Animated Film Set To Kick Off Star Wars TV Show

Sasseen writes "George Lucas has announced that the animated Star Wars television show, which we've discussed previously, will be kicking off with a feature-length theatre release. Lucas felt that, 'there were a lot more 'Star Wars' stories left to tell. I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the animation forward.' A fully animated film will be released in theaters on August 15 with a TV series of more than 30 episodes planned to follow on Cartoon Network and TNT. Also of note from the article, 'A new character named Ahsoka, Anakin's padawan, will be the first female Jedi to be a character of focus'."

Comments

Timeline

[cthulu_mt]

Not to nitpick; but where in the prequel trilogy did Anakin have the spare time to take a Padawan?

Re:Timeline

[BigHungryJoe]

Maybe after he became a Sith? Can Sith have padawan learners?

Re:Timeline

[patrixmyth]

And so we can assume that at the end of the series, he slaughters her along with the rest of the padawans? What a lovely cartoon moment that will make. Kids, hurry in, Star Wars is on!

Re:Timeline

[2names]

That is a good question. I was under the impression that there were always 2 and only 2 Sith at any given time. The Sith student kills the Master, becomes the Master, and takes on a student. Am I way off base here?

Re:Timeline

[BigHungryJoe]

I always took that to mean that Sith traveled in pairs, not that there were only two in the world, but I don't know.

I can't believe some Star Wars zealot hasn't beat us over the head with the canonical Star Wars answer yet.

Re:Timeline

[geminidomino]

Maybe they mean Anakin Solo (Han/Leia's youngest)? Did he live long enough to take a Padawan?

Re:Timeline

[rasputin465]

Not to nitpick; but where in the prequel trilogy did Anakin have the spare time to take a Padawan?

I'm pretty sure that at the beginning of the 3rd movie, Anakin is already a Jedi (though not a master), although it's pretty clear that he is still partnered with Obi-Wan.

There are over 100 books in the star wars extended universe spanning a huge timeline... Ok, I'm assuming at least a few slashdotters have read a fair number of these. Does anyone know if there's any mention of Anakin ever taking a Padewan?

Re:Timeline

[nomadic]

I always took that to mean that Sith traveled in pairs, not that there were only two in the world, but I don't know.

I thought that at first, but I remember reading something on the starwars website to say there were only two. If that's true it's kind of idiotic, the Sith survived by limiting their numbers to TWO? In a galaxy of a few trillion? A group's pretty much not surviving anymore when there only two of them. That's like saying "we figured out how to keep our army from vanishing--we're going to whittle the number of soldiers down to two and have those two guys spend their lives in hiding."

Re:Timeline

[doombringerltx]

I'm pretty sure this is set during the new trilogy, *maybe* between the old and new. So it can't be a child of Han and Leia's

Re:Timeline

[somersault]

All together now...

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNuoooooooo000000000000000OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Re:Timeline

[Captain Splendid]

Also, the Clone Wars miniseries on Cartoon Network gave the distinct impression that a few years have passed between 2 and 3. And what with, y'know, a war raging on, there's possibilities for a ton of stories set during that timeline.

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

It was Darth Bane who decided that the Sith were spreading the power too thin, and when they cooperated to fight against the Jedi in the Sith wars, he figured they wer no different really than the Jedi, employing the same tactics, so yes, there are only 2, a Master who has the power and an apprentice who craves it. When the apprentice learns enough, he strikes down the master and takes an apprentice. Sidious tells when he killed his master, and he offers luke the opportunity to kill vader and take his place as his apprentice.

There are only 2.

Unlike Immortals, or which there can be only one. (going for the second sci-fi reference in the same post)

Re:Timeline

[Orleron]

I've got a bad feeling about this.

Re:Timeline

[webword]

Padawan or ... mistress?

Re:Timeline

[s_p_oneil]

At least 10 years passed between episodes 2 and 3. He could've had a Padawan that died just before episode 3 started. If you look at the deleted scenes on the episode 3 DVD, they show Grievous killing a young female Jedi in front of Anakin and Obi-Wan. She could've been his apprentice.

Re:Timeline

[Joe the Lesser]

I always read that as:

There may exist more than two, but only two work together, because master Siths don't trust each other, or are killed by their padawans. Siths don't have more than 1 padawan because the padawans would probably off each other in the competition anyway. (remember how palpatine wanted luke as his apprentice...probably to replace vader who was getting old and independent...so he wanted luke to kill his father, lose himself to darkness, and then become the next padawan)

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

This could all take place betwen Ep 2 and 3, big time gap there.

Also the correct answer is that they run in pairs. The Sith number has just completely dwindled by the time of the movies. See the KOTR set of video games and probably comics or books to get that story (and the KOTOR story is 1000% better than the prequel crap Lucas put out).

Re:Timeline

[SuiteSisterMary]

I think the idea is that 10 years pass between Ep. 2 and Ep. 3, and the idea is that Anakin and Obi-Wan are *re*united for the mission to save the Chancellor; after 2 but before 3, Anakin becomes a Knight, and the two of them split up to go do their own things; Obi-Wan, having successfully trained a Padawan into a Knight is awarded the rank of Master, given command of an Army, and off he goes. Anakin, meanwhile, now a Knight, is sent off as more of a captain than a general.

This would also explain some of his anger about not being given the rank of Master in episode 3; one of the requirements, again, being the successful raising of a Padawan.

Re:Timeline

[Rolgar]

According to Wikepedia, the KotOR video game set 4000 years prior to the movies had a 'Sith Armada' headed by Darth Malak. This Sith Armada seemed to be manned by many people referred to as Sith, but maybe by the time in the movies, the ordinary Sith are gone and there are just the two? While it would seem to be a very precarious situation for the Sith to only have two, maybe there is some way the Sith Lords can be rebooted in the event of the death of both?

Maybe it's not surviving that they are going for, but rather domination by the main Sith Lord, and having more than the one pair would lead to in-fighting, and Sith Lord would have no desire to share his knowledge and power with more than just his apprentice. He's too busy gaining or abusing power to have an entire class of Sith to train. Who knows if Lucas has even thought it out that far.

Re:Timeline

[morsdeus]

The extensive history of the Sith and their organization practices is all on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/SithThe Sith Basically, the Sith used to be a larger order similar to the Jedi, until one of the many wars, after their loss of which they went underground and started the practice of existing two at a time - and yes, that is two in the entire galaxy. Vader would *never* have taken a Padawan while his master survived. Not to mention, Sith apprentices are not called Padawan Learners.

Re:Timeline

[peragrin]

dude his padawan is a tw'liek slave girl, and he is a horny teenager.

this can only end with him showing her his lightsaber.

Re:Timeline

[San-LC]

I believe the Sith were a race that had become extinct, and the two Darths brought up their army under the name only. Also, I think SW Lore states that there can only be two Sith Lords, or Darths, at any time. Technically, Mara Jade was an apprentice to the Emperor while Darth Vader was still alive. Also, in the animated series on Cartoon Network, Count Dooku took an apprentice.

Re:Timeline

[Floritard]

Anakin's padawan, will be the first female Jedi to be a character of focus...

Re:Timeline

[meringuoid]

KOTOR featured a Sith army, most of whom were not Force users, just troopers. The leading Sith broadly followed the rule of two: Darth Revan and Darth Malak, then Darth Malak and Darth Bandon, then Darth Dark Side Player and Darth Spoiler. However, they weren't above training a large number of dark-side Force users. Indeed, they ran an academy on Korriban, whose head staff themselves followed a rule of two in microcosm, and were repeating the predictable pattern of the subordinate trying to kill off the superior.

Re:Timeline

[JoeDuncan]

You my friend, must now take a drink!

Re:Timeline

[Bloke down the pub]

I was under the impression that there were always 2 and only 2 Sith at any given time.The Sith student kills the Master, becomes the Master, and takes on a student. Am I way off base here?

Not even close. Think about the delay in placing the advert, time spent sifting the resumés and then the interviews, oh Lord, the intwerviews! What if the successful canditate has to give a month's notice or has a holiday booked?

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

Alternatively, Vader wanted to dethrone Palpatine and rule the galaxy with his son. Either would have worked with the "two sith" style.

Re:Timeline

[bonkeydcow]

In KOTOR there were thousands of sith. Even a sith university.

Re:Timeline

[johannesg]

Not to nitpick; but where in the prequel trilogy did Anakin have the spare time to take a Padawan?

Come on, he was surrounded by Padawans. All he had to do was lure one to his room and, uhm, introduce him or her to his "light sabre"...

Re:Timeline

[portforward]

Even a sith university.

What did they call the Football team? The Fighting Gundarks?

Re:Timeline

[rjschwarz]

I'm thinking you're average Sith has their backup in place before they make their move and take out the other Sith. It wasn't a long time between Maul and Dukuu or between Dukuu and Vader. I also think the Sith are flexible and might consider Vader a Sith long before Annikan actually turned to the dark side. I'd love to see a Robot Chicken on the interview process you relate though, that could be hysterical.

Re:Timeline

[dmsuperman]

No, they say somewhere in the movie that there are only 2 Sith. It's kind of stupid, not only for your reason but, what if I decide that I'll be the new Sith? And there's already 2 in existence? Then we have 3, and the other 2 don't even know it.

Re:Timeline

[RMingin]

Actually, if you research further, you'll find that many Sith apprentices kept secret sub-apprentices in expectation of soon killing off their master.

The Rule of Two doesn't always apply. There are documented canon enclaves of Sith around the galaxy, they just remain hidden and inactive. Also, there are many Dark Side users who aren't Sith per se.

Re:Timeline

[ubrgeek]

The Comic Book Guy must be on a lunch break. I'm sure he'll chime in when he gets back ...

