We've got a spoiler-free hope/anticipation thread going....
Now let's do the complete opposite and post every bit of news that trickles out about it!
BBC News, Apr 26 2005:
IGN, Oct 7 2005:
IGN, Mar 5 2007:
TV Guide, Sept 20 2007
Total Film, May 2008:
MTV, March 9 2009:
Now let's do the complete opposite and post every bit of news that trickles out about it!
BBC News, Apr 26 2005:
Mr Lucas told the Celebration III convention the live action TV series would be similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark spin-off The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
"Like on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, we want to write all the stories for the entire first season all at once," he said.
"I'm going to get it started, and hire the show runners and all of that, then I'll probably step away."
He said the live action series would feature stories taking place between movie episodes three and four - Revenge of the Sith and the original 1977 Star Wars movie.
Mr Lucas said the live action series would feature some existing Star Wars characters - but would not elaborate.
"There's a lot of issues that are connected, but you won't necessarily see a lot of the people that are connected," he said.
"Like on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, we want to write all the stories for the entire first season all at once," he said.
"I'm going to get it started, and hire the show runners and all of that, then I'll probably step away."
He said the live action series would feature stories taking place between movie episodes three and four - Revenge of the Sith and the original 1977 Star Wars movie.
Mr Lucas said the live action series would feature some existing Star Wars characters - but would not elaborate.
"There's a lot of issues that are connected, but you won't necessarily see a lot of the people that are connected," he said.
IGN, Oct 7 2005:
The live-action television series is something we're planning for just at the beginning of 2007," McCallum said during a panel interview with Ward. "We're just starting to interview writers and trying to really figure out which direction [it will go]. It is going to be much darker, much grittier, and it's much more character based."
McCallum said that series creator George Lucas has elaborate plans for the interstitial material, which will link old characters with new ones. "He envisions somewhere like 100 hours between Episode III and Episode IV with a lot of characters that we haven't met but have been developed in other novels and other things," McCallum said. "So we're really excited about that because I think finally we can have the opportunity to answer everybody's questions once and for all by the time we finish the series."
McCallum also said that the series will have a default home base in Sydney for the series' for production, but will also use a variety of international locations to create the new small-screen Star Wars backdrop. "Principal photography will take place all around the world, probably with a base in Sydney." He added that the series will likely be shot in high-definition video: "we will be shooting in hi-def," he said, "or, if anything else evolves within the next 12 months, you know, that would replace hi-def. I don't see that happening, but there may be new and more, or less expensive cameras with more optical imagery or optical discs that we record on. But basically it will be hi-def, yes."
Jim Ward added that the new series offers Lucasarts the opportunity to expand the gaming universe of the Star Wars series. "We're also excited at Lucasarts about that opportunity as well," Ward said. "It's a whole environment for us to go and make some great games."
McCallum said that series creator George Lucas has elaborate plans for the interstitial material, which will link old characters with new ones. "He envisions somewhere like 100 hours between Episode III and Episode IV with a lot of characters that we haven't met but have been developed in other novels and other things," McCallum said. "So we're really excited about that because I think finally we can have the opportunity to answer everybody's questions once and for all by the time we finish the series."
McCallum also said that the series will have a default home base in Sydney for the series' for production, but will also use a variety of international locations to create the new small-screen Star Wars backdrop. "Principal photography will take place all around the world, probably with a base in Sydney." He added that the series will likely be shot in high-definition video: "we will be shooting in hi-def," he said, "or, if anything else evolves within the next 12 months, you know, that would replace hi-def. I don't see that happening, but there may be new and more, or less expensive cameras with more optical imagery or optical discs that we record on. But basically it will be hi-def, yes."
Jim Ward added that the new series offers Lucasarts the opportunity to expand the gaming universe of the Star Wars series. "We're also excited at Lucasarts about that opportunity as well," Ward said. "It's a whole environment for us to go and make some great games."
IGN, Mar 5 2007:
As for the live-action Star Wars series -- earlier said to take place in between Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars (AKA, Episode IV: A New Hope) -- unfortunately for the fans, Lucas said it's still, "a few years away." He then made some intriguing but hard to pin down comments regarding what the live-action series will be, stating it was, "One show that will split into four shows, focusing on different characters." This sounds as though the series might divide its time between four different primary storylines/characters, which would go hand in hand with previous comments Lucas has made about exploring different parts of the Star Wars universe. However, as there were no more specific comments made about the live-action series, we're left to speculate for the time being.
