Star Wars 3D And TV

Master_of_Tumbleweeds writes "Rick McCallum, co-producer of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, appeared at a press conference in Japan earlier today. He spoke about the future of Star Wars, specifically about the 3D updates of all six films and the upcoming TV series. McCallum said that the 3D films would be released within two to three years, and that the TV shows would take place during the 20 year time period between Episode III and IV. He also mentioned that one of the shows would follow the adventures of a young Luke Skywalker, and reveal how certain characters ended up together. The show starts production next year."

Comments

Why?

[bcmm]

Is there a good reason to keep the franchise going, other than money?

Millions will watch it; fans will get more annoyed and alienated; non-fans will find it increasingly hard to believe the fans' claims that it used to be good and it will all be hugely profitable. Nothing new.

Re:Why?

[jfengel]

George Lucas is apprently putting what he wants to see on film. He's been monkeying with his old films to make them look more like what he wanted (or at least, what he wants now).

So if you're looking for an artistic rather than fiscal reason, that's it: George Lucas gets to make the movies he wants to make. He's writing and directing them, despite pleas from the fans to let somebody else do it. Supposedly that's what a real artist does: make the art his way, and critics, fans, and profits be damned.

He happens to get the profits anyway. But if you're asking him to stop making movies his way and make them the way you want to see them, he'll tell you what any artist would tell you: go make your own movie.

Re: Why?

[Black Parrot]

> So if you're looking for an artistic rather than fiscal reason, that's it: George Lucas gets to make the movies he wants to make. He's writing and directing them, despite pleas from the fans to let somebody else do it. Supposedly that's what a real artist does: make the art his way, and critics, fans, and profits be damned.

And Lucas just happens to think action figures are an art form.

No mercy you have ...

[orangeguru]

Every additional Star Wars remake, rerelease, addition, TV series, book, comic, condom, game WITHIN the movies time frame will make the MYTH only WEAKER. Damnit.

Prequels...

[RandomLetters]

Is the whole concept of "prequels" flawed?

I found that all the Star Wars prequels focused on acting out things which we already knew the result of, showing younger versions of characters or parents of characters, and ruining our personal concept of what went before.

Are there any instances where "prequels" were successful and expanded the narrative?

Re:Sigh

[buddachile]

from TFA: Do you really want to see a young Luke, Han, etc. interacting?

in episode 4 han and luke interacted in a fashion that suggested that was the first time they had met. how would it make sense for them to interact in the TV series when the time frame is the 20 years between episodes 3 & 4?

Beginning of the End of Star Wars

[reporter]

"Stars Wars" (SW) is quickly morphing into the sort of downward spiral that marked the end of "Star Trek" (ST). ST saturated the airwaves, and eventually the plots became so shallow that they lost most of their audience. One problem is that plots begin to repeat themselves.

Another problem is inconsistency.

The first sign of trouble is inconsistency in the storylines. An example is the fact that, in the original SW trilogy, the Force is available to anyone willing to commit herself to the ideals of the Jedi. Obi-wan Kenobi offers to teach Han Solo how to master the Force, but the swashbuckler declines, preferring a good pistol. Then, in the new trilogy, the Force is available only to those with the blood stocked with midichlorians.

By the way, epics come along only once in a great while. Trying to generate new and wonderful ideas each week for a TV series is extremely difficult; hence most shows (e.g. ST) end before about 7 seasons. Such a conclusion leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth, and once devoted fans permanently ignore the franchise.

SW will most assuredly meet such a fate -- unless George Lucas deflates his ego and terminates the television series before they even begin.

Re:Beginning of the End of Star Wars

[xoboots]

I find your lack of faith -- disturbing.