Re:Timeline

[jollyreaper]

I always read that as:

There may exist more than two, but only two work together, because master Siths don't trust each other, or are killed by their padawans. Siths don't have more than 1 padawan because the padawans would probably off each other in the competition anyway. (remember how palpatine wanted luke as his apprentice...probably to replace vader who was getting old and independent...so he wanted luke to kill his father, lose himself to darkness, and then become the next padawan) So why in the name of FUCK would a Sith ever take on an apprentice?! Why would they even care about carrying on the Sith traditions? Honestly, that's probably the dumbest thing Lucas put in the nuTrilogy and I'm including midichlorians, the Anakin/Padme romance, and Jar-Jar Binks.

No, with the Sith, it would have to be the traditions that keep them alive. If you consider the Jews, they've persisted as a unique cultural identity for so long because of the strength of their religion and traditions. They set themselves apart from their host society, there's lots of social approbation for keeping it within the religion, not inter-marrying, etc. You compare them with their biblical contemporaries, all of those people have been subsumed by new cultural groups. The Philistines, Romans, their descendants probably aren't even aware of their own lineage.

What the Sith would have to be is a highly arrogant in-group, selected by a pure meritocracy, with an understanding that they hang together or will surely hang separately. There would be great pride taken in being amongst this august order, the very name of which causes planetary populations to cower. But they tend not to congregate in great numbers because that many egos bouncing around in the same room would lead to violence. If you consider sharks, some can school and some are solitary. They may attack each other in the open sea and in a feeding frenzy certainly and yet they're able to suppress the feeding instinct from time to time and can get close enough to mate. If they could not, they would go extinct. The Sith would pride themselves in being better than everyone else and would have their own code of honor they use in dealing with other Sith. They'd have to or else they'd tear themselves apart. The way Lucas portrays the Sith, they would go extinct! Now of course there are going to be Sith who are rather antisocial, even by Sith standards. The kind that would use guile and deceit and violence against other Sith, he would end up seeing himself shunned. None of the other Sith would put themselves at risk. So he can go off and be his chaotic evil badass self, conquer planets, get himself defeated, but he certainly wouldn't represent the whole order of the sith and defeating him doesn't mean you've seen the end of them.

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

Um, I guess I don't know much about the follow-on fiction, but I'm wondering, following Episode 6, who THE FUCK would name their kid Anakin?

"Hello Mrs. Smith, this is my son Adolf Stalin Falwell Hitler."

Re:Timeline

[bckrispi]

I thought that at first, but I remember reading something on the starwars website to say there were only two. If that's true it's kind of idiotic, the Sith survived by limiting their numbers to TWO? In a galaxy of a few trillion? A group's pretty much not surviving anymore when there only two of them. That's like saying "we figured out how to keep our army from vanishing--we're going to whittle the number of soldiers down to two and have those two guys spend their lives in hiding."

That's actually the whole point. The ultimate goal of a Sith is to be the single biggest badass in the galaxy. It's not about sharing power and Dark Side knowledge with a legion of potential assassins. There are always two. No more, no less. A master and an apprentice. Eventually, the apprentice will feel he is ready to take down his master. (Darth Sidious killed his master, Darth Plagious.) But this is no easy task. An apprentice will often try to recruit a potential acolyte to help him accomplish this (Tyrannus tried pulling in Obi-wan. Vader tempted Luke). In turn, the Sith Master may have someone take down an overly ambitious (read: dangerous) apprentice (Sidious had Anakin kill Tyranus and tried to make Luke kill Vader).

This "rule of two" is what allowed Sidious to take over the Galaxy. The Sith were able to slip into the highest levels of the Republic, right under the Jedis' noses. They didn't need an army of Sith to do this, but an army of blindly loyal droids and clones.

Re:Timeline

[bckrispi]

Yes, but this was thousands of years before Darth Bane established the "Rule of Two."

Re:Timeline

[geminidomino]

Judging from the parenthetical, It would seem Han and Leia. :)

Darth Vader wasn't the only one who considered himself a seperate individual from Anakin Skywalker. Luke did as well, which presumably was passed to Leia (although she rebuked him when he blue-ghosted to her in some other book)

Re:Timeline

[bckrispi]

No, it was 10 years between eps 1 & 2. I believe there were about 3 years between 2 & 3.

Re:Timeline

[prelelat]

I don't think I would like a chick with a lightsaber...

Then again it reminds me a certain clerks reference.

Re:Timeline

[WK2]

There are 3 possibilities:

1) The padawan referred to in the summary is a padawan from before Anakin became a Sith. This means that the entire cartoon takes place during Episode III, in between the time Anakin became a "full Jedi", and the time he and Palpatine killed all the Jedis.

2) The padawan referred to in the summary is a Sith padawan, from the time Anakin himself was under Palpatine.

3) This cartoon is just not canon to the prequel universe.

Re:Timeline

[rpillala]

I thought there were always two and only two sith lords, not rank and file sith. In KOTOR (canon?) there's a planet that's run by sith. Dark Jedi are all classified as sith, aren't they?

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe it's Anakin Solo?

Re:Timeline

[sweetlipsbutterhoney]

this can only end with him showing her his lightsaber.

In which case, the cartoon will take on a sort of "James-Bond-strapped-to-a-table-with-a-laser-between-his-legs-about-to-cut-him-in-half" kind of feel.
--Script Excerpt--
(Anakin "shows his lightsaber)
Ahsoka: You expect me to talk?
Anakin: No, Miss Ashoka, I expect you to die!

Re:Timeline

[rgrbrny]

...as if the Sith won't edit their own Wikipedia entries, because they're such fine upstanding fellows...

Re:Timeline

[nomadic]

That's actually the whole point. The ultimate goal of a Sith is to be the single biggest badass in the galaxy. It's not about sharing power and Dark Side knowledge with a legion of potential assassins.

Then conceptualizing "the Sith" as a group seems pointless; it's the individuals who are the actors, not a group.

Re:Timeline

[bkr1_2k]

Did I miss something in the new movies? Weren't Darth Maul, Tyrannus and Palpatine all working as Sith at the same time?

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

And some people wonder why they're considered dorks....

Re:Timeline

[TikiGawd]

She's not a Twi'lek she's an adolescent Togruta.

Re:Timeline

[kalidasa]

There are always only two Sith in the whole universe: the Master, and the Apprentice. That's how Anakin/Vader "restored the balance of the Force" - because after Vader was done, there were *only two Jedi* as well, a Master (Yoda) and an "apprentice" (Kenobi). When Kenobi died, Luke became the apprentice; when Yoda died, he identified Luke's most likely apprentice, Leia. At the very end of the film, Vader "restores the balance of the Force" in another way: by destroying the last two Sith (Palpatine and himself), he made it possible for the Jedi to incorporate aspects of the force that they had not previously had access to, and so balanced the force.

Of course, this is just a bullshit movie, so your interpretation may vary.

Re:Timeline

[bckrispi]

Yes, you did. And no, they didn't. :)

Dooku didn't leave the Jedi and fall to the Dark Side until after the Battle of Naboo. Maul was already dead before Dooku turned.

Re:Timeline

[ildon]

If you played Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, it's very clearly explained why the Sith chose to limit themselves to two at a time. Firstly, because when they're a large organization, they're an easy target for Jedi bounty hunters, whereas when there are only 2, it becomes extremely difficult to find them and track them down. Secondly, Sith teachings are basically that only the strong survive and that the weak deserve to be destroyed and all that crap, which means when you have a bunch of Sith, each of them thinks they are the best, and tries to kill all the other Sith to prove it, which just creates a ton of in-fighting and causes them to destroy themselves.

With just 2 with, the master takes on an apprentice, and the apprentice attempts to simultaneously learn everything the master knows and kill the master. If the apprentice kills the master, clearly he has become the stronger. If he fails, he is punished with death and a new apprentice must be found. The stories also seem to imply that while the master only officially has one apprentice at a time, they usually seem to have a couple potential apprentices or secret apprentices waiting in the wings in case the current one dies or fails to kill the master or whatever. Also sometimes the apprentice seems to think he's already better than the master and starts setting up his apprentice for when he kills his master.

Remember when Vader told Luke to become his apprentice and they'd overthrow the emperor and rule the galaxy as father and son? Yeah, it's like that.

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough.

I am "your father".

Who's your daddy now?

Re:Timeline

[sootman]

So why in the name of FUCK would a Sith ever take on an apprentice?! Why would they even care about carrying on the Sith traditions? Honestly, that's probably the dumbest thing Lucas put in the nuTrilogy and I'm including midichlorians, the Anakin/Padme romance, and Jar-Jar Binks.

I've recently started reading SW-based novels and have been impressed with how good they are. The first one I read was Allegiance by Timothy Zahn (takes place just after Episode 4) which I picked up last Fall because of the stormtroopers on the cover. It was pretty good.

Next I read the first Darth Bane book, Path of Destruction (Drew Karpyshyn, 1003BBY-1000BBY*) which has the answer to your question in wonderful detail--both how it was when there were many, and why the 'rule of two' was created. I just finished the sequel, Darth Bane: Rule of Two (also by Drew Karpyshyn, 1000BBY-990BBY) which was just published last Fall and was also very good.

I also read Death Star (by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry; takes place just before/through Episode 4) which had surprising depth and lots of clever bits squeezed in. (Ever wonder why the guy says "Stand by" twice when the Death Star is about to fire for the last time?) Each of these books was much more enjoyable than any of the prequel movies.

I had read about SW novels for ages on Slashdot before finally picking one up, and I'm only sorry that I waited so long. Anyone who loved the old Star Wars mythos and was disappointed by the new movies should do the same. (Pick one up, that is--not wait a long time. :-) )

* for those who don't know, 'BBY' and 'ABY' are similar to B.C./A.D. in the real calendar. BBY = Before the Battle of Yavin; i.e., before the original Star Wars movie. ABY = After the Battle of Yavin. So the Darth Bane stuff happens about 1,000 years before the original Star Wars took place.

