Lucas Confirms Star Wars spin-off TV series 447
Mictian writes "In a rare public appearance at the Star Wars Celebration III (his previous fan event appearance was in 1987), George Lucas confirmed that he's working on two TV series. One will be a full 3D animation series (with 30-minute episodes) of the recent Cartoon Network Clone Wars shorts, and the other a live-action series, that will be set in the time between Episodes III and IV, but won't feature the main characters. Production is expected to begin in about a year."
first groan (Score:3, Funny)
Re:first groan (Score:4, Insightful)
And don't forget, while everone here is groaning at hearing there childhood classics being flushed, Lucas is bringing another huge wad of money to the bank.
Re:first groan (Score:5, Funny)
Re:first groan (Score:3, Funny)
Re:first groan (Score:3, Funny)
Final Movies (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Final Movies (Score:2)
I wouldn't mind if he'd let Spielberg direct one. Or them all. Or just remake the entire set from scratch as actually GREAT movies.
Re:Final Movies (Score:3, Insightful)
OMFG (Score:5, Funny)
I have never heard anyone wish that Lucas would make *more* Star Wars movies.
Re:OMFG (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:OMFG (Score:3, Insightful)
Just not since Episode I came out..
Re:Final Movies (Score:5, Interesting)
While all of these novels were being created, Lucas publication arm would not allow any to be made Pre "A New Hope" because he always intended to make movies out of the back-story. Therefore the new movies haven't bungled up the universe or plotlines (at least not much). In fact the only books I recall that centered around pre-episode 4 content was the Han Solo trilogy that is a pretty good set of books that tells Han Solo's back story from about age 17 to right about the time he walks into the cantina in episode 4.
I hope this helps.
Re:Final Movies (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Final Movies (Score:4, Funny)
Are you kidding? Have you seen how badly Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill have AGED. I definitely don't want to see her in that gold bikini again....not as grandma Leia....
I'd think they later movies would have to have the original actors in them to some extent...but, man, they'd have to spend a lot of $$'s on makeup for those two...Harrison Ford could probably still be on film and look ok..but, whew..those other two...
Re:Final Movies (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Final Movies (Score:4, Informative)
He promised in a recent interview on Sixty Minutes, that there will be no more movies after Episode 3.
Whether he will keep that promise is anyone's guess.
Re:Final Movies (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Final Movies (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, I'm looking forward to the series. I think if he lets someone else write and direct the episodes, it could be very, very good (both of them). Think about how much better Stargate SG-1 is than the movie it wa
Forget Enterprise (Score:2, Funny)
Kevin Smith (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Kevin Smith (Score:5, Funny)
Wow (Score:2)
First the Prequels and now a TV series?! (Score:3, Insightful)
They've ruined the Star Wars of my youth. Why can't they just leave well alone?
Re:First the Prequels and now a TV series?! (Score:5, Funny)
Search your inner child, you know it to be true.
As executive producer? (Score:3, Informative)
I really liked the 'Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' and was disappoi
God willing we will all be around for (Score:4, Funny)
Re:God willing we will all be around for (Score:2, Insightful)
perfect way out (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:perfect way out (Score:3, Interesting)
awesome (Score:3, Funny)
Goofing on Star Wars is like the
Re:awesome (Score:2)
Knock knock
Who's there?
In Korea, only old people knock.
In Soviet Russia, door Knocks you!
Profit!!
Re:awesome (Score:2)
knock knock
who's there?
in soviet russia, door knocks you!
microsoft sucks and natalie portman who?
Profit!!
ok, that covers more
I have a bad feeling about this... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I have a bad feeling about this... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I have a bad feeling about this... (Score:3, Funny)
OK, most comments have been lame. But this one was coke-through-the-nose funny.
Re:I have a bad feeling about this... (Score:4, Funny)
George Lucas (Score:4, Funny)
Re:George Lucas (Score:4, Funny)
You mispelled "wanks".
Where does the line start? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Where does the line start? (Score:4, Funny)
Lucas obviously... (Score:2)
Can't he develop an interest in anything else? It's a huge, wide world out there, and he has the money to do anything he wants. And he's still flogging this dead, dusty horse?
in other news... (Score:5, Funny)
(does it translate?
Not another one! (Score:5, Funny)
I can see it now - CSI: Tatooine.
