The new TV show based in the Star Wars universe, coming in 2010? I’m calling it right now: it’s going to be a show all about Jar Jar Binks. His childhood. His teen years, and the blossoming of young Gungan love. (Think of it as Jar Jar’s Creek.) His rise to authority as part of the Galactic Senate. The series will conclude with his twilight years, wherein he sends his children off into the galaxy, and after reflecting on his life, he will realize, “You-sa people liked me. You-sa people really liked me.”
And then he dies.
Well, maybe not. But what do we know about the mysterious live-action Star Wars TV show?
Turns out not so much. A lot has been rumored, a lot has been proposed, but in terms of cold hard facts, there’s a serious paucity.
Early reports are that the series will be set between the third and fourth movie “episodes,” being the finale of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, and the first movie, once simply called Star Wars, now titled A New Hope.
So we know concretely that Luke and Leia are already born and have been separated for their protection. Padme is kaput. Anakin is Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine rules the empire.
According to this article, Lucas has stated that the series will really be “One show that will split into four shows, focusing on different characters.” Two years earlier, Producer Rick McCallum said, “I think if we can get [the live action Star Wars TV series] right, it’s something that can go on for years and years. One of the ideas is that we’ll have multiple series going on in about two or three year’s time.”
You mean, like Star Wars: Tatooine, Star Wars: Atlantis, Star Wars: Special Victims Unit, etc?
Here’s my issue with that: I don’t like it. Seriously, that’s my issue. Allow me to expound. When shows splinter into a multitude of franchises, I rarely think they’re happening out of some earnest artistic desire to tell a story.
I think they’re about making money.
And somewhere along the way, Hollywood got so terrified of trying out new ideas, and viewers got complacent enough to allow them to do so, that all we see these days are franchises.
For example, a show like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer would, I believe, not even get greenlit in today’s market. It’s too original, too daring, too different, and it might take a season or more to find its fanbase. Why go with that when you can cash in on the Star Wars name, get a few series out of it, and call it a day?
But enough rantage. That’s apparently only one of their ideas, and nothing is hammered out quite yet. Who knows? Maybe the show will be the best thing ever.
One thing that the Star Wars universe really has going for it is an almost infinite number of minor characters that are briefly glimpsed in the films, but manage to capture the fan bases imaginations anyway. That’s a nice way to go into a series. If they can hook us with an interesting character of whom we’d like to know more, we might see these as stories worth telling.
What’s more, according to their interviews, it seems like Lucas and McCallum are really going to go for a feature-film look to their show, and keep in mind, this team has the full might of the Skywalker Ranch behind it.
The show has no set beginning date, so in the meantime, we’ll all just have to keep scavenging the internets for scraps of information. Let’s pray that Lucas does this one right, because it has the potential to be one for the ages.
But so did Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
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honestly I dont belive any good can come for it. I have the feeling lucas spent years plotting how to ruin the chilood imaginary of un inteire generations (or 2).
I wish we could just leave star wars alone,there’s nothing left to ruin.
and I’m sorry that my first comment where is a ragefull rant about george lucas. cant help it
He is going to have to do a lot to convince me to watch. You know the original Star Wars wasn’t broken so why did you try to fix it George?
The charm of the original series was that it was a very human story told against a stellar backdrop. His tinkering with things made it all about the stellar backdrop and forgot the very human heart of the story.
It’s about the story Mister Lucas, not the SFX.
Well said, Ralph.
Not to be nitpicky, but Ep. 4 isn’t “now called” A New Hope. The title was large as life on the screen from the very beginning, and it was always Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We just called it Star Wars, back when there was only one, and then kept calling it that.
Thanks, Hth, for pointing that out. (Of course, if we’re being picky, it wasn’t just “we” who called it “Star Wars” — so did the original movie poster, the movie’s IMDb listing, the Academy Award nomination, etc. The title credits do include that “The New Hope” subtitle (which is very very cool!) but the “official” name was “Star Wars,” at least until Lucas “officially” changed it…)
I’m actually quite excited to see this being made into a series but I do have one question: What network is it gonna premiere on? And also will it feature less commercials ala “Fringe”?
If Lucas and co can do this then I’m all for it. Lets just hope for the best and this doesn’t end up like the Sarah Connor Chronicles.
As someone who has never seen the original 3 Star Wars movies, only the more recent movies, I dont feel I should be commenting on the movie series. But I would like to say that while sometimes it is true that spin offs are made only to make more money, sometimes they are made to get more stories out of a unique and popular universe.
I am a massive Stargate fan and have seen every episode of SG-1, Atlantis and even Universe. Sometimes a fictional universe is so big and full of story ideas, multiple platforms are required to get through some story ideas which just wouldn’t work in the original show/movie/comic.
I feel season 4 of Angel is a great example. It is my favourite story arc to come out of the Buffy-verse, and that story could never have been told the way it was if it was told in the Buffy series. Even if Jasmine’s explanation made no sense.
Sometimes a change of media, from movies to tv, or a new spin off works and can help a series expand its universe in new and exciting ways. And if you are looking for more human heart in the Star Wars franchise, a tv series is the way to go. It’s a lot easier to get involved in a tv show’s character than a movie.