Star Wars The TV Show Is Actually Happening!
Please let them have Game Of Thrones sized budgets.
Just when you thought the whole Star Wars TV show possibility was dead in the water, along comes ABC to reveal they still have it locked on target for some mysterious future date.
Appearing at the TV Critics Association's press tour in Beverly Hills, Entertainment president Channing Dungey was asked if she wants a primetime Star Wars series and she made a lot of fans happy:
“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.”
She then later reiterated her stance, according to EW:
“It’s all a little bit hush-hush. That company exists under a big shroud of secrecy. If you feel Marvel’s secretive, [Lucasfilm] takes it to a whole other level … [Talks] are ongoing. We don’t have an official timeline yet.”
Official timeline be damned, this is enough information to get proper hyped about.
Dungey wouldn't say whether it would be a live action series (though why they'd compete with their own Star Wars Rebels brand makes no sense). Plus there have been plans in the works for a live action series for a long time.
A show was commissioned years ago that would follow rival families struggling for control of the universe's murky underbelly, set on Coruscant. Sort of like the Sopranos in space, maybe. It would have been set between the original Star Wars film trilogy and the prequels, allowing for cameos and big relevant call-backs for the fans. It actually got as far as 50 scripts being written, but it failed to materialise over concerns that it was too expensive - even with a near miss with HBO, which presumably would have guaranteed the greatest show ever.
The same issues are going to have to be considered here too. There's no way they can make a Star Wars show that skimps on cost, because it's impossible to hide that sort of thing artfully. The result would be an awkward early Doctor Who vibe, and nobody wants that.
Clearly some intelligent conversations are going to have to be had to try and come up with a way of restraining the budget but doing the brand justice.
I mean, they've ruled two great ideas out already by making Rogue One and Han Solo into films - either of those would have made amazing shows. And unfortunately we will now never know if there was real potential in a wookie sitcom, thanks to the Holiday Special.
But it's an infinite galaxy, and there will be millions of ideas floating around that could very easily be made into shows. And yes, that does include rescuing non-Canon material from the abyss too.
What do you want to see from a Star Wars TV show? Share your desires below in the comments thread.