Whenever I hear about a new “Star Wars” project, my instinctive response is: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
And who can blame me? Most of what Lucasfilm has churned out over the last 11 years has been disappointing at best, and fans (including myself) have been very local about their nerd rage. But the announcement of a new “Star Wars” animated series has me hopeful.
No, it’s not another “Clone Wars,” but a comedy series in development with Lucasfilm Animation and “Robot Chicken’s” Seth Green and Matthew Senreich.
The creators of “Robot Chicken” (a stop-motion animated series known for its hilarious Star Wars parodies) are expected to bring a new perspective to the franchise.
When asked about the project, Green said, “The ‘Star Wars’ universe is so dense and rich; it’s crazy to think that there aren’t normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined. And it’s even crazier to think of what those problems might be, since it’s all set in a galaxy far, far away. What do these characters do when they’re not overthrowing Empires?”
Set to be directed by Todd Grimes, the series will focus on minor characters from the Star Wars universe and how the major events of the saga have affected them. I must admit, the idea of exploring a day in the life of the Mos Eisley cantina bartender or an unemployed Stormtrooper does pique my interest.
Such a concept has room for new and original stories, and could provide meaningful (and possibly hilarious) insights into the motivations of some of the saga’s most overlooked characters. Like, why is the rancor keeper in Jabba’s Palace so distraught when Luke kills the rancor? What’s the back-story there? Did he raise it from infancy? Or how did Greedo’s family respond to the news of Greedo’s murder? Who do they think shot first?
There are literally hundreds of stories like these that could be explored.
So here’s hoping that the series will be able to poke fun at itself, at the Star Wars franchise, and at George Lucas’ past transgressions. But even if it doesn’t pleasantly surprise all the fanboys and girls who usually have a bad feeling about new “Star Wars” projects, we’ll still watch it anyway.
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Follow Kyla Drewette on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KylaDrewette.
I don’t have a ton of hope for this.
It is fair to say that the last few movies were disappointing. Nevertheless, they were better than lots of other movies since and before. And the Clone Wars movie and cartoon are AMAZING! But this..this might be revolutionary TV. Bring it on. I believe, I believe!!!
personally i like pretty much all starwars stuff i see. Sure the prequels were not as good as the originals. But i dont see any issues with this new animated comedy show. it sounds like an interesting idea. I will probably check it out when it happens.