TV Guide, Sept 20 2007
TV Guide: What about your Star Wars live-action series for TV?
Lucas: Yes, I'm working on that. We're just going to start writing it in about a month from now, start doing scripts for it.
TV Guide: And where will that live in the Star Wars continuum relative to Clone Wars and relative to the films?
Lucas: Well, Clone Wars has got all the characters in it — Yoda and Anakin and Obi Wan and the Emperor and all that — so it's basically the movie. The live-action [series] is not the movie. It's the Star Wars universe, but it's characters from the saga who were [previously] minor, and it follows their stories. It's set between [movie episodes] III and IV, when the Empire has taken over. It's like Episode IV in that the Emperor and Darth Vader are heard about — people talk about them — but you never see them because it doesn't take place where they actually are. There are storm troopers and all that, but there are no Jedis. It's different, but I think it's very exciting because I get to explore a part of that universe that I haven't been able to explore. Once you have a saga, it's got a lot of requirements because it's about a particular [thing] — in this case, Darth Vader — and so it's his story from the time he's 10 to the time he died. You really can't go off that track because that's the story. Whereas now, I can make a left turn on 10th Street and go down there and see what's going on.
TV Guide: And how are you going to produce this one? Are you going to film a certain number? Are you going to have a deal with a network before you go ahead with filming?
Lucas: No, we'll do it just the same way that we're doing the animated series, which is we usually write a whole year first, and then we'll start shooting, and then we'll shoot the whole year and then once we've got [something to show], we'll see where we can put it. We're going to do a hundred of them, too. [It should be] easier [to place] than the animated one because it's live-action.
TV Guide: So you'll film before you get a commitment? Or how will that work?
Lucas: Well, we're doing these before we get a commitment, so we're just doing them on the faith that we're going to [sell them]. I mean, we're doing them ourselves, so we can finance them, we don't need to have a commitment of any kind. We're simply going to sell them.
TV Guide: Will you be looking for a network like an HBO to say, "We'll take all hundred"?
Lucas: Yeah, but they probably won't do that. [Laughs] Somebody might, but usually what they'll do is they'll take 13 or 26 and then see what happens and they'll take the next group.... If that group doesn't work, then we'll move to another place. Lucasfilm is basically acting as the production company.
TV Guide: Yeah, but usually a network will commission a single pilot off a script or pick.... Well, you know the process.
Lucas: Right — but I have enough confidence that this is good, and I'll make it really good, so I'm not too worried about that part of it. And if worse comes to worse, I'll end up with a lot of library product. [Laughs]
TV Guide: A whole lot of DVD stuff.
Lucas: Yeah. It's the San Francisco way of doing things: This is something I want to do, and I'm going to go ahead and do it. And how the system copes with it or how I mesh it into the system or how I manage to end up earning my money back and all that kind of stuff is a whole different problem that I don't think about at this stage. I just go and do what I want to do. I mean, even when I did the very first Star Wars, I was doing it, and I had three of them, and I assumed that the [first] film wouldn't be successful, and I assumed that I would have to somehow struggle very hard to get the other two made. But my job was to get all three of them made, you know, and that's why I took the sequel rights and everything because I didn't want anybody else to control that because I wanted to control that. And the assumption was if [the first one] didn't make any money, the studio would just sit on it and it'd just make it that much harder for me [to make the rest].
Lucas: Yes, I'm working on that. We're just going to start writing it in about a month from now, start doing scripts for it.
TV Guide: And where will that live in the Star Wars continuum relative to Clone Wars and relative to the films?
Lucas: Well, Clone Wars has got all the characters in it — Yoda and Anakin and Obi Wan and the Emperor and all that — so it's basically the movie. The live-action [series] is not the movie. It's the Star Wars universe, but it's characters from the saga who were [previously] minor, and it follows their stories. It's set between [movie episodes] III and IV, when the Empire has taken over. It's like Episode IV in that the Emperor and Darth Vader are heard about — people talk about them — but you never see them because it doesn't take place where they actually are. There are storm troopers and all that, but there are no Jedis. It's different, but I think it's very exciting because I get to explore a part of that universe that I haven't been able to explore. Once you have a saga, it's got a lot of requirements because it's about a particular [thing] — in this case, Darth Vader — and so it's his story from the time he's 10 to the time he died. You really can't go off that track because that's the story. Whereas now, I can make a left turn on 10th Street and go down there and see what's going on.
