Friday, August 22, 2008

The Future of Star Wars


"A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away" - A phrase that has and always will give me chills. The Star Wars movies are my favorite movies of all time, yes, even the prequels. August 15th saw the release of "The Clone Wars" animated movie, but so far, it has not been as well received as I am sure George Lucas had hoped.

So what is next for this long standing franchise? "The Clone Wars" is supposed to be the start of a animated series, and there are also plans for a live action series that fills in the gaps between Episode III and IV. Sometimes movies made into TV shows work ("Highlander" & "Stargate" come to mind) and sometimes they don't ("Robocop", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"). So what does a "Star Wars" live action TV show need to work? It needs new characters, ones we are totally unfamiliar with. At this point, we all know the fates of the established characters, so centering the stories around them would be pointless and without any drama whatsoever. The writing also needs to be top notch, that is what fueled the success of the new "Battlestar Galactica" series. We need to see characters and stories we care about, not just thin stories that are just an excuse to show off visual effects. Can it be done? Yes. Will it be done is another question that won't be answered until we actually see the show.

What myself and I am sure many other fans want to see is a continuation of the story after "Return Of The Jedi". Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are probably slim to none. Harrison Ford stated in an interview many years ago that he has no intrest in reviving his role as Han Solo, stating that he felt he had become an "empty" character. Sure dangle enough money in front of him and maybe he would do it, but I am afraid his heart just would not be in it. So the question remains, how could this be done? Well I am going to go out on a limb and say:make it animated. Yes, I said animated. But I don't mean animated in the style of "The Clone Wars". more like "Beowulf". It would be much easier for the actors to do voice work than the actual physical work, and animation has a lot less boundaries than live action does. The story could be based on the novels of Timothy Zahn, whose "Thrawn Trilogy" ("Heir To The Empire", "Dark Force Rising", and "The Last Command") is beloved by Star Wars fans and would be a perfect story to tell.

Will this happen? At this point, it's doubtful, but I never thought I would see another "Star Wars" film after "Return Of The Jedi", so I have learned to never say never. George Lucas has said he is done with live action "Star Wars" movies, but he is always changing his mind, so who knows what we will see in the future. Then again, and I never thought I would EVER say this, maybe it's time to just stop it all. I don't wish to see my favorite entertainment fall and stumble and have to end because nobody wants to see it anymore, going out on top is always the better alternative. What direction do you think "Star Wars" should go?

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