http://tv.ign.com/articles/858/858416p1.htmlAs per usual with all Lucasfilm projects and especially those with the name Star Wars, hard facts about the upcoming Star Wars live-action series are hard to come by right now. However, a new report on collider.com says they have gleaned some information.
Collider says that the show could be described as "Deadwood meets The Sopranos" and is likely to feature gangsters and perhaps a crime family. The recent revelation that Boba Fett will play a role certainly opens the door for appearances by the established gangster Jabba the Hutt, though it's hard to gauge whether he would be part of this "crime family," at least in a Sopranos sense – though scenes of a domestic Jabba and his Hutt wife and kids would certainly be amusing. And how about Lobot taking on the role of the Lorraine Bracco/Dr. Melfi type therapist for Jabba?
While it's still unclear where the live-action series will end up airing, collider says Showtime and HBO are both contenders and the show might follow the template of those types of cable series with shorter seasons, made up of around 12 episodes. The report also says that the upcoming The Clone Wars animated series is aimed more at children, while the live-action series is more PG-13 and darker in nature. It should be noted though that previously, George Lucas has described The Clone Wars as also being PG-13 in tone.
George Lucas is reportedly very involved in both new series, and is said to be going over all the scripts and giving notes. Collider says that within Lucasfilm both new series are considered official Star Wars canon, unlike the majority of "Expanded Universe" stories. One way that will be reflected is in the portrayal of Jedi, who will not be as unstoppable and superheroic (in terms of abilities) as they were portrayed in the earlier Clone Wars shorts, but more in line with their powerful but far from invulnerable portrayal in the films.
I am a big Star Wars fan, and ultimately enjoyed all the movies. I even enjoyed the new trilogy, despite the fact that it took itself far too seriously.
Doesn't Georgy realize that the best Star Wars movies were good because of the swashbuckling action, romance, and light hearted dialog? The new trilogy was entertaining in its action, but there was far too much dedicated to politics in the Star Wars universe, which just doesn't making for great Star Wars viewing for most fans.
Now this is supposedly going to be along the lines of Sopranos? I don't think we can tell anything from anything at this stage, and the TV series may still have the witty charm of the original, but The Sopranos was a fairly serious slow paced crime drama. I hope the only inspiration this TV series takes from the show is in its crime setting, and actually doesn't get into a slow paced character study.
Yes that sounds like ridiculous speculation, but after watching so much of the new trilogy spend hours wasting time on politics in its fictional universe, anything is possible. Again I am only speculating here. I am sure the TV series isn't going to take that route. *shudder*
I would have been far more pleased if they had talked about drawing inspiration from Firefly, which would have made this TV series sound like something in the mold of the original trilogy. Unfortunately, this Sopranos thing sounds more in line with the new trilogy.