TV Guide: And how are you going to produce this one? Are you going to film a certain number? Are you going to have a deal with a network before you go ahead with filming?
Lucas: No, we'll do it just the same way that we're doing the animated series, which is we usually write a whole year first, and then we'll start shooting, and then we'll shoot the whole year and then once we've got [something to show], we'll see where we can put it. We're going to do a hundred of them, too. [It should be] easier [to place] than the animated one because it's live-action.
TV Guide: So you'll film before you get a commitment? Or how will that work?
Lucas: Well, we're doing these before we get a commitment, so we're just doing them on the faith that we're going to [sell them]. I mean, we're doing them ourselves, so we can finance them, we don't need to have a commitment of any kind. We're simply going to sell them.
TV Guide: Will you be looking for a network like an HBO to say, "We'll take all hundred"?
Lucas: Yeah, but they probably won't do that. [Laughs] Somebody might, but usually what they'll do is they'll take 13 or 26 and then see what happens and they'll take the next group.... If that group doesn't work, then we'll move to another place. Lucasfilm is basically acting as the production company.
TV Guide: Yeah, but usually a network will commission a single pilot off a script or pick.... Well, you know the process.
Lucas: Right — but I have enough confidence that this is good, and I'll make it really good, so I'm not too worried about that part of it. And if worse comes to worse, I'll end up with a lot of library product. [Laughs]
TV Guide: A whole lot of DVD stuff.
Lucas: Yeah. It's the San Francisco way of doing things: This is something I want to do, and I'm going to go ahead and do it. And how the system copes with it or how I mesh it into the system or how I manage to end up earning my money back and all that kind of stuff is a whole different problem that I don't think about at this stage. I just go and do what I want to do. I mean, even when I did the very first Star Wars, I was doing it, and I had three of them, and I assumed that the [first] film wouldn't be successful, and I assumed that I would have to somehow struggle very hard to get the other two made. But my job was to get all three of them made, you know, and that's why I took the sequel rights and everything because I didn't want anybody else to control that because I wanted to control that. And the assumption was if [the first one] didn't make any money, the studio would just sit on it and it'd just make it that much harder for me [to make the rest].
Total Film, May 2008:
It's kind of like Episode IV — it's funny and there's action, but it's [a] lot more talky. It's more of what I would call a soap opera with a bunch of personal dramas in it. It's not really based on action-adventure films from the '30s — it's actually more based on film noir movies from the '40s!" -- George Lucas
MTV, March 9 2009:
In late 2007, Lucas revealed that he and his team were about to begin writing scripts for the live-action show. Now MTV News has learned that casting for the series is currently underway.
During the junket for the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing,” star Rose Byrne let slip that Team Lucas is casting a wide net for actors to join the show. “A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it,” she said.
According to Lucas, the show will focus on minor characters from the saga and be set in the time period between “Revenge of the Sith” (Episode III) and the original “Star Wars” (Episode IV). The action will follow the Rebel Alliance as it slowly gains strength against the Empire. There will be Stormtroopers, but no Jedi or Darth Vader will appear on screen. As he did with the “Clone Wars” series, Lucas will write and shoot an entire year’s worth of episodes before looking for a cable channel on which to air the series.
Thus, with casting just now moving forward, it looks to be quite some time before fans will be able to catch some live-action “Star Wars” on the small screen.
During the junket for the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing,” star Rose Byrne let slip that Team Lucas is casting a wide net for actors to join the show. “A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it,” she said.
According to Lucas, the show will focus on minor characters from the saga and be set in the time period between “Revenge of the Sith” (Episode III) and the original “Star Wars” (Episode IV). The action will follow the Rebel Alliance as it slowly gains strength against the Empire. There will be Stormtroopers, but no Jedi or Darth Vader will appear on screen. As he did with the “Clone Wars” series, Lucas will write and shoot an entire year’s worth of episodes before looking for a cable channel on which to air the series.
Thus, with casting just now moving forward, it looks to be quite some time before fans will be able to catch some live-action “Star Wars” on the small screen.
Usually the EU stuff set around the prequel trilogy is actually better than the prequel trilogy itself. The Clone Wars novels were great I thought. But I have hope in this in live-action series.
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