Aren't there enough spinoffs already?
Re:Not another one! (Score:3, Funny)
It's GOT to be better than the Michael Jackson coverage: "CSI:Neverland" and "Extreme Sleepover".
A crash grab? Never! (Score:2)
New Series Name (Score:2)
It's a LARP! (Score:5, Funny)
I just had a nightmare vision of FRAPS [fraps.com] video captures from within Star Wars Galaxies being re-enacted by a bunch of LARPers.
I mean, it'd definitely fit within the Star Wars Canon:
This is not the Holiday Special [ohthehumanity.com] you were looking for.
I've got a bad feeling about this.
It's worse.
It's a LARP!
This was in Wired. (Score:2)
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE (Score:2)
Won't feature any main characters will be tough (Score:5, Interesting)
This will be tough thing to avoid. I've ready quite a few Star Wars novels in my day and all of them have noteable characters from the movies sprinkled throughout the plotlines. I could see how they might avoid using main characters if they set the television series Pre-episode I or pretty far past episode 6 (post new jedi order?) but for the series to take place between episodes 3 and 4 would require a few staple characters to make regular apperances in order for the audience to become grounded.
I recently watched that amateur Star Wars fan film "Revelations" and without an appearence by Darth Vader, it wouldn't have seemed like Star Wars. The sets and sabers alone just don't draw me in like the cast of characters that everyone is familiar with.
Here's hoping that is an overstatement and we'll see a few familiar faces in the series.
Re:Won't feature any main characters will be tough (Score:4, Funny)
A friend let me borrow the first two seasons of Voyager on DVD and I fail to understand why a "spinoff" that doesn't have any characters from the main franchise makes a difference in the quality of the story.
I don't care about you Star Wars bashers (Score:5, Insightful)
And considering Lucas is not specifically directing the cartoons, I figure the mouth frothing Star Wars critics would actually enjoy them
Star Wars TV (Score:3, Funny)
I'm confirming right now... (Score:4, Insightful)
C'mon people. He's not been behind a great movie since "Empire", and notice that he didn't write the screenplay for or direct that one. Yes, he made a few classics. He founded what is still perhaps the world's best FX shop (ILM). He got thousands of theaters to upgrade to a better viewing / listening environment with the THX certification program. However, he's crashed and burned badly since. Why keep giving him so much attention?
Not exactly true (Score:5, Interesting)
Also possible in the future is either a new Willow movie or TV series, and another thing for sure is an update of the decrepit Star Tours ride at DisneyWorld (in Janurary next year).
Excellent News (Score:2)
In all seriousness though, what I've seen of the Clone Wars shorts looks awesome, though I'm sure that's more due to Genndy (and lack of serious plot perhaps), and a series not dealing with the movies has promise...but seriously. Is there any way that this doesn't get fucked up beyond belief?
Re:Excellent News (Score:5, Interesting)
You know how many people love the star wars movies when they were kids and are now experienced Actors/Directors/Writers? Lucas had Speilberg and Samuel L Jackson begging to be a part of star wars. Imagine handing over starwars to the best creative teams out there and just letting them go.
It could be very awesome if Lucas can just put his ego aside and let someone else give it a shot. Nothing against Lucas the man's a genious at coming up with ideas, and doing special effects, but he can't write dialog or direct actors worth shit.
If Lucas comes up with the general ideas, and does the special effects, and gets the best and the brightest to take over writing and directing, it could work very well.
Better ideas than Lucas will ever have (Score:2, Interesting)
Three books, very well made, and intresting. Why not make a cartoon (or movies) based off of them, instead of spewing this crap?
The author will be happy (royalties, yay!), George will be happy (He won't have to pull bad ideas out of the air), and I'll be happy (which is the most important).
Here's a link to some short descriptions of the books: http://www.bookstoremall.com/Thrawn_Trilogy_Series
Star Wars part deux (Score:3, Insightful)
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=142927&cid=
"You might have thought that it was going to all be over on May 15 with the release of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."
I don't know anybody that is foolish enough to believe that this was over. As long as there is an interest and the opportunity to make some money, it isn't going to be over. Many folks thought that Star Wars would end in the 70s. It is still around decades later and still making a profit. You don't get rid of a profitable interest.