Re:Timeline

[Bloomy]

That was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi Council.

Re:Timeline

[jollyreaper]

I've recently started reading SW-based novels and have been impressed with how good they are. The first one I read was Allegiance by Timothy Zahn (takes place just after Episode 4) which I picked up last Fall because of the stormtroopers on the cover. It was pretty good. If you wish to continue with that opinion intact, please avoid anything with the name "Kevin J. Anderson" on it. That's Star Wars code for "fistfucked with Freddy Krueger's glove." Seriously, his books are awful.

If you want a reading recommendation, check out the Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter Hamilton. You know how people say Firefly can be described in one sentence as "Imagine Han and Chewie before they joined the rebellion?" The story kind of feels like that mixed up with a whole lot of other apocalyptically awesome stuff. The author kind of blows it on the ending but that's still three very long books, of which 5/6ths is primo goodness. It blows any of the Star Wars EU crap completely out of the water.

Re:Timeline

[Dephex Twin]

So was Dooku temporarily Palpatine's padawan or what?

Re:Timeline

[illogique]

for the rule of 2, i suggest reading: "Darth Bane: Path to destruction"

Sidious made an army for 2 reasons: kill the jedi and prepare to defend against the Yuuzhan Vong (in "Outbound flight" were Palpatine talk to Thrawn for the first time)

Re:Timeline

[Steve001]

According to the audiobook of Episode One, originally there were many Sith, more than 40. But due to their desire for power they ended up working against each other and destroying each other, leaving only one when it was all over. The impression I got was that when the Sith were defeated it was more of a mopping up operation for the Jedi rather than the Jedi having to fight a full out war with the Sith.

The final Sith went into hiding and embraced the Jedi virtue of patience, which the rest of the Sith had abandoned. To ensure that there would be none of the infighting that destroyed the Sith, he established that there would only be two Sith at any one time, a master and an apprentice. When the master passes on, the apprentice will become the master and seek out an apprentice of his own.

Re:Timeline

[AgentSmith]

Lucas is gonna . . .

Milk that cow.
Milk that cow.
Don't care why.
Don't care how.

Everybody kneel so he can milk that coooooowww!

Nothing like beating a genre into the ground. Did no one learn the lesson of Star Trek?
I guess maybe they did. Squeeze your creation for all its worth until everyone, but the hardcore fans finally burn out.

That's what I feel. Burnt out. Sorry to be a killjoy, but this stuff is too soon.
Lucas may have better spent his time on finishing the last half of the Book of Wills than keep tacking onto this.

More stories to tell? Sure. So let's once again have something that was a reasonable storyline and kill its continuity.

Re:Timeline

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you just use the Jews as an analogy to the Sith? Holy &#$&*(!, that's gotta be a new corollary for Godwin's law.

Re:Timeline

[The One and Only]

I don't know that Darth Vader's secret identity was public knowledge. Obi-Wan knew, and so did the separatist leaders Anakin killed, but as far as anyone else knew, Darth Vader was just a guy in black armor, and Anakin was a dead war hero.

Hey, George, Here's a stick

[geminidomino]

See that greasy, horse-shaped mark on the concrete? Have at it, mate.

Re:Hey, George, Here's a stick

[Froboz23]

There is a typo in the article summary, corrected below:

Lucas felt that, 'there were a lot more 'Star Wars' stories left to sell. I was eager to start selling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the animation forward.' I've been a Starwars fan since '77, and I still am. But after enduring atrocities I through III, my expectations for any new material are on the nano scale.

Re:Hey, George, Here's a stick

[Sailor Coruscant]

That's not a horse, it's a gungan.

Translation

[Jaysyn]

"I really, really wanted to squeeze some more cash out of this franchise. I have my eye on a small island, you know."

New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm tired of every "new" story Lucas does taking place before Episode 4. Yeah, we get it, Annakin turns into Darth Vader. He's probably going to corrupt this new girl Jedi. Who cares? What happens to the Empire after the destruction of the second Death Star? The Rebel Alliance? The new Jedi(s)? Anything? Hello? Enough with the prequels already.......

Meh...

[keith_nt4]

If Lucas wrote it I think I'll skip it. Also, that female jedi looks more comedic that serious.

Retcon much, George?

[shewfig]

Anakin's Padawan? So that would have occurred... in Episode 3, after they promoted him _from_ padawan status, before he killed everybody... about 6 months? This sounds like a short-lived series. 30 episodes? Did I read that right?

Re:Retcon much, George?

[Jaysyn]

Maybe it will be filmed like "24".

Re:Retcon much, George?

[Spudtrooper]

Strictly speaking, Anakin was promoted to Jedi Knight during the original Clone Wars animated mini-series, which means this series would take place sometime during the timespan glossed over by the mini-series (the long, drawn-out portion of the war).

Re:Retcon much, George?

[shewfig]

Ok, that makes a lot more sense, thanks.

Re:Retcon much, George?

[SilverJets]

Even still though in Episode 3 the other Jedi's treat him like he's still a student with much to learn. Why would he have an apprentice to teach if he's acting like a whiny little brat?

Re:Retcon much, George?

[The One and Only]

I imagine it's like being a young assistant professor: you have your Ph.D. and you can take on grad students, but you're at the bottom of the pecking order during faculty meetings. Most of the people on the Jedi Council are ancient, and even Obi-Wan is probably young by their standards. Someone like Yoda or Mace Windu definitely has the standing to talk down even to full fledged knights, especially the hotshots whose power far outstrips their wisdom and knowledge of the Force. It probably didn't help that Anakin was a legendary war hero despite being centuries younger than lots of other Jedi.

Also Starring

[VaDi110]

Maybe Lucas can invite the Care Bears in the role of the Ewooks xD. IMO, a cartoon it is not a good end for the Star Wars series.

Re:Also Starring

[FredDC]

not a good end for the Star Wars series

No, I'm sure George will find new and exciting ways of continuing the "saga". Anyway, he can do whatever he wants, I'm done with it!

Re:Also Starring

[somersault]

There already was an Ewoks cartoon series (which I used to watch before I knew they were from the Star Wars universe), so use the Ewok cartoon characters instead. What's your point?

Re:Also Starring

[Macrat]

Actually the Care Bears mate with (or are raped by?) the Wookies and the end result is the Ewooks.

Re:Also Starring

[Roman Coder]

Picture the following. A Sith Lord walks up, pulls out his light saber, lights it up, pulls back, and starts the swing that will decapitate his target, only to hear a chorus of "CARE BEAR, STTAAARRRRREEEE!!!!!", followed by a bright beam of rainbow light smashing into his face.

http://juliansanchez.com/notes/archives/2007/11/care_bear_stare.php

I'd pay a $1 to see that.

Unfair

[mfh]

That is an unfair translation. Lucas doesn't make this stuff for money alone. Sure he is in business, but he truly loves the rich detail and intricate delivery of his stories. I think it's easy to throw a pie at a person of influence, but it's harder to accept that they have better values than many of us.

Re:Unfair

[Jaysyn]

It was a fucking joke. That's one of the things you have to deal with when you get hideously famous. Get over it.

Re:Unfair

[geminidomino]

Sure he is in business, but he truly loves the rich detail and intricate delivery of his stories. Except when he has to retcon said "rich details" to squeeze in a new character.

Seriously... if he wants to keep the SW universe going, good for him. All he has to do is *leave the goddamn Skywalkers/Solos out of it*. This would make it a lot easier to stop stepping on his own characters' backstories.

Re:Unfair

[mfh]

What do you have to deal with when you are famous? People who attack you BECAUSE you are famous?

Seems like it's a small world after all.

Re:Unfair

[Jaysyn]

Goddamn it you're a dolt. It was a joke. If it was an attack I would have said something like "Lucas enjoys fellating small children while counting his money." The fact is the franchise is over 30 years old. By what definition is that *not* milking something?

I happen to like Lucas' vision of a warring, space-faring civilization blended together with some pseudo-mystical force. He's even a halfway decent director. But, you know what? I don't need a slobbering fan-boy telling me how & what I should post to /.

Re:Unfair

[shewfig]

That same love of detail you mention combines with his personal wealth to ensure that, whatever stories he's trying to tell, Lucas is telling poorly.

Lucas makes a great producer, perhaps even a decent writer, but a lousy director. I can't bear to watch him squander the talent he had in the prequilogy. He spent so much time creating a "rich texture" visually that his actors came across completely flat.

The result is a distance between the audience and the movie, a decrease in satisfaction, and an increasing level of frustration. In our current cynical society, it's easy to discard Lucas as "greedy" for delivering lackluster material. Granted, it's equally easy for me to say he's "disconnected from his fanbase", or "full of himself." That doesn't mean that any of those statements are true, just easy to believe.

The real questions, IMHO, are:
1) Does he know that there are people who don't like what he's made?
2) Does he care?

This leads to a 2x2 grid where the corners are:
11: Lucas keeps trying to make something better, to make it up to us.
10: Lucas is just making more Star Wars stuff to make money.
01: Lucas truly believes that we love Star Wars and can't get enough.
00: Lucas just makes Star Wars for himself.

Any of which I'm willing to believe.

Re:Unfair

[Jaysyn]

Geh, I meant writer *not* director.

Re:Unfair

[Grimbleton]

Writer? Kurosawa would like a talk with you...

Re:Unfair

[baxissimo]

Most of his rebuttal over the Jar Jar fiasco was basically "These movies are for kids -- they've always been for kids. You just grew up."

I think it's a load of hooey, but I can believe that he believes that.

So I think he doesn't mind if the average slashdot reader doesn't like what he's made as long as "the kids" find it entertaining.

