Live-Action Star Wars Series Is Leaking Details

[SCiARA]

George Lucas' live-action Star Wars TV series is still moving forward in Australia, and little clues are slowly popping up here and there as to which characters will turn up, and which Star Wars film will it most emulate.

Author Karen Traviss announced a while back that she is no longer writing her long-awaited Boba Fett novel. The author explained that contract issues were getting in the way of her story line, and it seems like what she was planning for Boba Fett, and what Lucas was planning on his new TV series, conflicted.

Yes, the Boba Fett novel was canceled by the publisher because of potential canon clashes with the upcoming TV series, as you have already heard from other sources. No, I really don't have a clue what those clashes might be. Sorry.

We can only assume that Traviss was planning to base her portrayal of Boba Fett on the canon already established in the six movies — and the TV series is planning to make some major change, or addition, to that canon. Still, this means more Boba on the screen, which is always a good thing.

So where is this new series set? According to Wookiepedia and The Celebrity Cafe, it takes place in the "dark times" between the last prequel and A New Hope. And if you remember, that's when most of the Jedi and anti-emperor politicians were hunted down and killed. It's being toted as a gritty and dark series, which will star many minor characters as we now know Boba Fett, but also C-3PO, and Emperor Palpatine (nothing has been officially confirmed yet).

As far as past Star Wars characters like Han, Luke and Leia, Mark Hamill says he doesn't think there would be a role for him as in this time period Luke would be even younger than he was in A New Hope. But the actor did praise the decision to return to focusing on the story, instead of the sizzle of CG FX and tedious lightsaber fights.

In an interview with Total Film Magazine Lucas explained that it would be more like the original than the prequels, "

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!"

[conkerconquer]

I have no faith whatsoever in George Lucas to produce something anywhere near as good as the original trilogy. Having said that, he can't really do worse than the prequels so maybe this Live-action series will be alright.

[ClownTrousers]

Ahhhhhh HERE we are - the last remnants of my childhood. But why is that bearded man waving his co.ck at them?

[j2000_nr]

I have no faith whatsoever in George Lucas to produce something anywhere near as good as the original trilogy. Having said that, he can't really do worse than the prequels so maybe this Live-action series will be alright.

I never understood why people hated the prequels that were made, apart from the stupidly annoying Jar Jar, they weren't that bad. They were full of blatantly obvious cliches, the very distinct line between 'good' and 'evil' and they had some totally pointless characters, all of these traits were there in the originals.

No way were they better than the originals but they weren't as bad as people make out.

[conkerconquer]

They were just a complete convoluted waste of time, they ruined the essence of what made Star Wars great and laid ruin to what could have been a great way to expand the universe and story. I'll admit they actually had some good casting (with the exception of the terrible Hayden Christianson) but on the whole, they used way too much CGI, had a muddled and poorly written scipt alongside plot elements that were either bad or just completely useless. Too much was just put in for the sake of it, rather than smartly implemented to expand the story and characters, and there wasn't an ounce of convincing reason to Anakin's turn to the dark side. All three sucked, there may have been the odd inspired moment amongst them but on the whole the prequels sucked and completely wasted everyone's time with what should have been an incredible follow up to the fantastic originals.

[j2000_nr]

Hmm, I can see the point that your making, but I still feel that your being overly critical, because anything that was put forward would never have been good enough. Star Wars, at the time, was incredible, it was the foundations of much of modern Sci - Fi. Totally agree that some of the films were just filler that didn't actually seem to do anything.

But what does make Star Wars so great?

If we could forget the last 30 odd years and it was released today, I wonder what the reaction to it would be?

[The_Deleted]

The very last / first scene with Darth Vader killed Star Wars. They should have played it differently. Internalise that anger and given us a catalyst for 4-6. Having him scream like a friggin' emo girl on the other hand...
And now they're are going to kill any mystery Fett has by making a whole series around him.
The reason Fett has endured is because we know f@ck all about him. He's a Bounty Hunter. The rest is up to us...
Cheers George.

[conkerconquer]

The original film probably would be a great adventure film if it was released today, probably little more that though but there's no denying that Empire Strikes Back was a great twisting, dark and adventurous piece of blockbuster entertainment that is still stunning to watch to this day. The new films couldn't deliver an adventure as solid as A New Hope/Return of the Jedi nor something as intense and shocking as Empire Strikes Back and that's why they suck. They're boring, contrived, confusing and a mess in general that served as little more than to provide some eye candy and illustrate plot points we were already aware of or add in new ones that were awful and unnecessary rather than shocking revelations. They're not the worst films ever made but they are bad films and they're an affront to the legacy of the original trilogy.

