Star Wars Live Action TV Series

[Geekyfanboy]

Rick McCallum: Star Wars TV To Be ‘Much Darker’
Star Wars producer and George Lucas collaborator Rick McCallum is spilling a few more beans on the upcoming live action Star Wars TV show. George Lucas’ faithful collaborator tells the website Tosche Station that it is still early on, but that he “cannot wait to show everyone the TV series.” He describes it as “much darker and more character based” than the films.

Excerpts of the interview related to the Star Wars TV show…

Will ”Young Indiana Jones” be used as a blueprint for the upcoming live action Star Wars television series?
No, the Star Wars television series will be used as a blueprint for how we’re going to do our own films, the more personal movies George wants to make, how we’re going to use technology to make a movie for 10 or 15 million dollars with a lot of effects in it. Nowadays movies cost a lot of money and it doesn’t work. Movies are too expensive. It’s about how to change the perimeters of how do you set up the movie, how do you shoot it around the world, how do you make it look big in a more reasonable way. Most people forget that it takes three and a half, four years to make a Star Wars film. It’s long and that is why we are so excited to make the TV series because it’s much more character driven, you make a mistake one week and fix it the next week. You got this extraordinary story of twenty years between Episode III and IV while Luke is growing up that needs to be explored. So, we are looking forward to it. One of the things we are also looking forward to is finding a new group of talent to work with on feature films very much the same way as we did with Young Indy. Almost everyone that worked on Young Indy stayed with us for seventeen years or longer and some are still with us. Now we’re gonna start off with a new group, the next generation of filmmakers.

Could you tell us something about the status of the Star Wars television series? Something about the actors maybe?
I can’t tell you anything about actors because we’re not there yet. This is a long process to get it right. First of all: where are we going to shoot? Then: who’s going to write? And finally: who’s going to direct? George has been working for the last seven, eight months on the story arc line of where the series goes. The dream is to do way over one hundred hours of it. If we can get it right, we have some fantastic characters that nobody has ever met before and start a whole other world of Star Wars that comes out every week instead of every three years.

Will any of the older characters appear in the series?
It’s a whole different group of characters.

When do you expect the first episode will be televised?
That’s tough. The TV world is changing a lot. Hopefully we will have finished the first episode by the end of 2008, so that in 2009 it can come out.

An important question a lot of non-American fans are probably wondering about is if they will have to wait longer to see series in comparison to the American fans? In other words: will it be released worldwide at the same time?
Too early too tell, but most likely worldwide.

Excellent!
We know we have a large group of fans that don’t want to wait. It’s one of the reasons we push the release dates of our movies so that everyone can see it at the same time.

No firm date has been given, but the show is expected sometime around 2009

[jedijeff]

Wow, still a long ways off. Every litttle bit more I hear about this, the more and more excited I get for it. I am looking forward to a new set of Characters to follow in the Star Wars universe, but hopefully they have some from the Films as well.

[Rico]

Yes, the new animated series will start before this.  That starts in 2008 and the live action show in 2009.  Something to look forward to.

[Geekyfanboy]

Here is a little more news about the TV shows.. got this from Fox411.com news site.

Lucas, by the way, says he is readying "Clone Wars," an animated series for TV that's derived from "Star Wars." Many "Star Wars" characters appear in "Clone Wars," but voiced by other actors.

And here's a little news: Lucas tells me he will make two more live-action films based in the "Star Wars" era.

"But they won't have members of the Skywalker family as characters," he said. "They will be other people of that milieu."

The two extra films will also be made for TV and probably be an hour long each. But, like "Clone Wars," Lucas doesn't know where on TV they will land.

[jedijeff]

Cool News, would nice to see something about other Characters in the Universe

[Jen]

Cool News, would nice to see something about other Characters in the Universe

I agree...maybe the more critical fans will give it a chance if the Skywalkers are absent from the story line. In a sense, its a blank slate.
I'm so excited about this show. If he gets the right folks to take the reigns it could surpass Battlestar Galactica. 
Sounds like he's just writing the over arching story, and leaving the details to someone else. His vision has always been genius, but his dialog has needed help from time to time. Lets hope the writers he chooses are particularly good at dialog....I have no doubt that the costumes, special effects and actors will be up to snuff.