But nice Karnaugh map of the Lucas psyche, anyway. :-)

Re:Unfair

[rolfwind]

Except Lucas has to recognize that the generation of kids who watched the prequels aren't even 1/100 as attached to it as the ones who saw the original movies growing up.

Not that it's all his fault -- internet, Matrix, Harry Potter -- lots of strong competion.

Re:Unfair

[geminidomino]

Most of his rebuttal over the Jar Jar fiasco was basically "These movies are for kids -- they've always been for kids. You just grew up."

I think it's a load of hooey, but I can believe that he believes that. One has to wonder, though... Awful lot of dismemberment and decapitations for kids' movies

Re:Unfair

[Anonymous Coward]

So, I'm sure there must be someone here who was 12 Years old or younger when Ep.1 came out and thought it was pretty cool. How do you think about it today? Is it still cool? Are we just complaining about it because it ruined our childhood memories of Ep.4-6? Or is it really as bad as we think?

Re:Unfair

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

What do you have to deal with when you are famous? People who attack you BECAUSE you are famous? If you really think that's the reason people dislike George Lucas then you should do less arguing and more listening. So far, you're nowhere near the mark.

Re:Unfair

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Hmmm... I replied to your post without reading the post directly above it. I wouldn't have replied with that had I caught what you were replying to the first time. I'm sorry, man.

Re:Unfair

[Rogerborg]

[Lucas] loves the rich detail and intricate delivery of his stories.

Meesa gonna mock you now.

Re:Unfair

[Anonymous Coward]

That is an unfair translation. Lucas doesn't make this stuff for money alone. Sure he is in business, but he truly loves the rich detail and intricate delivery of his stories. I think it's easy to throw a pie at a person of influence, but it's harder to accept that they have better values than many of us.

Then why doesn't he air his TV pilot on TV like everyone else?

Re:Unfair

[ChrTssu]

Where are mod points when you need them?

Re:Unfair

[Anonymous Coward]

My brother was 12 when Ep. 1 came out, but my older brother and I made him watch 4-6 when he was like 6 anyway, so he's not exactly an unbiased observer.

I really hope...

[jskline]

I hope that this doesn't turn out to be yet another Saturday morning cartoon fest for the 5 and under crowd. I suspect anyone with divestitures on this are likely to loose should it head this way.

It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[Hognoxious]

IMO, a cartoon it is not a good end for the Star Wars series

But it's better than none, and better late than never.

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[natebarney]

It bugged me for years that Star Wars would include something as incorrect as using 'parsec' as a unit of time. I tried to rationalize it by imagining that the Kessel run was some sort of shortest-path optimization task, but that was unsatisfactory. However, recently, I read the script for A New Hope, and discovered to my delight something that didn't come across well in the movie itself.

HAN: It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs!

Ben reacts to Solo's stupid attempt to impress them with obvious misinformation.

So it wasn't a case of the Star Wars universe getting it wrong, just an uneducated smuggler like Han.

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[icebrain]

I was thinking more along the lines of "Han knows it's incorrect, but pulls it over on two backwater bumpkins becaue he thinks they're too stupid to know the difference and will just accept it as gospel truth."

Remember, Han is a smuggler but a very competent pilot and navigator--I doubt he'd screw up something so fundamental as a unit of distance. More likely that he's willing to do just about anything to make a buck. Kinda like snake oil or used car salesmen, or politicians.

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[stonefry]

Can we please get a +1 Nerd Alert mod?

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[h4rm0ny]

It seems easy enough to rationalise, though perhaps not completely justify. The ships move through "hyperspace," yes? They are somehow either warping space or moving in some parallel dimension to space. Could not the "made it in less than X parsecs" represent the degree to which the ship is warping space? I.e. The total real distance of the Kessel Run might be 400 light years. The Millenium Falcon is so good that it covered that in 12 parsecs of actual movement.

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[bckrispi]

It bugged me for years that Star Wars would include something as incorrect as using 'parsec' as a unit of time. I tried to rationalize it by imagining that the Kessel run was some sort of shortest-path optimization task, but that was unsatisfactory.

Actually, you're absolutely correct here. ;) The Kessel Run (if my memory is correct). involves a smuggler transporting contraband between a number of ships moving away from each other across the galaxy. The faster you finish, the closer the ships will be to each other, and the shorter the distance you had to travel.

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[Sandman1971]

I remember reading in one of the Star Wars books that the Kessel Run was a very dangerous area of space where multiple blackholes and the like existed. Doing the run in 12 parsecs (unit of distance) meant that he didn't take the usual detours around the blackholes and instead flew a course directly through that area of space. Doing the Kessel run in 12 parsecs had nothing to do with speed or time, but with his expertise as a navigator and being extremely good pilot.

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[natebarney]

Doing the Kessel run in 12 parsecs had nothing to do with speed or time, but with his expertise as a navigator and being extremely good pilot.

Except that Han brings it up in the cantina in response to Obi-Wan's question about whether it's a fast ship.

Wookieepedia confirms your explanation of the Kessel run, but that's a retcon that tries to justify Han's statement without taking in context.

Re:It's already gone on for parsecs too long

[Sandman1971]

HAN: Han Solo. I'm captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system.

BEN: Yes, indeed. If it's a fast ship.

HAN: Fast ship? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?

BEN: Should I have?

HAN: It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs!

Loosely speaking, he might have not been talking about speed with that last statement, but just the the Millenium Falcon is a well known ship for having made that run. It definitely leaves room for interpretation.

FAIL!

[readgs]

Lucas needs to let it die with a little dignity. The last three movies released pretty much killed it.

.

Lucas, you FAIL! http://wwwfail.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.starwars.com%2Ftheclonewars%2Fnews%2Fannouncement.html

.

Re:FAIL!

[kellyb9]

Ticket sales clearly don't reflect your opinion. There's certaintly more money to be made from this franchise. I secretly always hoped they did the trilogy after the first three movies (or the last three depending on what order you're considering). Episodes 7,8,9 have been written into books, but I dont know if theres any plan to do anything with those.

Re:FAIL!

[andphi]

Have 7,8,and 9 been published? Is so, what are the titles? Are you referring to the Thrawn Trilogy?

Midichlorians

[spazmolytic666]

Lucas musta been really hopped up on midichlorians when he thought of this.

Who cares?

[realmolo]

The "Clone Wars" are boring, and we know how they end.

Jedi are boring.

Anakin is boring even for a Jedi.

Lucas has a major hard-on for Jedi, but they are just incredibly limited as characters in a story. What we need is a "Star Wars" show based on a young Han Solo.

Re:Who cares?

[hilather]

I'd watch that for sure. Although I'm worried they might still try to cast Harrison Ford for that role...

Re:Who cares?

[somersault]

Jedi aren't really that boring (for example they're awesome fun to play as in computer games).. it's Lucas that's boring. He would make young Han Solo boring if nobody else intervened in the script writing.. meh.

Re:Who cares?

[revco_38]

Let me share a comment from a post here on slashdot a year or two ago regarding a younger Han Solo. They did make this series, it's called Firefly. At the time, I had not seen Firefly but that single comment made me go out and seek the series. I was not disappointed. To this day, that is still how I view Firefly's Captain Reynolds.

Re:Who cares?

[hr.wien]

That's a good idea actually. A Fireflyish TV-show about Han Solo's early life could be kind of cool.

Re:Who cares?

[StaticEngine]

We had that, kinda. It was called Firefly.

Re:Who cares?

[Lumpy]

Ohh OHHH! I got the title for you!

Star Wars BABIES! baby anakin, Baby yoda, baby JarJar......

I'll go shoot myself now for even suggesting it.

Re:Who cares?

[Zebraheaded]

I agree, young Han Solo stories are always great. There's already good material too. Brain Daley's original Han Solo Adventures would make fantastic one-off movies, and AC Crispin's trilogy would make for a fantastic series.

Re:Who cares?

[gardyloo]

Are there Ponies!!!! involved?

Re:Who cares?

[sadler121]

Better yet, do a Movie/TV Series on the knights of the old republic.

Re:Who cares?

[Joe Tie.]

OMG!!! PONIES!!! Speaking of that, I noted that google docs actually looks a bit like the OMG PONIES theme from slashdot of years past.

Re:Who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oooh, the Adventures of Young Han Solo, starring Sean Patrick Flanery. I like it.

Re:Who cares?

[jellomizer]

That is what I always thought was missing from Ep 1-3 A Han Solo like charactor. A hero without the force and who isn't trying to be nice and goody and who isn't bipolar. Who treats the stupid characters as stupid and the smart ones with respect (not admiration).

Re:Who cares?

[cecom]

Harrison Ford is Han Solo. There can never be a Han Solo played by a different actor. Or Indiana Jones for that matter. (For the same reason the "young Indiana Jones" movies had nothing to do with the "real" Indiana Jones.)

Re:Who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

The one and only exception to the Harrison-Indy law is River Phoenix. That guy had Harrison Ford's presence *down*! I still am amazed every time I see it. I can really buy into him as young Indy.

Correct me if I'm wrong...

[damn_registrars]

... but wasn't the star wars holiday special also (at least partially) animated?

Re:Correct me if I'm wrong...

[Itninja]

Yeah it was. And it sucked big time. But it did give us Boba Fett, so I guess it wasn't a total loss.

Didn't he try this already?

[Animats]

Wasn't there some kind of Star Wars animated TV series a few years back? Did anybody notice?

Re:Didn't he try this already?

[Kindgott]

It was some sort of 15 minute cartoon series of the Clone Wars, and it wasn't really worth any attention. I watched it only because a friend had the series on DVD and we watched it with a group.

The animation and character design wasn't very impressive, and the "action" had a tendency to bore me. I have a feeling this won't be much different except this time it's CG and not traditional animation.

Re:Didn't he try this already?

[Acebob]

Yes, the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series was pretty successful despite what the last poster said. Sure there were various continuity issues, but it did win Emmys and was better than Episode I and II

Re:Didn't he try this already?