And what Deleted said above, Anakin's turn to the dark side was so weak/dumb and he was such an annoying character, instead of the tragic hero who we should have sympathized with as he turned to the dark side and became the truly evil Darth Vader.

[ClownTrousers]

Hmm, I can see the point that your making, but I still feel that your being overly critical, because anything that was put forward would never have been good enough. Star Wars, at the time, was incredible, it was the foundations of much of modern Sci - Fi. Totally agree that some of the films were just filler that didn't actually seem to do anything.

But what does make Star Wars so great?

If we could forget the last 30 odd years and it was released today, I wonder what the reaction to it would be?

The script was what made them awful. Fine, the first three didn't have William Goldman at the helm but it was all "yeehaw, you're all clear kid" and "luuuuuuke, IIIIII am your father". Below is an actual exchange from the Sith one:

Kenobi: But Anakin, the emperor is evil!

Anakin: Can't you see that from my point of view, the Jedi are evil?

The worst two lines of script EVER conceived.

[Bob]

Has anyone seen the terrible adidas advert?

[j2000_nr]

The Empire Strikes back is one of the greatest films ever made, and that is something that we can agree on. But, the one thing that all of the films didn't have is enough darkness

The downfall of Anakin should have been an utter emotional turmoil, not the Star Trek 'Khaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnn!!' that it became. Looking at the originals, very rarely is DV actually portrayed as the tragic hero, only in his last few minutes do you actually feel for him.

Just one thing that really annoyed me is the bloody Ewoks

[Septic]

The Empire Strikes back is one of the greatest films ever made, and that is something that we can agree on. But, the one thing that all of the films didn't have is enough darkness

The downfall of Anakin should have been an utter emotional turmoil, not the Star Trek 'Khaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnn!!' that it became. Looking at the originals, very rarely is DV actually portrayed as the tragic hero, only in his last few minutes do you actually feel for him.

I think the downfall of Anakin was portrayed really well. Poor old Natalie Portman dieing from heartache was really profound for me. What makes DV so interesting is that he ISN'T portayed as the tragic hero as you correctly mentioned. When he does eventually show some semblance of emotion (other than rage, anger etc) at the end, it is a surprise.

[ClownTrousers]

HOLY FUCK. I think that's the first time anyone in history has said that muck was well handled. I am so very glad I was here to witness this historic moment.

[Razorus]

As a huge Star Wars fan, I can safely say the original trilogy will never be bettered in terms of the sheer excitement and fun it was at the time or whenever you see it first. Other stories have come close (and rarely bested) the storyline of the trilogy (KOTOR being the only SW story outside the movies to be on par imo). However, the prequel trilogy isn't as bad as people say it is. It DID flesh out the story, which WAS needed. But it was just executed rather poorly. The biggest tragedy is the loss of that SW magic. The atmosphere is gone. Or rather, it's very different. As standalone films, the prequel trilogy are fairly good Hollywood "CGI 'em ups" but of course nothing compared to the original trilogy. Depends on how you interpret and view them I reckon.
I watch the prequel trilogy with a different mindset than the original, and it works fine for me. You can't insult Lucas for messing up anything. Always remember that without him, Star Wars and most other science fiction movies wouldn't have been made. His influence on the film (and game) industry is astounding when you think about it.

Anyway, on topic, I'm looking forward to a live action series. The CGI Clone Wars series is too childish and the clone wars in general have been covered far too much. Oh, and FYI, I already know everything there is to know about Boba Fett. He hasn't been a secretive character since the mid 90s. He's just badass.

[conkerconquer]

I can insult Lucas for messing things up, cause he did. Don't get me wrong, the profound effect he had on the industry with Star Wars is still being felt and the original trilogy is great and all but the prequel trilogy is an abysmal mess, lacking in any real honesty, emotion or heart. There are no characters to root for, the villains weak and void of impact, giant needless plot holes were created and what little plot there was, was really just poor exposition rather than really fleshing out or adding to the Star Wars universe. It's poorly written, relies way too much on CGI and whoever thought Hayden Christiansen would be a good leading man was sorely mistaken. I could go on and on, in comparative essay about how the original trilogy not only trumps the new trilogy but also just how plain dire and awful the prequel trilogy is but I won't, cause I'd rather not let that travesty take anymore of my time than it already did in the cinema.