[moyer777]

I am looking forward to whatever Lucas makes.  It should be interesting to see what he comes up with.  I just hope he doesn't cheese out. 


Cheese out.  Hmmm.  I like that phrase.  It grows on you.   :troopersmile

[Jen]

I am looking forward to whatever Lucas makes.  It should be interesting to see what he comes up with.  I just hope he doesn't cheese out. 


Cheese out.  Hmmm.  I like that phrase.  It grows on you.   :troopersmile

Ummmmmmm......cheeeeeeese.

[Geekyfanboy]

In the past few weeks, rumors have cropped up that there could be a new series of “Star Wars” movies headed directly to the small-screen.

Turns out these rumors are false.

Lucasfilm representative Steve Sansweet squashed the speculation and updated fans on what they can expect from “a galaxy far, far away…”

“I can absolutely tell you that is not true,” he said. “There are going to be two more Star Wars television series. One of them is well into production. That is Star Wars: Clone Wars. It’s a CG animated show, which we suspect will be on the air sometime next year. And then George and Rick McCullen were just now starting work on a live action series. A drama. That will probably be coming out in 2009 or 2010. He is actively at work on both of those. But the CG animated series is more adult. It has a lot of humor in it. It is very cinematic.”

Sansweet also confirms that there’s no plans to air footage at the upcoming SW Celebration convention - “The tv show has not yet found a home on television. Until that happens, they are telling me that they are unable to show any actual footage.”

[Geekyfanboy]

Casting For Live-Action Star Wars TV Series Begins
Show will spotlight turbulent period after 'Revenge of the Sith'

By BRYANT GRIFFIN
Mar-10-2009

A live-action TV series set in the Star Wars universe is now casting, according to MTV News.

Actresss Rose Byrne of the Nicolas Cage thriller "Knowing" recently indicated that Lucas is seeking actors to for the series. "A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it," she said.

The show will explore the undocumented time period between "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" and "Star Wars" (Episode IV - A New Hope), featuring minor characters seen in episodes one through three. Much of the action will focus on the rise of the Rebel Alliance as it struggles to thwart the Empire and its Stormtroopers. However, don't expect appearances by Darth Vader and the Jedi.

Lucas will shoot a year's worth of episodes before seeking a network for the series. This is the same production tactic he used with the animated feature film "Clones Wars" and the Cartoon Network series that followed.

Work on the scripts for the live-action show began in 2008, according to Lucas. But with casting just now underway, and "Clone Wars" demanding creative attention, it appears fans will endure a long wait.

Byrne, who played Dormé in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on FX's "Damages," will not audition for the series. "I'm on a show," Byrne said. "I don't know if I look that good in space.

"My experience [on 'Attack of the Clones'] was wonderful. George is a great guy. I was just there for a week, standing behind Natalie [Portman] looking very demure and supportive. 95% of the fan mail I get is from 'Star Wars' and I've never seen them."

News of the live-action series broke in 2005 while Lucas was promoting "Revenge of the Sith." He will write and produce the first season before relinquishing the creative reins. At that point, he will remain aboard as executive producer.

"It's a much darker, much more character-based series, much more adult ..." producer Rick McCallum said in an interview at Celebration Europe. "It's something that can go on for years and years."

McCallum's description of a darker "Star Wars" universe presents an interesting clash of tones. Can Lucas craft a gritty atmosphere in the same universe as Jar Jar Binks?

Regardless, Lucas is hooked on the challenge of TV. "I love television," he said in a ign.com interview. "It's a lot more fun than features. If one show doesn't work, oh well, next week you're on to the next! For me, the future is in television."

[Bryancd]

Awesome news. I have been following the latest on this on the ForceCast podcast as well. I think a 2010 premiere is in the cards!

[Rico]

Bring it on!

[Jen]

YES! I can't wait.

[Dangelus]

About time! This is great news.

BTW does this get the record for the oldest resuscitated thread?  ;D

[Bromptonboy]

Excellent news!  I wonder if SciFi would pick it up, or perhaps one of the major networks.