As for the midichlorians, perhaps there is more to it than your apparently limited insight allow for. First of all, it is well known in the SW universe that the force permeates every living thing (with one notable exception, but they aren't discovered until after ROTJ so we will ignore them here). If midichlorians act as the mediation for that interaction than the implication is that everyone has at least SOME midichlorian in them (whatever it is) but that some folks have more than others. Just as some people are naturally more gifted athletes or mathematicians or more suited to contemplative, spiritual paths so too are some beings more likely to be adept at bearing the Force. The importance of "introducing" midichlorians is that it allowed Lucas to tell us that Anakin was off the chart when it came to natural Force adeptness. So your argument is rather unsophisticated.

Furthermore, you have to account for the fact that just because a "sage" says something doesn't mean that it is the whole truth or even true at all. It is simply their belief or understanding. Note how both Yoda and Obi-Wan (whom we would assume should know better) are both bent on getting Luke to destroy Darth. Obi-Wan never fails in this persuit even though Padame's dying words to him were insistant that there was still good in Anakin. It takes young Luke (who is apparently the "real" chosen one and thus has great insight) to realize that one of the characteristics of the Force is that redemption is possible for all -- even Anakin. This is the real moral of Star Wars and it is somewhat hidden behind everything else that goes on so it is not surprising that you don't see it (again, neither did Yoda nor Obi-Wan). If you allow yourself to sucked in to the "realness" of the scenes that Lucas presents you miss things like that and it suggests that you are only doing a surface read. Yes its a big budget action movie but if you take a moment to NOT be wowed by what is happening, there is stuff there that acts at a deeper level.

Asides from all that -- who the fuck cares if you are unhappy about these films or the direction that Lucas is taking the franchise? Just because you don't get it doesn't mean that you get to trash it. A lot of people DO enjoy SW and will continue to do so long into the future. As your ability to deconstruct appears somewhat lacking (don't worry, not everyone has great reserves of that talent) it is likely that your judgements on the matter will leave much to be desired. You talk about Lucas' ego and yet it is you who are suffering from delusions. I think Lucas has earned the right to set the direction for SW. You: not so much.

Re:Beginning of the End of Star Wars

[iced_773]

I have to agree here. We (the Slashdot crowd) do not give Lucas enough credit. We watch the movies at face value, and ignore the human themes within.

Remember reading Faulkner in high school/college English class? At the surface, his novels in their full three-page sentence glory seemed not worthy of the dignity of a bonfire. But upon actually studying what the novels meant, their inner meanings, we realized why they were considered good literature. We are doing the same thing to Star Wars. We seem to be overlooking what in the movies are really important.

Emerson was right: To be great is to be misunderstood.

Re:Beginning of the End of Star Wars

[clem]

Asides from all that -- who the fuck cares if you are unhappy about these films or the direction that Lucas is taking the franchise? Just because you don't get it doesn't mean that you get to trash it.

Actually, the grandparent poster can say anything they damn well feel like about these films. On Slashdot, it's generally accepted that you can post anything you wish as long as you can accept the effects this will have on your karma.

This allows people to *gasp* criticize movies. Just like it allows you to play the shameless apologist for lukewarm (pun intended) cinema. Are you really objecting that a movie review was based on someone's opinion? Were you expecting objective, empirical evidence?

Your personal set of taboos don't play a part in these forums.

Re:Beginning of the End of Star Wars

[Junkstyle]

Wrong. Anakin IS the chosen one. In the end it was Vader's decision to threw the emperor over the ledge to restore balance in the Force. Do you honestly thing that Yoda and Obiwan thought Luke had even snowballs chance in hell to beat both Vader and the Emperor? Did you see the pathetic Jedi training Luke got in the swamp? Yoda and Obiwan sent Luke in there as an "Jedi Master" because they thought he could change Vader's mind. The whole series is all about Anakin not Luke.

Re:certain characters?

[Anonymous Coward]

Chewie and Yoda (Jedi Übermaster) fought together at the end of the clone war. Chewie meets Han. Chewie and Han meet Luke and Obiwan. Han says he has no reason to believe in the force.
The story in between Ep 3 and 4 could be about why Chewie and Han don't communicate. Perhaps they see a marriage councilor (Lando???). Endless possibilities!

