While I had many readers and friends emailing me everyday asking where the George Lucas video interview was, I decided to wait for a very good reason. What I’d hoped to accomplish was confirming some of my exclusive “Star Wars” story that I posted last week. For the people who are just joining us now, you need to start here.But for those that want a quick summary….a little over a week ago, I posted a story on the still in development live-action and animated “Star Wars” shows. I said a number of things in the article, here are the bullet points:

  • The live action and animated shows will be considered official canon of the Star Wars universe.
  • The live-action show is going to end up on whatever network pays the most. However, I’ve heard they’re talking about the show being on HBO or even Showtime. Which jives with the slugline for the show…think Deadwood meets The Sopranos. Want a bit more? Could the live action show feature Gangsters? Could it follow the underworld of the Star Wars universe? Perhaps even a crime family? Again, think Deadwood meets The Sopranos.
  • The seasons for the live action show might be as short as 12 episodes… again…think Sopranos.
  • The show is definitely PG-13. I’ve heard it’ll be dark. It’s definitely not being made for kids.
  • The Skywalker story is finished. From what I’ve been told, their story is done and they aren’t on the live-action show at all. The show is new characters…with a few people you might know from the movies mixed in here and there.<spanface="Times New Roman" size=3>
  • And for those that don’t know….the animated show takes place between episodes two and three, while the live-action is between three and four. Obviously some storylines might take place outside of those times, but that’s where the primary action takes place. Just like while the live action might follow a crime family, there will be episodes that focus on other things.

 

Anyway, many people got to talk with George at ShoWest, but here are two interviews worth looking at.

Entertainment Weekly had this:

 

Question: Where is the live-action one going to fit into the overall Star Wars narrative?
George Lucas: It's completely separate. This one has all of the characters that everybody knows — everybody from Yoda to Anakin to Mace Windu to Obi-Wan — everybody's there. The live-action has nobody there, because it's after Episode III, so everybody's dead, basically, or hiding somewhere. You hear about the Emperor, just like you do in Episode IV, but it's mostly about a whole different world. I mean, there are a million stories in the big city — you've only seen one of them. [Laughs]

He goes on to say, “Some of the characters from the features find their way in there, so it's not completely divorced. It's as if we just went down the street and told a different story.”

This confirms the part of my story where I said the Skywalker story is done but we’d see some of the other characters from the movies.

Then, I was forwarded a link to the NY Post where they not only talked about my story, but they were nice enough to confirm what I said about HBO.

From the NY Post: Sources indicated that Lucas held early talks with HBO executives and other cable channel officials more than a year ago. It is understood that Lucas has also approached at least one other major broadcast network about carrying the show, but has yet to make a deal.

So now we have two of my points confirmed. And for the third point…let’s ask the man who created the “Star Wars” universe directly!

When I finally got the opportunity to speak with George, the only thing I wanted to know was about the live-action show. But since he was there to promote the new “Clone Wars” animated movie, I decided that I’d have to focus on the animated movie no matter what. I was also told that I’d only get a question or two with George…so I had to make it count. So for my second question I asked him a something to try and confirm part of my story….the part where I said the new live-action and animated series would be considered official “Star Wars.”

Of course he didn’t give me a direct yes or no answer, but George did say what appeared to be a yes. Needless to say, if I’d gotten ten minutes with him, I would’ve hit him with everything I knew and then I would’ve been ejected rather quickly. Actually, it’s probably good they only gave me a few minutes.

In all seriousness, it really was a cool moment to be able to ask George a few questions. While I have plenty of problems with the prequels, there is no denying how much the man has affected my life. No matter what…he did create a universe that has captivated and enchanted millions upon millions worldwide. I’ll always be grateful, even if it’s not perfect.

Anyway, as I said in my previous article, I know some more about the live-action show….but until I can confirm they’re really filming it and that’s the direction of the show, it’ll have to stay locked away. But I promise, when I can write it,I will.

George Lucas

  • I ask what was the most challenging part of bringing The Clone Wars to the screen
  • I ask if the new animated series and live action show will be considered “real Star Wars”
  • How many episodes does he envision for the Clone Wars series and how involved has he been in the writing of the scripts