[techpawn]

I have a feeling this won't be much different except this time it's CG and not traditional animation.

And not very GOOD CG at that. I wouldn't be so disappointed if it felt like some REAL effort was put into making it high quality CG Movie and not just a Video Game tie in and mechanica money grab.

Re:Didn't he try this already?

[Stormwatch]

And not very GOOD CG at that.

Let me fix it for you:

And not very GOOD CG at that.

Re:Didn't he try this already?

[BvF7734]

With the exception of the already mentioned Clone Wars shorts that were produced recently, I remember Droids and Ewoks from 1985. They were craptsatic but none the less considered Star Wars animated series.

Re:Didn't he try this already?

[SuiteSisterMary]

We are the e-e-e-e-e-e-eeeeewoks, we're the spirits of the forest grove!

Not interested at all

[Kindgott]

I saw the "trailer" or whatever they're passing off that "we're talking this up and showing as little actual footage as possible" video as.

As soon as I saw the "quality" of the CG and character design, I lost what little interest I had in watching these clone wars.

And here I thought it couldn't get much worse than the animated shorts they had on Cartoon Network a few years back.

Female Jedi?

[Anonymous Coward]

Female Jedi? Now that you waited this long to introduce one, it feels like pandering.

Ahsoka?

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Ahsoka? Will this character be like that Asok in Dilbert comics? The nerd from my alma mater, IIT?

BTW, Emperor Ashoka, won a bloody war, had a change of heart and renounced violence. His empire disintegrated shortly thereafter.

Re:Ahsoka?

[Col. Klink (retired)]

I think he had to introduce a new character so that he can later re-re-edit the original trilogy showing this character to be central to the story.

Re:Ahsoka?

[Bieeanda]

Looks like he's continuing his tradition of making names by butchering real words. (in)Sidious? Corusca(nt|te)? This time it sounds like he's cramming 'Ah so' and 'So ka' together.

Re:ahsoka?

[Acebob]

I was actually reminded of the Indian Emperor Ashoka before any Japanese reference.

Re:Ahsoka?

[Anonymous Coward]

His empire disintegrated shortly thereafter.

If you call 50 more years after his death "shortly", then I think the MAFIAA have a place for you in their legislation drafting department.

Re:Ahsoka?

[vux984]

Right, he should be naming cars...

Integra, Maxima, Altima...

At least lucas doesn't over use the letter 'A'.

Re:ahsoka?

[grikdog]

That's funny. I was immediately put in mind of a) parochial racist crap like Boss "King of the Jungle" Nass, b) patriarchal misogynist crap like piling 75 pounds of kabuki kit on Keisha Castle-Hughes without letting her speak, and c) in-your-face theater of the absurd Dadaist crap like Ubu Roi, sans brains, talent or insight.

Re:Ahsoka?

[Hognoxious]

Ahsoka?

Bless you!

Re:ahsoka?

[Erpo]

General Grievous isn't such a bad name. I always liked to imagine that he had a whole chain of command underneath him. You know, Private Painful reports to Sergeant Shocking, who receives orders from Lieutenant Lamentable (or Colonel Catastrophic), both of which fear and obey Brigadier General Baleful. Maybe Admiral Atrocious comes to visit sometimes.

For me, this is one of the major delights of the Star Wars franchise.

Re:ahsoka?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually it reminded me of Asuka Langley Soryu

Kee-fuckin'-rist. Put a nail in the coffin.

[crovira]

And move on.

He's DEAD Jim.

I didn't even bother with the last set of movies.

Obligitory...

[downix]

Re:Obligitory...

[goldspider]

DO NOT WANT!!!

A little off topic re: Indiana Jones

[the computer guy nex]

George, old friend, please tell me you didn't ruin another set of classic American movies. Sean Connery turning down his role I hope is not as telling as it seems.

Re:A little off topic re: Indiana Jones

[Anonymous Coward]

Spielberg is directing, so don't worry. Lucas' greatest debacles are always a result of having the director's chair.

Oblig Quotes

[andphi]

"You don't want to sell me a new series. You want to go home and rethink your profession."

"That's no franchise. That's a merchandising opportunity!"

"Don't try to frighten us with your director's ways, Lord Lucas. Your hidebound dedication to that re-imagined franchise hasn't given you the clairvoyance to see what the fans want or the insight to leave things well enough alone."

"I find your lack of plot disturbing."

and finally

"It's a Trap!"

Re:Oblig Quotes

[Bloke down the pub]

and finally "It's a Trap!"

That's what I was thinking. It rhymes with it, anyway.

Re:Oblig Quotes

[JoeDuncan]

"This is not the series you are looking for. Move along."

Re:Oblig Quotes

[Floritard]

You forgot the most appropriate one.

"I have a very bad feeling about this..."

Re:Oblig Quotes

[Viceroy Potatohead]

Or, as Chewy said in one of his rare, lucid moments: "Grrrughgrhgrhgrhrgghugh"

Dammit, now I want to go Photoshop-up some Chewbacca Lulzcats...

Re:Oblig Quotes

[Rude Turnip]

Followed by, "PTOOOIEE....always spit after you gargle, wacca wacca!"

Re:Oblig Quotes

[16K Ram Pack]

"He's more machine than man now"

Re:Oblig Quotes

[andphi]

LolChewie says: "I can haz a b0wcatzur?"

Crappy CGI, brought to you by LugreedFilms...

[nweaver]

Is it just me, or does the CGI look like your now cliche Saturday morning cartoon? Plastic toys brought to life? Or a bad tie-in Video game's cutscenes?

No care in character design? No fluidity of momevemnt? No rendering time for clean textures? No unique style like Genndy Tartakovsky's "Clone Wars"?

Assassin's Creed looks better than that, and its rendered in real time on a single X-Box!

Star wars used to have some class, like the Holiday Special.

Re:Crappy CGI, brought to you by LugreedFilms...

[Veretax]

The problem is the term CGI is used for a LOT of different animation techniques these days.

Re:Crappy CGI, brought to you by LugreedFilms...

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a lot of computer GAMES these days that look better than that. I'm disappointed they couldn't have done better. This smacks of low budget.

I'm not into kids shows.

[iknownuttin]

The theatrical debut of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is only the beginning of all-new Star Wars adventures that continue in the fall when the long-awaited television series premieres on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT.

And..."Nothing like this has ever been produced for television," said Stuart Snyder, President/COO Turner Animation,Young Adults & Kids Media.

"With a new story each week, Star Wars: The Clone Wars continues the tradition of thrilling stories, astonishing visuals and extraordinary music that have always been the hallmarks of the Star Wars Saga.

Predictable shit ripped off from other movies - nothing original - but I guess the kids haven't seen anything like it. But hey, WTF do I know, I haven't made billions of dollars making movies to advertise toys and other merchandising.

That's what I get for not learning the Schwartz! I need to look up Yogurt and see if he'll take me on as a padiwan?!

I've got a bad feeling about this.

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucas hasn't done anything right in decades.
The only hope is that he hasn't been involved in any of the writing... unlikely

My Kingdom for Mod Points...

[Penguinisto]

No shit, 'mano. I'd for one would like to see WTF this whole Star Wars universe actually looks like when the lightsaber-toting folks aren't around.

(and maybe something, somewhere, that shows at least some rebel forces who do more than act as synonyms for the Star Trek Red Shirts?)

/P

Re:My Kingdom for Mod Points...

[vux984]

"Many Bothans died to get us this information"

Yup... just... one long trail of redshirts.

Uh Oh

[Gadgetfreak]

I've got a bad feeling about this...

Re:Uh Oh

[Rob T Firefly]

Do not want.

Not a Master

[thomas.galvin]

I'm being kind of pedantic, but wasn't one of the reasons Anakin turned all red-eyed and broody because the Jedi refused to make him a Master? So how does he have a Padawan?

And, is she hot?

Re:Not a Master

[Yvanhoe]

And, is she hot? I think this is an easy guess.

Re:Not a Master

[Anonymous Coward]

This is probably the expanded universe Anakin, not Darth Vadar Anakin.

Re:Not a Master

[nedburns]

Red-eyed and broody due to master-envy? There's a Vi-sene for that!

Re:Not a Master

[demaria]

According to Wikipedia, Jedi Knights can take on padawans. Jedi Master status is granted after successfully training at least one padawan.

Re:Not a Master

[wizardforce]

So how does he have a Padawan?

in secret, although I really doubt that would make much sense here then again Lucas will find some way to "make it work"... *shudder* this can only end badly.

Re:Not a Master

[geminidomino]

Usually, a Jedi isn't considered a master until AFTER he has taken a padawan and trained him to completion.

Of all the things wrong with this entire concept, it's not the training timeline.

Re:Not a Master

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you just ask if a cartoon girl is hot?

Re:Not a Master

[Cythrawl]

I personally would say no : http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/news/news20080129.html Unless you like skinny, werid King Tut style tattooed regject that looks like she's from a Tim Burton Film...

Re:Not a Master

[mark-t]

While Anakin was more than a little ticked off about not being made a proper Jedi Master, the thing that really drove him to the dark side was ultimately his own arrogance - he believed that it could potentially be within his own power to avoid the fate he had foreseen with Padme. Ironically, if he had simply been forthright with Obiwan and the council about his feelings for Padme when he first dreamt about her possibly dying, while it's almost certain he could not have remained a Jedi knight, he could have still spent the rest of his days with Padme and their children. He was simply unwilling to let himself fall out of the spotlight, and that led to his fall. His being upset at not being made a proper Jedi Master merely exemplifies this.

Robotic Chicken FTW !

[UberHoser]

Come on, those are much more entertaining than any of the crap Lucas can churn out.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[snl2587]

Enough with the prequels already.......

