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Star Wars Television Series Moving Forward
merg717 writes "George Lucas has confirmed that work has begun on a live-action Star Wars television series. This is the companion piece to the Clone Wars animated series, focusing on entirely new characters outside of the frame of the six movies. 'Lucas joked that the series would be about "the life of robots" but wouldn't let any details slip about the true premise. The "extended universe" of "Star Wars" has come to life already in Lucas-sanctioned novels, comics and games that chronicle the history of the Jedi and tell the tales of bit players in the films, such as the bounty hunters from "The Empire Strikes Back."'"
Lucas joked that the series would be about "the life of robots"
Considering the way Lucas directs actors, I would say that most of the Star Wars movies have been about the lives of robots.
More marketing opportunities for LucasFilm! More toys! More action figures! More breakfast cereals!
People who think this was about things like "artistic vision" or "extended storytelling possibilities" probably like Jar-Jar Binks as well.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Young Indiana Jones used horrible contrivances to get Indy to meet various famous historical figures. Expect any Star Wars TV series to do the same with characters from the movies. Oh and lots of phony CGI.
As was briefly touched on in TFS, the stories of the bounty hunters from ESB actually make for an interesting read. Skip all of the "Expanded" crap, and take a look here:
Tales of the Bounty Hunters
ISBN-10: 0553568167
ISBN-13: 978-0553568165
Misery loves company. Online misery loves unsuspecting random strangers.
Not that I don't love the iconic characters from the OT, but this is exactly what I've been hoping to see in live action. If Star Wars Revelations is any indication, these kinds of stories could be done on a modest budget with talented and under utilized actors that could elicit the fan response of a Han Solo -ish character while staying low-key enough to allow viewers to be swept up into the absolutely huge and mysterious setting. I think it would be an absolute blast to throw some of the Empire's more obscure minions into the spotlight as a foil to some rebellious or independent spacers on the fringe (a la "Firefly"), similar to some of the plots in the old animated "Star Wars: Droids" from the 80s.
"Pray that I do not alter it further." - George Lucas
Cue the whining! Oh no, Lucas is making a TV series I don't have to watch, and wouldn't have to pay any extra money for if I do watch it!
Whatever. What is with everyone thinking Lucas should never do anything Star Wars again because it won't be as good as the originals? So he isn't going to top his early work, so what? I'm sure it will still be better than most the other crap I'd normally watch. Personally, I think some of the other works have had great plots. In some cases, poor execution, but the good far outweighed the bad.
Battlestar Galactica has proven that it's possible to create cinema-quality special effects and atmosphere on a TV show budget these days.
Unfortunately for Lucasarts, anything they're likely to produce probably won't turn out half as good as Battlestar - which is kind of ironic considering that the original Battlestar Galactica really began as a Star Wars ripoff (or at least was discounted as such by critics at the time).
Really, though, BSG really beat the Star Wars prequel at their own game - the vintage tech and mannerisms give the Battlestar Galactica universe the old-school, 'epic' feel that the original SW trilogy had and the prequels lacked.
The kid in me really wants to see some Star Wars in the flavor of the original trilogy, though. Perhaps being constrained to a TV budget will actually help it meet that end - real props instead of 100% CGI backgrounds and 50% CGI characters; plot-and-character-driven instead of flashy lightsaber battles, etc.
Ten years ago, I would have assumed he was kidding.
The opinions stated herein do not necessarily represent those of anybody at all. Deal with it.
Lucas is pretty much denying that The Christmas Special even existed. But we, the fans of Star Wars, never forget.
Bearded Dragon
"I've got a bad feeling about this"
Subscribers can see articles in the future? So what? Everyone gets to see them in the future.
I'm not going to say George Lucas raped my childhood. That's hyperbolic and silly. What he did was run a very fun series straight into the ground. As a kid I was "yay, Star Wars!" As a teen I was still "yay, nostalgia!" Right up until the CGI-addled re-release I as "yay, I could watch these movies once a year and never get bored." Then Phantom Menace came out. "Huh, that was Star Wars?" By ROTS I'm "Meh, Star Wars." Watching the movies once a year around Christmastime was a family tradition. Well, I'll pick up the DVD version of the untouched original trilogy -- used, so Lucas doesn't make any more money, but that'll be my last Star Wars purchase. The expanded universe is boring, the games are uninspired, the "property" is being treated like a "franchise" and I just can't work up a shit to give about it.
Firefly was like the new Star Wars, a wild west space opera. That's the kind of wit and energy that should be brought to a new Star Wars project and it's just something we're not going to see. Lord of the Rings is now my big epic trilogy to watch over the holidays.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
"Look sir, Droids!"
McCallum is interviewing writers for the live-action series. Here's a tip for you, Rick: Stop the interviews. Hire Timothy Zahn as the head writer. Then hire any combination of Michael Stackpole, A.C. Crispin, Kevin Anderson, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch as his staff. There. Done. Let Lucas cast the vision, but leave the rest up to Zahn and his team. And for the director, get Joss Whedon. Seriously. I can't stress this enough. He would do it exactly right.