If the entertainment factor is there, I'll go see more. Will the market of 'Star Wars Enthusiasts' allow more movies to be made? Will we see different plots in the future? Will we see more 'enhanced' versions? I'd think probably. They may suck, but I would bet that we are not done with 'Star Wars' for quite a while. I hope that what comes out is good.
When are we going to get sick of it?
What's the hoopla? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What's the hoopla? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What's the hoopla? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What's the hoopla? (Score:5, Funny)
Right, because everyone associates his name with quality.
Re:What's the hoopla? (Score:3, Informative)
I'm not usually a big fan of copyright lawsuits, but I hope George Lucas' lawyers nail this guy. He is spreading so much misinformation and outright lies about Starwars it is disgusting.
This might be good (Score:3, Interesting)
Hey... (Score:2, Interesting)
timeline (Score:2, Insightful)
Smell-o-vision? (Score:2)
Didn't they try this along with Smell-o-vision? Will I have to go out and purchase Star Wars Approved 3D Glasses?
And Will I actually believe the wookie is going to rip MY arm off?
Then again...maybe they just mean that he is going to ruin a perfectly good cartoon with CG.
Enterprise on the way out, Star Wars on the way in (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, it seems impossible, but look at what happend to Star Trek. For years Trek fans were livin' large, with several shows to choose from, but now it's all going out with a whimper.
Hopefully Lucas will learn something from the Trek saga, and he won't try to keep a deathgrip on the creative process in the Star Wars TV shows. If fresh talent is able to come in and mess around a bit with the tried-and-true formula, Star Wars could thrive on TV. If they stick to what they've done before, it's a doomed venture.
Sheesh... (Score:3, Insightful)
We've got no idea at all what a Star Wars TV series will be like. Clone Wars doesn't count; the shorts are constructed completely differently than a longer episode would be. Ewoks and Droids don't count either; they were targeted towards children, and we've got no proof indicating that these will be. The Christmas Special doesn't count. What does that leave us with? Nothing.
You could argue using Young Indiana Jones as an example, but that was another series entirely. Beyond that, there are lots of other factors - there is more established Star Wars material, for example, or that YIJ was made more than ten years ago and tastes change over time. Hell, they aren't even in the same universe.
I think the best approach here is to wait and see what we get. How can we criticize what we've never seen? Shame fanboys never seem to pick up on that...
Re:Sheesh... (Score:3, Interesting)
Ep4 was great because it was something new.
Ep5 was great because LK worked some heavy magic over it, and it was still something fairly new.
Ep6 was the warning bell that Lucas had begun to believe that he could do anything and it would still be great. There were moments (Vader looking at his hand; the death of Yoda; etc.), but they were just that: moments. All you have to do is say, "Ewoks," and everyone seems to snap back and remember how disapointed they were. Keep in mind also th
This just in... (Score:2)
dont worry about the main characters, they'll show (Score:5, Funny)
None of the Main Characters Means (Score:3, Insightful)
I can see it now... (Score:5, Funny)
"George, hi! It's Rick - Rick Berman, you remember Star Trek? Yeah, that one, I sorta invented Star Trek you know... Gene who...?
*sigh*
Woo Hoo! (Score:3, Insightful)
The full 3-D series on the other hand...not so much.
New live-action series (Score:3, Funny)
Admittedly... (Score:3, Interesting)
Assuming Lucas can cut back on the melodrama and other crap that's plagued the new movies, this could turn out to be pretty cool. I'd love to see self-contained episodes that show the stories of average, ordinary "Star Wars citizens" caught up in a galaxy suddenly distressed by revolutionary warfare and political change.
What if we could see the empire's dominion actually forming (something it seems like the new trilogy is barely talking about)? The civil wars that would erupt on planets as communities clashed over whether to fall in line with the Empire or rebel? I mean, just imagine being able to view the transition from a Jedi-ordered galaxy to one where the Jedi "religion is all but extinct," with the exception of the whispers and stories and rumors that would just be starting to spread of one Darth Vader.
The idea excites me. With good stories and direction, it could really become one of the better creations of the Star Wars Universe.
So, basically: Please, Lucas... stay as uninvolved in the project as possible.