As you probably know well, there were many books written after ROTJ detailing the events thereafter and not so many written about what happened before ANH. So, rather than contradict all of the fan fiction, Lucas is choosing to tell stories in a relatively uncharted Star Wars era.

This is also one of the reasons Lucas has given for not making any more movies describing the events after ROTJ.

Anakin got a Padawan?

[SpeedRacer]

I'd like to know who signed off on Anakin taking a padawan. After the council giving Qui-Gon and Obi Wan the business about taking Anakin as a padawan, did some low-level functionary who could be Force-manipulated get put in charge of assigning padawans? Geez. Even Societe Generale had better fraud controls than that...

Re:Anakin got a Padawan?

[Carbon016]

It's clear that the more inexperienced you are, the quicker you get a Padawan. I guess it's some sort of natural selection thing where the council decides that only the ones that can adapt and mature survive and the others who simply double their stupidity get crushed in a trash compactor.

ahsoka?

[Speare]

Ugh, please don't tell me that this padawan resembles a Japanese chick. With all the other punly names in Star Wars (Grievous? Porkins?), the cliche phrase, "ah, sou ka?" (Japanese for "oh, really?") is all that comes to mind.

Garbage

[Anonymous Coward]

Does he honestly think this will be remotely good?

Sounds like he just wants more $$$. It reminds me completely of that joke video where Lucas went out and directled LOTR. Not that he hasn't done a good enough job of making the series a joke, but i'm not even going to look at it.

I've got a bad feeling about this

[cptnapalm]

I think its going to tank.

My reasoning is that the Star Wars "brand" has been pretty heavily damaged by the last three films. Many of those that had done their best to defend the lesser trilogy have come around to the "they sucked" camp.

Another reason: the Clone Wars have already been done in live action on the screen and in animation on television. More Clone Wars? Blah. "But dude! It is COMPUTER animation!" Double blah.

More reasons: Anakin is boring. Dooku is boring. Grievous was neat for about five minutes. No Asajj Ventress (dual lightsaber wielding homicidal alibino bald chicks are cool).

I would write more, but its making me depressed.

Star Trek

[airship]

I sure hope the animation quality is up to the standard set by the excellent 'Star Trek' animated series!

Seriously, though the animation sucked, the animated Star Trek often had much better stories than the original Trek. Let's hope this series does as well. Only with better animation. MUCH better animation.

Re:Star Trek

[Goldarn]

yeah, the animation quality of ST:TAS really gave Speed Racer a run for its money!

You are correct about the stories, though. Not all of them were great (heck, not all of the original series was great, as you pointed out), but some of the stories were quite good, even without taking the half-hour format into consideration.

I bought the series on DVD awhile back. Fun to watch.

Yes -- if T.Catt does the art

[1u3hr]

These are the padawans I want to see; hot grits optional.

Re:Yes -- if T.Catt does the art

[the_fat_kid]

oh, that's just WRONG.
on so many levels...

SpongeJedi SquarePants

[nedburns]

Is it just me or do the characters look ridiculous? (and yes, I do look ridiculous but I'm not trying to be on TV)

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, but that's crap. Between comics, books, and video games, there is no uncharted Star Wars era that has any relevance whatever to the original series. Unless you want to go so far into the future they don't even remember having a galactic empire or so far in the past that Yoda was not yet born, he's going to be stepping on someone's toes. The guy just wants to prove the prequel era doesn't suck dronkey eggs.

Action Figures first then the idea...

[MosesJones]

Does anyone get the sensation that George has spotted that the demographic for Star Wars is massively male and is now looking at flogging more toys to the other 50% of the population? You can imagine it now...

Toy Industry Rep (TIR): We've just got the figures in and its great, we are selling loads of toys to boys

George: What about girls?

TIR: Well Star Wars is a boy thing so its not really targeted at them

George: What about if I created a new animated series that had a female lead?

TIR: Its still really a guy thing...

George: What about if she wears lots of pink and is a ballerina princess with a cute white dog?

TIR: Wouldn't that completely undermine the whole vision of Star Wars?

George: Jar Jar Binks.....?

TIR: Good point. Well George I'll get the focus groups working on it and we'll get back with the female character that most girls would buy the action figure for.

George: Excellent, I'll go out and kill a horse while I'm waiting.

It's a trap!!

[Joe the Lesser]

It's a trap!

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[CrashPoint]

Lucas has demonstrated that he is perfectly willing (for better or worse) to disregard the continuity established in secondary Star Wars media. The origin of Boba Fett, the nature of the Clone Wars, and the "stormtroopers = clones" thing come to mind, and I'm sure a less casual fan than I could name a dozen more.

Shatner Cameo

[Anonymous Coward]

"Ashoka KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN!"

(I gotta say, the lameness filter needs a sense of humor.)

Yes they Did: Droids, and Ewoks

[Veretax]

Actually there were two back in the early to mid 80s as I recall, thus before "Clone Wars". There was Star Wars Droids, which as a young kid having seen Empire, never really understood the plots, and then there was the Ewoks one. Not much to say really, they both didn't last very long on Television.

Tell it through video games instead!

[butalearner]

The best Star Wars story in the past decade was Knights of the Old Republic on Xbox, and while I don't have any numbers to back it up, it probably reached more people than the books and possibly even the Clone Wars cartoons.

Potential

[DarthVain]

Personally I thought the Clone War Animated Series was better than the real thing. I am not sure if Lucus had anything to do with that one though, so who knows what this new one will look like.

Perhaps they'll cover the "Chewbacca Defense"

[b0101101001010000]

"...this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense!"

"Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense!"

"If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests."

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense

Also Ties to Force Unleashed

[PaulMorel]

Also, in the upcoming Force Unleashed game, you play as a female sith. Supposedly the unknown apprentice of Darth Vader. The character in this TV series may NOT be killed when Anakin kills the other padawans, rather, she may fall to the dark side with him, and be the apprentice in that game.

This is just speculation though.

Re:Also Ties to Force Unleashed

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed/#/trailers/ If that's a female, then I guess I can understand why she's so pissed.

Re:Also Ties to Force Unleashed

[Beyond_GoodandEvil]

Also, in the upcoming Force Unleashed game, you play as a female sith.
Umm, no according to The Wookieepedia the main char is a Human Male done by the guy who played LT in the first season of Battlestar Galactica. Anyways, during the previous cartoon network Clone Wars, there was Sidious, Tyranus, and the chick who tries to kill Anakin, so they apparently don't hold fast to the two and only two rule.

Re:Also Ties to Force Unleashed

[hanshotfirst]

I thought the chick was a bounty hunter and not a sith. Maybe I missed something.

Re:Also Ties to Force Unleashed

[corky842]

You're probably thinking about the DS game, SW: Lethal Alliance

Re:Also Ties to Force Unleashed

[Schmiggy_JK]

That is incorrect. The character is a yet to be named male.

Re:Also Ties to Force Unleashed

[The One and Only]

Umm, no according to The Wookieepedia the main char is a Human Male done by the guy who played LT in the first season of Battlestar Galactica.

You mean Crashdown. "LT" is slang for Lieutenant, just as "Gunny" is slang for Gunnery Sergeant. Crashdown, whose real name we never learned, was that particular lieutenant.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Fozzyuw]

Who cares? What happens to the Empire after the destruction of the second Death Star?

There are some very excellent novels out there that take place right after the events of the second Death Star destruction. Some say the "Thrawn" series is the defacto trilogy after RotJ.

As a fan, I would like to see...

[JasonEngel]

... a storyline about a band of smugglers being hunted down by Jedi.

Oh wait, that was Firefly.

OK, maybe if George just gave someone enough money to bring back Firefly with all the pre-Serenity characters I would be happy. Oh, yeah, and His Georgeness must not write or direct. Or produce. Or advise. Just pay.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Rude Turnip]

We learn that the first stormtroopers were clones, but I don't think the mythos has been retconned such that all stormtroopers since then are clones. One of the wikis out there states that later stormtroopers were conscripts.

Where is...

[MicahB2]

-the suspense in any of this? We know what happens to all of the characters. Any new character is going to be minor at the most. In short: who gives a #!%$#?

Has anyone else noticed...?

[Anonymous Coward]

That Ahsoka appears to be of a species awfully similar to Oompa-Loompas? Perhaps she hones her Jedi training by fending off hordes of vermicious knids...

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[nedburns]

Exactly. What I don't get is why they don't make a TV show or movie covering some of the more successful EU already out there. A lot of the EU writing is hands down better than the prequel trilogies, or anything else GL would probably come up with.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Ruprecht the Monkeyb]

They already fucked that up by letting every hack writer with a word processor turn his fanfic into canon. Those bitching about what Lucas has done to his own creation should check out what some people have done with the EU. Read enough of that crap and you'll eventually come to regard Phantom Menace as high art.

'there were a lot more 'Star Wars'....

[mr_resident]

stories to tell..."

True, but Kurosawa's already told them and told them much better. ;)

I'm honestly not trying to be a troll here, but I'd really like to know if anyone is interested in seeing any more from this franchise? Is there anyone out there who truly enjoyed the last three films and felt like their time and money were well spent? If so, I would really like to know what you liked about them.

I'm not trying to start another Star Trek vs Star Wars vs Babylon5 vs Firefly war, I just couldn't make sense of any of those last three and would welcome the opinion of someone who actually enjoyed them. Where is the fan base for this franchise?

Re: 'there were a lot more 'Star Wars'....

[starX]

Because I will go down in infamy as liking the prequels and not being ashamed to admit it, I'll take that challenge, although in the interest of not wanting to write a dissertation on the matter, I'll keep it brief.

Very generally, the Star Wars films started out as not trying to be serious. Yes, there was a little bit of Zen mysticism thrown in there, and we can read all sorts of messages and myths out of it, but the thing that hooked me on it when I was a kid wasn't any of that. It was good guys vs bad guys. It was underdog rebels against a big and powerful empire. In short, it was all of those things that make fairy tales worth reading when you're a kid.