Star {Wars,Trek}

[Black Parrot]

It seems that Star Trek isn't the only over-exploited franchise that needs to take a rest for a decade or two.

Adventures?

[TeacherOfHeroes]

I thought that episode IV kind of established that Luke's life up to that point had been really boring...

How can you make a tv series that needs 20-24 interesting things to happen each year out of that?

The "adventures" of Young Luke?

[thesandtiger]

I thought the whole point of him whining about life on Tatooine was because the only adventures he was having involved "zeroing" womp rats.

The problem with such Superboy-esque things is that they just can't do too much with them - we know he can't die, can't suffer any real loss or develop at all as a character (after all, the Luke we first met was hardly heroic - he whines a lot and builds model shuttles. Wow!)

Show me Han Solo's earlier life. Show me Leia's life - she at least seems to have been doing things for the rebellion. Show me anything, but god, please, don't show me 10 episodes of "Luke and his old pal Wompy get in trouble with Uncle Owen when they get sand in tender spots."

Dual Lens for 3D?

[arbi]

Wouldn't 3D versions of the movie require that the original footage be shot using dual lenses that are spaced about 3 inches apart?

Re:Sigh

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree that it wouldn't make any sense for Han and Luke to have met earlier than the Mos Eisley cantina, but remember: it's George Lucas directing here.

This is a director who is obsessed with ruining the mystery behind his characters. C-3PO and R2D2 didn't have to be in the prequel movies. Indeed, C-3PO is a protocol droid that looks exactly like several others seen in the original series, indicating he was mass-produced - but instead, Lucas decided it would be better to have Anakin Skywalker build him from scratch to show off the young Vader's technical skills. Why not build a different, unique robot? Because Lucas doesn't work his story that way. He doesn't consider that it's overkill to explain every character's entire life from the very beginning. And that's exactly what the TV series will do.

Introducing the droids in the prequels created a huge inconsistency flaw: in 'A New Hope', Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't remember R2D2 OR C-3PO, despite being around them quite a lot during the long years of his padawan's training. This has prompted a lot of backpedaling by fans to explain the flaw - that Ben Kenobi's memory has faded, that he's only pretending to have forgotten the droids, and other weak excuses.

And let's not forget the major change Lucas made to Han Solo's character - taking a dangerous and ruthless character and painting him as a man who is far more level-headed and good-natured.

Now consider what he'll do to Luke Skywalker's character week after week? Luke is supposed to be a boring farm-boy from a backwater planet. That's what makes his transition to a Jedi/involvement in the enormous Rebellion so cool. But to make a TV series interesting, Lucas will force Skywalker through challenge after challenge, every single week. By the time the TV series ends its run, Luke Skywalker's efforts in the three original movies will be far less amazing and unusual. The magic of it all will be eroded away.

Trust me. The more George Lucas has to do with Star Wars, the more he'll destroy it.

-wish I had a /. account

OMG no no no MY EYES MY EYES

[kahei]

A tv show depicting the life of young Luke, eh? How nice. I'm betting the content will be as follows:

--Luke faces many challenges and trials, but overcomes them with the support of his friends and family.
--Luke has a band of about 4 multiracial, telegenic friends each with their own particular mannerism and area of expertise.
--Comic relief is provided by a small robot or alien critter. Ha ha!m
--Sometimes Luke feels lonely or insecure but by the end of the episode he has recovered his self worth, thanks to teamwork, sharing, and staying true to himself.
--Serious themes (social injustice, the pain of being dumped) are sometimes raised, but at the end of each half-hour, a few wise words from Luke's aunt and uncle set it all to rights.

This is an absolute must-see! There's never been TV like this before! What a splendid use of the SW franchise!

WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING??
Haven't they heard about diluting a brand?

(pause)

NO, REALLY, WHAT THE FUCK??