I feel a disturbance in the force (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe we could have a crime theme ... (Score:4, Funny)
The Judge appears weekly and passes judgement on smalltown disputes between colonists, bounty hunters, and off-world traders.
Something new every show! (Score:4, Funny)
Well.. Im happy about this. (Score:3, Insightful)
Im worried about the live action series though. I have the idea it would look like "MK: conquest" for some reason. after all Star wars and low budget TV dont mix.
Re:too much star wars is not healthy (Score:3, Funny)
Re:too much star wars is not healthy (Score:5, Funny)
really? (Score:2, Insightful)
I think people stopped arguing that the moment they realized what more star wars actually meant.
"Awesome! The Star Wars trilogy in theaters again!" Greedo shoots first? What??
"Whoa...episode I will be great...check out the trailer's fight scene!" Turn to the dark side already kid, and kill this Jar Jar
No chance (Score:2, Insightful)
If you had a little black box that spit out 2 dollars for every 1 dollar you put into it, how many times would you stick in your dollar bill?
Re:WERE DOOMED!!!!!!!! (Score:4, Funny)
So we were doomed, but are no longer?
Re:So. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:So. (Score:2)
Re:So. (Score:5, Funny)
And even if they weren't there are a lot of fanfics on the internet for George to pick and choose. There are some pretty interesting crossovers as well. My favorite is a Harry Potter/Star Wars crossover. But he'll have to cut out the naughty parts. We all know Ron and Lando had those inclinations but the rabid fans might not appreciate the irony of it.
And he'll have to cut the author-self-inserts as well.
So what? (Score:3, Informative)
So what? The books aren't canon and can be disposed of. Only the movies are canon. Everything else is just people exploring "what if" stories.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
This has to be a parody post, right? Where's the Yakov Smirnov tie-in at the end?
Re:So. (Score:2, Funny)
TV is such a natural place to go, I mean the Holiday Special proved that Star Wars does great on the small screen...
I wonder if Bea Arthur is around to reprise her role...
Re:Go retire I say! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Go retire I say! (Score:4, Insightful)
No, don't retire. Pick up the THX 1138 thread and run with it. Make the movies Star Wars prevented you from making.
Re:Go retire I say! (Score:5, Insightful)
No thanks. Indiana Jones was Lucas' idea. He started Pixar, ILM, THX, led the way for special effects, worked on stuff like Radioland Murders or something, redid THX 1138 in a new edition, and has generally done what he wants to. Star Wars hasn't prevented him from doing anything, except maybe avoiding the verbal abuse of countless Slashdotters who feel offended because he somehow ruined their childhood.
American Graffiti (Score:3, Interesting)
Here's how critic Roger Ebert described the unique and lasting value of George Lucas's 1973 box-office hit, American Graffiti: "[It's] not only a great movie but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie's success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant." The time to which Ebert and the film refers is the summer of 1962, and American Graff
As long as he makes money, what does he care? (Score:5, Insightful)
But even if the artist's talent is no longer what it was, or the athlete is past their prime, its their choice to keep going or not. If the artist continues to enjoy performing, let him perform. If the athlete wants to keep playing, let him keep playing.
So as long as George Lucas is enjoying what he is doing, and making money at it, he should probably keep going. And if you dont like it, dont pay to watch it.
I for one admire that Lucas has kept creative control of his creation and is in a position to still profit off of it. I may not have liked the Phantom Menace, but its my fault for watching it, not his fault for making it.
END COMMUNICATION
Re:A decent replacement to Star Trek (Score:2)
Gallactica was pretty good for its first season too.
Re:Wait, "3D"? (Score:4, Interesting)
personally, I'd like to see something like the Tales of the Jedi or Young Jedi Knights done as TV... You can explain a lot of cool SW lore without directly competing with the movies.. Also, a "Taken" style miniseries would be better than a "series" I know many /.rs laugh at that Sci-Fi run, but they executed it masterfully..and the shorter timeframe to watch it in kept interest up...when it couldn't quite hold a whole season. Also, there's no "attachment" to doing more and you can't be cancled. It fits the SW style [OK everybody but lucas] in telling compacted stories [like the Young Jedi Knights, comics or Zahn's novels] Also, 22 hours of SW would do a lot better than the crash-and-burn movies we've been getting... Oh... Broadcast it in HDTV too George!!!