So on that very basic level, that's it. If you try to look much deeper than that, you may find something, but scratch any further, and you're going to come up empty. The real problem with the prequels is that Lucas tried. For example, I am far more bothered by a 14 year old elected queen with term limits than I am by the shenanigans of Jar Jar Binks. Then again, there is a slightly more mature sensibilities to those prequels that alienates them from the pure and simple fantasy of the originals. Disputes over trade routes aren't exactly the stuff of juvenile story telling, neither are the flavors of film noir that make their way into Episode II.

In the prequels, Lucas is trying to tap into a maturing awareness of a greater method of story telling. If the original trilogy was meant to be enjoyed by 10-14 year olds, the prequels have are geared toward 12-16 year olds, and you can enjoy them a lot better if you accept that they are mindless, and yet spiced with a slightly more mature awareness of story telling. I'm not saying they're masterpieces of the genre by any stretch of the imagination, but they're fun stories, and as long as you don't set your expectations any higher than that, you can enjoy what's there, and maybe even bring your own meaning along for the ride.

OMG PONIES!!11!

[Arthur Grumbine]

Then Darth Sidious gets hit with a CareBearStare!!!11!ll

Re:OMG PONIES!!11!

[SuiteSisterMary]

Darth No-Heart with his idiot apprentice Beastly?

My Pet Jedi! He's a real Jedi friend!

My little Jedi, my little Jedi!

Sidious! Sidious! SIDIOUS! Lalalalalalalalalala, lalalalalalalalala, lalalalalalalalaLALALALALALALALAla! Da-da-da-da-dadadada! (the animated version of Beetlejuice).

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[psychosmyth]

No Mara Jade? Luke keeps kick'n azz long after ROTJ then dies but hey it's progress. Come on, if you plan to ruin it, ruin it right.

Oh, really? (Re:Ahsoka? )

[jejones]

I felt a huge disturbance in the Force, as if Japanese speakers and students everywhere emitted a mighty groan...

Ah, well. At least if the character dies, we could maybe hear some Jay Ungar and Molly Mason mixed in with the John Williams, as they play "Ahsoka Farewell".

what he meant to say was...

[jollyreaper]

"George Lucas has announced that the animated Star Wars television show, which we've discussed previously, will be kicking off with a feature-length theatre release. Lucas felt that, 'There's a lot more milk in them titties and ahm's aimin' to suck it all out.' Lucas, never one to stop while he was ahead, continued talking. 'I'm not content with just raping everyone's collective childhood memory of Star Wars. What's a single rape, after all? I kept it in a cage and went back to it repeatedly while releasing the new trilogy. Finally, I choked it to death with my bare hands, looking it in the eyes, nutting the moment I saw it die. I buried it in a shallow grave out in the woods. Well, it's been a few years and I enjoyed the experience so what the hell, I dug that bastard up and I'm fixing to give it another go.' A fully animated film will be released in theaters on August 15 with a TV series of more than 30 episodes planned to follow on Cartoon Network and TNT. 'Come on,' Lucas continued. 'You fags whinge and yet every time I rererererelease a new DVD, you lap it up. With every passing moment, you become more and more my bitch.' Also of note from the article, 'A new character named Ahsoka, Anakin's padawan, will be the first female Jedi to be a character of focus'. 'See what I did here? This makes not a jot of sense. There was no interval between Anakin being a padawan and falling to the Dark Side. It's chronologically impossible. It would make just as much sense if I said he fathered and raised a son to adulthood when cutting between two scenes five minutes apart. And you know what? You fags will still buy the DVD's! I'll see you nerds dressed up like Ahsoka at all the conventions. I shit in your mouths and you pay me money! My scifi cult's still legal in Germany. L. Ron Hubbard can suck my dick!' Lucas continued to rant long after the battery on my tape recorder died." Fixed it for ya.

meem

[Anonymous Coward]

I think star wars is pretty cool guy, eh constantly rapes the frachise and doesn't afraid of anything

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[ari_j]

So--and just so I'm clear on this--George Lucas wants to avoid contradicting fan fiction by introducing a character who is Anakin Skywalker's padawan, when it is clear that, in the time before he became Darth Vader he could not possibly have had one.* Are you sure that it's not just more profitable to cash in on existing characters in a time period well-known to the target audience than it would be to create all-new characters in a post-ROTF time period?

* - Based on the fact that Obi-Wan had Anakin at his side the entire time he was Obi-Wan's padawan and the fact that Anakin always referred to Obi-Wan as master, meaning that the master-padawan relationship is extremely high-maintenance and could not have existed between Anakin (even if he had been a Jedi master) and any other character without us seeing it on screen.

"Always 2 there are..."

[Comboman]

When they discover one sith (Darth Maul), Yoda says "Always two there are, a master and an apprentice." This means that there is at least one more, but I don't think it precludes the possibility of more pairs of sith.

DO NOT WANT!!!

[Plazmid]

DO NOT WANT!!! I am sorry, I just had to post this.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Anonymous Coward]

We know what happens.

"Luke be a Jedi toniiiight! Just be a Jedi toniiiight! Do it for Chewy, and Obi Wan Kenobi!"

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a ton of books set after the movies. The current series of post-movie books take place around 30-40 years after ROTJ. Lucas hasn't had a hand in more than a few of them. These books are considered semi-cannon; they were basically cannon until the prequels contradicted a few of them. There are a few cases where things created for the books were brought back to the movies, the big one being Coruscant; it didn't exist in the Star Wars continuity before the books. Mara Jade also first appeared in the books, and she was brought into one of the Lucas Arts-made games.

Hey, you're George Lucas!

[korbin_dallas]

Dude, George, Pal, Buddy...

Just let Seth Green and the boys over at Robot Chicken do a few new spots for ya!
Now THATs funny stuff.

I got to go pick up a few Power Convertors.

Animated "Clone Wars" on Cartoon Network... again?

[SpryGuy]

I'm curious why none of the information seems to even acknowledge the existence of the previous "Clone Wars" mini-series on Cartoon Network.

I'm also curious how this new series fits in with existing one. Does it retell some of the same stories, only with better/cooler animation and more detail? Does it just flesh out bits inbetween what the original mini-series already covered? Does it take place wholelly after the events of the original mini-series? (I don't think that's possible, since the events there lead right into the opening of Episode III).

And what's the status on the live-action series they talked about, that was to take place between eps III and IV?

The Paradox of Lame Animation

[Sir_Eptishous]

I hope those pics in the article from starwars.com aren't the final versions. They look "gamey", goofy and have "Saturday Morning" written all over them.

This is the paradox, similar to the article about "older gamers" and wii-users dumbing down gaming. Here we have the most powerful rendering and animation possible, yet it is used in such a "least common denominator" fashion. Those pics of (I assume) Anakin and his padawan-learner looked lame as hell. They were puffy, smooth and extremely non-realistic. Look at their limbs, their hair, etc; God Awful. They look like something from Toy Story(The Marketing and Merchandising people did their job well). With how realistic Lucas tried to be in his films, I assumed(wrongly) that his TV adaptation would follow suit.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Star Wars canon and think it's fantastic that Lucas is doing this. I just hope those pics aren't the final versions of how the characters will look in the film and 30 minute episodes.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Harlockjds]

The whole stormtroopers==cloans idea was around during the development of star wars. It's mentioned in interviews during the late 70's 80's.

The Sith ARE extinct!

[PRMan]

Not to nitpick, but in the movies the Sith ARE almost extinct. There's like, what, 20 in the whole galaxy? There's been peace (i.e. no Sith), for what, 1000 years?

Sith are not a lineage, like Jews or Romans. They can be corrupted anytime from the Jedi around them.

There will always be that person that thinks it will turn out differently for them...

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[jollyreaper]

Not to nitpick, but in the movies the Sith ARE almost extinct. There's like, what, 20 in the whole galaxy? There's been peace (i.e. no Sith), for what, 1000 years?

Sith are not a lineage, like Jews or Romans. They can be corrupted anytime from the Jedi around them. They're a secret society and are portrayed as such. The fluff says it's an unbroken line of Darth this and Darth that on down the line.

There will always be that person that thinks it will turn out differently for them... That's different. If a Jedi goes on a power trip and leaves the order, he'd be a rogue Jedi. To be Sith, he would have to take up their learning. Sure, you could imagine someone finds an old Sith book and starts up with that but you would not longer have that unbroken lineage thing as presented in the movie. It would be a whole lot different if Palpy was a Jedi who found a Sith book, became convinced of its usefulness, faked his own death and showed up with a new face on another planet and worked his way into politics. Lucas is presenting the Sith as an unbroken line of descent in an organization that makes the GOP look like the benevolent ones. The premise is fundamentally illogical and unsound.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[AdmiralWeirdbeard]

my understanding is that Parent is correct about the 1000 years w/ out sith. There was one other last lord of the sith 1000 years ago, who was finally defeated by the old republic and that the ruins on Yavin 4 were the ruins of the society he was manipulating or controlling or whatever when the jedi finally offed him.
this then leaves palpatine discovering the sith at some point, and i would disagree with your assertion that lucas portrays his genesis as a sith at all, regardless of whether it was serendipity or a secret society.
However, i would say that given the lack of evidence either way in cannon, serendipity is a simpler explanation than some unmentioned secret society of other siths, which quite frankly is a bit of a reach. and unnecessary. Palpatine is power-hungry, Palpatine researches ancient cult that used the darkside, Palpatine becomes sith when he realizes how powerful he can become. pretty simple really.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[AdmiralWeirdbeard]

