Obi-Wan has a group of fellow Padawan friends that exist solely in these books, like Garen and Bant, as well as a lethal rival Bruck and a love interest in Siri Tachi. And the planets? Mostly
new locales like Bandomeer and Melida/Daan. Of course, you get passing mentions to previously established elements--like the Senate, the Trade Federation, and even the Black Sun--but by and large, Watson populated her books with characters and instances that would go on to be fan favorites, and would entice a loyal adult following just as much as the novels' intended grade school one.
As stated, I'd imagine a lot of that creative heavy-lifting was motivated by personal convenience more than anything else; to simply create concepts instead of borrowing familiar film ones that some other author or comic writer might be using. But the inadvertent effect of all this is that Watson created a world within her books,
adding to the SW Universe by making it bigger, not smaller. And by doing so, she not only formed seamless and compelling character history for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon that could've easily happened off-screen, but she created assets for other authors to use...such as Bandomeer popping up in the
Bane novels, or Siri Tachi getting a mention in the
Kenobi novel.
Again,
adding to the universe instead of making it suffocatingly small, and routinely compromised by contrivance...something that both main and supplementary SW material has long forgotten how to do.
