For more than a decade now, rumors have persisted that in some form or another, a live-actionStar Wars TV showwas going to make its way to TV. After Disney purchased all ofLucasfilmin 2012, the company poured most of their focus into making sure thatStar Wars: The Force Awakenswent well so that they could get fans on board with the idea of moreStar Wars. Now they have the good faith restored, and it is time to start developing other projects. And one of those projects may finally be that small screenStar Wars serieswe’ve often heard so much about.
ABC recently made a presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour, and to the delight of many fans, it was revealed that they have been discussing the prospect of a Star Wars show with Lucasfilm. The network’s new presidentChanning Dungeywas the one who got everyone’s hopes up, and he seems quite enthusiastic about the prospect. Here’s what he had to say.
“Oh, as a fan, I would absolutely love to say ‘yes.’ The conversations with Lucas, we have had conversations with them and will continue to have conversations with them. I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to extend that brand into our programming.”
Disney just so happens to own ABC, so it makes sense that conversations between the network and Lucasfilm have been taking place. GrantedDungey’s statement isn’t the most firm thing we have ever encountered, but it is encouraging. But let’s say these statements go the most exciting way possible and a live-actionStar WarsTV does get greenlit over at ABC.Dungey’s statements didn’t reveal anything about what the show could possibly be about.
AfterGeorge Lucasfinished up theStar Warsprequel trilogy, he decided to start developing a show based in agalaxy far far away, and as the story goes, there are more than 50 scripts for that show sitting in a vault somewhere. So we know that the groundwork exists for aStar Wars TV show, but we know very little about what that show would look like, or even if that would be the show that ABC moved forward with.
TheStar Wars universeis insanely ripe with possibility, and TV has been an excellent extension of the lore so far. With how much we have been able to get from animated shows likeRebelsandThe Clone Wars, it is hard not to get excited about the possibilities that exist in a live-actionStar WarsTV show. So what exactly is that show going to be about? Well, we’ve got some ideas.
5The Jedi Academy
There is no doubt that the idea of a live-actionStar WarsTV show is alive and well, but if the show lands on ABC, it will have to find a very large audience, and it will have to be relatively family friendly. We wouldn’t likely be getting the gritty Boba Fett murder-centric, bounty hunter, kill contract show, or anything like that. So, something like seeing Jedi Knights getting trained would make a lot of sense. The name Jedi Academy comes from a video game released back in 2003, but the idea that Jedi Knights have institutional training is a long standing idea in theStar Warsuniverse. It would make a lot of sense for a network TV show.
The video game,Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, took place shortly afterReturn of the Jediwith Luke Skywalker setting up a base on Yavin 4 to train a new generation of Jedi. It isn’t likely that would be the plot a show would follow, but the Jedi have a long history in theStar Warsuniverse, so the show could be set in a lot of various time periods and it could work. We could be introduced to a lot of new characters, but there would be enough familiarity for it to work. Not only that, but getting a good, in-depth look at the training of a Jedi Knight is something pretty much anyStar Warsfan could get behind. This is an idea that will likely be pursued at some point, and maybe ABC will make it a sooner rather than later kind of thing.
4Obi-Wan Kenobi
One thing that aStar WarsTV show would be really benefited by, if it does indeed land on a major network, is some name recognition. Yes,Star Warshas about as much name recognition as possible, but in terms of characters, that would also be helpful. The time gap between what happened at the end ofRevenge of the Sithand what happened at the beginning ofA New Hopeis significant. That being the case, there is a big chunk of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life that we don’t know much about. It isn’t incredibly likely thatEwan McGregor, who has expressed interest in returning to the role for a movie, would want to deal with a rigorous network TV schedule. However, this isStar Warsand almost anything is possible. SeeingMcGregoras Obi-Wan on Tatooine and going through his adventures week to week would be really fun. No doubt, people would tune in for that show and there is a lot to mine for there in terms of story.
3The Old Republic
Of anything that has ever been introduced in the history of theStar Warsexpanded universe (except for maybe Thrawn),The Old Republicis one of the most rich and popular bits, and it would be prime for an adaptation at some point. For those who may not know,The Old Republicstuff takes place more than 3,000 years before the events of the originalStar Warsmovies. The focus is on a very tenuous peace that exists between the emerging threat of the Sith and the newly formed Galactic Republic. And, as with all great thingsStar Warsrelated, there is a whole lot of Jedi goodness to dig into. Between the comics, the online video game and novels, there is so much to mine for story withThe Old Republic, and not to mention it is insanely popular among fans. Not only that, but it takes place so long ago in theStar Warstimeline that it wouldn’t have to mess with what is going on currently in the movies very much.
As much asThe Old Republicwould be very cool to see, ABC may not be the right place for it. The show would likely be very expensive, and to do it right, it would probably have to go to some relatively dark places, which may not work for the super broad audience that ABC would need it to. It seems almost inevitable that we will see anOld Republicadaptation at some point, somewhere, but it might be a stretch for it to be at ABC with this proposed live-action series. It isn’t impossible though, and it would be a pretty awesome bit of fan service on the part of Lucasfilm to do so.
2Make It a Full-OnStar WarsAnthology Series
This is something of a left field idea that isn’t necessarily founded in anything concrete, but it is a possibility and is something of a very cool idea. As mentioned, and as anyStar Warsfan knows, there is so much history and so many corners of the universe to explore that no single movie or show can really explore properly. So, the idea of ananthology serieswould work out very nicely. The show could go season to season, likeFargoorAmerican Horror Story, and cover a new story arc each season. Even more interesting, the show could goTwilight Zonestyle and just go with a new story week to week and just tell a random story in theStar Warsuniverse. It would be so flexible and allow for so many stories to be told that it would almost seem hard to imagine that something like this won’t happen at some point. Now, this might be a tough sell for Network TV, and also as the first live-actionStar Warsshow we have ever seen. But the flexibility of it would likely be appealing to everyone involved, so it’s not at all impossible. At the very least, it’s thrilling to think about.
1ExploreStar Wars: Underworld
As touched on previously, somewhere in a vault either at Skywalker Ranch in in some secret room at Lucasfilm, there are a bunch of scripts that are just ready to be produced for aStar Warsshow.George Lucashad been developing the show, rumored to be titledStar Wars: Underworld, for a long time before shelving the project. However, since Disney purchased everything that was associated with Lucasfilm, they now own those scripts. The plot ofUnderworldis pretty much a secret, but we do know that it would help bridge the gap between the prequels andA New Hope, which would be very cool to see.
The fact that the show is already fairly developed, ABC could swoop in, dust it off, and get to work. Not only that, but it was being developed before streaming and cable TV as we know it really took off, so it was likely being developed with Network TV in mind. This would be the most likely form that live-action show would take on ABC, in some form or another. Also, that is a very interesting time forStar Wars history, and we could get to know characters like Palpatine in a way that we might not get the chance to otherwise. Don’t be surprised if this show gets announced at some point in the next couple of years, if not sooner.
Right now, Disney and Lucasfilm are really focused on the movie side of things, as well as with publishing and merchandise. The primary focus right now is to get everyone behindRogue One: A Star Wars Story, and then they will be full steam ahead onEpisode VIII. So, there is no doubt a live-actionStar Warsshow is going to happen at some point, but it may be longer than we, or ABC would like to wait, but it will happen. Either way, there are some really exciting ideas out there for aStar WarsTV show, and we can’t wait to see which one happens first.