So reading further, i see that you probably disregard the content of the kevin j anderson books, which is probably what I'm talking about in my prev post.
picking and choosing non-cannon materials if actually fine w/ me, so i can dig disregarding the whole exar kun plotline.
Regardless, I think based on the movies as cannon, you're still kindof circular with the whole thing. you state as given that lucas portrays the sith as an unbroken line of decent, but i really just dont see to what you're referring. The only real mention of knowledge of the workings of the sith i can even think of is yoda saying that they roll in pairs. which says that he knows something of them, but not the context of that knowledge. as one of the older and wiser jedi, perhaps yoda has spent a bunch of time reading up.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[jollyreaper]

this then leaves palpatine discovering the sith at some point, and i would disagree with your assertion that lucas portrays his genesis as a sith at all, regardless of whether it was serendipity or a secret society. Nope. Based on Lucas' material (pending a retcon) Palpy was apprenticed to another Darth whom he killed and that Darth had a master before him and so on and so forth.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[jollyreaper]

So reading further, i see that you probably disregard the content of the kevin j anderson books, which is probably what I'm talking about in my prev post.
picking and choosing non-cannon materials if actually fine w/ me, so i can dig disregarding the whole exar kun plotline. It's not so much me ignoring it, Lucas barely pays attention to his own movie continuity and the expanded universe stuff doesn't count for a jot. For example, you'll note that everyone assumed stormtroopers were simply indoctrinated humans and the whole "stormtroopers are clones of bobba fett's daddy" came out of left field.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[The One and Only]

That's different. If a Jedi goes on a power trip and leaves the order, he'd be a rogue Jedi. To be Sith, he would have to take up their learning. Sure, you could imagine someone finds an old Sith book and starts up with that but you would not longer have that unbroken lineage thing as presented in the movie.

Actually that's pretty much what happens: some rogue Jedi went off and founded the Sith, went extinct (or missing), and then some other rogue Jedi discovered their teachings and founded the Sith all over again. At least in the extended universe.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[AdmiralWeirdbeard]

where is this, exactly, my knowledge of the prequels is not as exhaustive as of the original trilogy, and i honestly have no idea what you're referring to.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[jollyreaper]

where is this, exactly, my knowledge of the prequels is not as exhaustive as of the original trilogy, and i honestly have no idea what you're referring to. You'll probably find it on wookipeida. They totally naffed the backstory on everything. That was about the time I've given up experiencing any new Star Wars media. Paramount's actually ruined my enjoyment of the old Treks, even the ones I previously liked, I don't want Lucas to take the original trilogy away from me. Of course, I've vowed never to give him another cent so I'll have to make sure my VHS tapes last.

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[jollyreaper]

Actually that's pretty much what happens: some rogue Jedi went off and founded the Sith, went extinct (or missing), and then some other rogue Jedi discovered their teachings and founded the Sith all over again. At least in the extended universe. The extended universe stuff is a real mixed bag. On one hand, I can agree with Lucas wanting to ignore the worst of it. On the other hand, the best stuff he's come up with is worse than the worst he threw away. That's saying something!

Re:The Sith ARE extinct!

[Anonymous Coward]

Palpatine explains how he killed his master to Anakin durring the opera scene in episode III

an open letter to George Lucas

[kattphud]

Dear Mr. Lucas, Please quit teasing the sharks. Love, kattphud

Re:an open letter to George Lucas

[BoomerSooner]

1978 called, they want their TV series back. I may have watched it then, now? No chance.

Re:an open letter to George Lucas

[kattphud]

Yale University called. They want their fight song back.

Start with X-Wing Series

[CheeseTroll]

Are you serious? Well, you could start with the X-Wing Series, and move on to the bazillion other officially-sanctioned books written about the time after Ep6. The New Jedi Order series is also very good, and ought to keep you busy for a while. Oh, you were looking for something written by Lucas himself? Then you're in luck, because these are much better.

What the...?

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucas felt that, 'there were a lot more 'Star Wars' stories left to tell. I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the animation forward.'

"Start through animation"? Wait a sec... there was live action in the prequels?

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[AdeP]

> What happens to the Empire after the destruction of the second Death Star? The Rebel Alliance? The new Jedi(s)? Anything? There are a LOT of novels written about post Return of the Jedi events. Here are a few: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Wars_books#New_Republic_Era

Star Wars should do like Star Trek

[Crazy Taco]

I've got a bad feeling about this.

Me too. Am I the only one who thinks that Star Wars should do like Star Trek and just take a break for a little while? Look at Star Trek: it started out with the original series in the 1960s which, though it seems campy now, was actually some really good science fiction for its day, and had some extremely imaginitive episodes.

Then Star Trek went off the air, and we had a pretty big break (with a few movies to keep things going) until the next Star Trek series, TNG, in 1988. Most fans agree that TNG was excellent, and of the five Star Trek TV shows, TNG acheived the highest ratings and the best spots on TV. One of the reasons it was so successful, though, was because a break was taken, technology was allowed to progress, ideas were generated, and they didn't make another show until they really had something imaginative that was worth putting on the TV!

Unfortunately, though, before TNG was even done they made a spinoff called Deep Space 9. Then another called Voyager. And then they started a prequel called Enterprise. Within a decade you had three new Star Trek shows coming out and diluting the market. While they weren't horrible (I personally like Voyager reasonably well, for instance), they really weren't ground breaking like TNG because they didn't have nearly enough new content in them. Technology hadn't changed sufficiently enough for people to imagine a new generation of cool starship technologies, so you didn't get that "WOW!" factor you got when you first sat down to watch TNG. Mostly they were just released to milk the franchise as much as they could, and I'm releived to see that Paramount finally seems to be taking a break.

Don't get me wrong, I like Star Trek as much as anyone and would love a new show, but not if it isn't ground breaking and creative. I feel the same way about Star Wars. After releasing the three special editions and the three prequels, just take a break already! Quit cramming in TV shows and animated movies! They might be somewhat good, but I would rather Lucas just sit back, think, and then release the three movies that come after Episode 6 and have them be outstanding. That would be preferable to this very average animated stuff.

Re:Star Wars should do like Star Trek

[flitty]

Awwww, you got some Star Trek in my Peanut butter!

Re:Star Wars should do like Star Trek

[bkr1_2k]

You're aware Lucas took a twenty year "break" between episode 6 and episode 1 right? Not that I want more Star Wars, but how much break do you think it needs?

Re:Star Wars should do like Star Trek

[Crazy Taco]

Of course I'm aware of that. That was just like Star Trek's break between TOS and TNG. And at the end of it, he redid three movies and release three more real movies, which really were pretty good (Jar Jar Binks aside). But now he is starting to do what Star Trek did... he's flooding the market with spinoffs and junk and he's diluting the series. What he needs to do is step back, take another break (like Trek finally appears to be doing again), and then, when he finally has a good idea of how the last three should play out, come back and film them.

Time period?

[AdeP]

The existing clone wars cartoon starts before Anakin is a Knight (ergo he has not padawan), and the series ends at the very beginning of Episode III. When will the new movie/tv shows take place? In between the existing episodes? I hope that fits more seamlessly than I expect.

I feel a great disturbance in the Force:

[BForrester]

That's no island...

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, alot of the books do cover that. Although you might not be happy with the latest direction of things.

Togruta

[Anonymous Coward]

She's not a Twi'lek, shes a Togruta. I never understood the whole interspecies thing... sure its all good in theory... but you never know what sort of chitinous plates, tentacles, extra mandibles, or large probing probiscus they have concealed. No doubt someone is creating such fanart already.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[sixsixtysix]

no shit. jaster mereel will always be boba fett. lucas is a dick.

Did you just cite Wikipedia...about...Star Wars?

[Anonymous Coward]

According to Wikipedia, Jedi Knights can [blah, blah, blah]...

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Please no.

[insllvn]

I love the books that have been written for this time period, and we have seen how Lucas treats expanded universe material when it gets in the way of merchandising. Let him play around in a part of this galaxies history that I, and legions of other die hard fans, don't care about and can ignore. Don't give him ideas about how there aren't enough teddy bears or illiterate amphibians in Thrawn's armies. Leave those bits alone!

Other storylines

[Rexdude]

I never thought much of the movie storylines of Star Wars. In my opinion, the best stories have been done by other people- The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn, or KOTOR. Both have far more engaging stoylines and it would've been much better to make a series out of 'em rather than flogging a dead horse. ah well..

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've also never seen Anakin take a dump or piss. I guess he doesn't have to eat ever either.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[ari_j]

Whoosh! You missed it completely. That's fine. But let me try again: Anakin is Obi-Wan's sidekick from the day he is freed from slavery until the day he becomes Darth Vader. He never became a Jedi master. He was a padawan himself up through the end. Explain how his having a padawan makes any sense.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Cause it's a made up universe and he can do what he wants with his world?

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[The One and Only]

Easy: there's an entire goddamn war that happens between 2 and 3 where they both have lots of adventures, some together, some separate. At the end, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master and Anakin is an experienced Jedi Knight and legendary war hero in his own right.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[ari_j]

Does that mean he had a padawan? What are the requirements before you are entrusted with a padawan? They would barely let him make a phone call without supervision.

Re:New Stories? How about going beyond ROTJ?

[The One and Only]

You have to be a Jedi Knight, obviously, but not a Master. You can be a newly-made Jedi Knight: Obi-Wan himself took on Anakin immediately after he was knighted. Anakin isn't knighted until well after Episode II, but by Episode III he easily has the standing to have padawans.

QQ

[mfh]

Calling me a dolt isn't going to strengthen your frail argument that Lucas is trying to dupe his audience into giving him more money. Lucas would not continue working on Star Wars if people hated the films. Do you see a Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB epic trilogy? How about a prequel trilogy devoted to the original trilogy?

Lucas' trilogies are signs of his success, not signs of his lack thereof.

You think he's a halfway decent director? K well you must SHOW ME your Oscars pal, or STFU. KTHX.