Starwars TV - Animated 3D series

More intriguing to me is the live action series in 2009 which, based on the image directly below CG CLONE WARS Yoda, seems to confirm that the series is about Boba Fett.

EDIT: Just found this at your link...

So the CG will be based on the designs of the traditionally animated CLONE WARS series then? Interesting indeed.

I'm pretty sure CLONE WARS 3-D takes place between Eps 2 and 3, much like the 2-D animated series did. The Boba Fett live action series supposedly takes place between Eps 3 and 4.

I actually suspect that Boba Fett is going to be the recurring bad guy of the series, rather than the hero. Didn't we hear things last year about casting for a central Jedi role? It would certainly make more sense. A Star Wars series built around a character who hunts down enemies of the bad guys for money seems less than heroic.

Six posts into a Star Wars thread, and nobody's started bitching about the prequels yet. Is this a record?

I wish I could think of a fresh Prequel joke, but they've all been used up.


Instead I will just say Fode and Beed.

Have any of you seen the commercial to Fanboys? That looks pretty funny.

As for the new live and animated series. I'm not holding my breath though from what Whedon and Co. did with Firefly, the potential is out there for television.

Why does the show or its protagonist have to be heroic? McCallum said the live action show was going to be darker and edgier than the films. This could very well be the TV equivalent of the STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTER game, which had Jango Fett as its "hero."

Pure speculation here but I think a show based around a galactic skip tracer who wants revenge for his father's murder is far more compelling than just another boring Jedi. If anything, the surviving Jedi should be the antagonist, and the one who fuels Boba into becoming "the most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy."

I'd rather they do the live action series as an anthology, like "Tales from the Crypt", or "Masters of Horror" - let some writers and directors play in Lucas' sandbox. That way, any halfway decent concepts can be spun off into their own series down the line. And frame it under Jedi archives or something (have Mark Hamill as an older Luke serve as the host, telling these tales to his students).

First rule of Lucas' sandbox:

YOU DO NOT PLAY IN LUCAS' SANDBOX!!

It doesn't have to be. But it will be. Star Wars is all about heroism, and I don't think Lucas is going to change his mind now.

And personally, in this case, I agree with him, at least as far as Boba Fett is concerned. I don't think he's a compelling character to build a series around. I've never understood the love. If a series were to be built around a villain, I'd rather follow Vader, and see the inner workings of the new Empire. But that's not going to happen either.

How were the Prequels about heroism, exactly? Anakin is clearly the central character and he was far from heroic.

The love of Boba Fett has always been about his potential as a character, not what we've actually seen of him. Thank/blame Lucas for that. This show will have a chance to put that potential to use. And I think it's clear that more SW fans would rather tune in to see a show about Boba Fett than some new guy in robes, standing around saying the same kind of boring, whiney shit the Jedi in the Prequels were burdened with.

Screw Boba Fett! How 'bout we learn more about the Sith? Why are there only 2? How did Darth Maul join the Dark Side? Why do they hate the Jedi? What's involved in training a Sith?

Shit, we could learn all about Yoda! Qui Gon Jinn! Bring in Samuel L. Jackson for a few episodes so we can see some Mace Windu action! There are all these great stories that could be told, but they're going to focus on Boba Fett? All he did in the movies was look menacing, then he was eaten by a sand vagina. Fuck him!

He was trying to be a hero, but failed. And actually, in the grand scheme of things, he ultimately does succeed in being a hero.


And I still don't understand the love, as I don't see the potential. He's a bounty hunter. Where's the character potential in that? As far as I can tell, it's because he has a cool helmet and some gadgets. It's not as if the original trilogy gave us intriguing hints into his psyche. People liked him because he looked badass, and that's all.

Also, I don't think it's in any way clear that "more SW fans would rather tune in to see a show about Boba Fett". And even if it's true, it won't matter. They're not taking any polls on what the fans want to see. And I really don't see that happening. A bounty hunter grown in a vat with no family or friends is a pretty boring, one-note idea for a protagonist. He should stick to video games along with Master Chief and Agent 47.

Boba Fett has, and always had, more potential as a villain than a hero.

But not in the Prequels, he didn't. Nor in 95% of the Original Trilogy. Of course, this all goes back to Lucas reverse-engineering/childhood-raping the whole thing after he clearly established Luke, Leia and Han as the heroes of the OT.

We had a pretty in-depth discussion about this in one of the 37,483 threads devoted to STAR WARS here at CHUD, so I'm not even sure where to look for it. But basically, it was really the animated segment of the STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL, along with the Preview Figure ad copy written on various toys, that gave Fett his mystique. And of course, then EMPIRE comes out and, you're right, all he does is stand around and look badass. But back in those heady days between STAR WARS and EMPIRE, when any new tidbit of info about a new STAR WARS film was a banner headline, Boba Fett made an indelible (if largely imagined) impact, even if Lucas failed to delivered the promised goods...a trait which would become more commonplace in the years to come.

However, I'm not sure how you can discount a character's potential because he's a bounty hunter. That's like saying there's no potential in a character who's a cop, or a soldier, or cowboy. Have you played STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTER? I'm not saying it's some amazing story but it definitely showed how you could create an interesting series based on a Fett.

And I think you're wrong about Fett being a simple villain. He's neither a hero nor a villain. He's a mercenary. A soldier of fortune. But what makes him lean slightly towards villainy is that he wants revenge for his father's murder. And yet, he'll play both sides against each other to get what he wants. That's what makes him potentially interesting.

If they turn this show into the simple archetypal good guy/bad guy scenario you're predicting, then yes, this show will likely suck.

Well, that pretty much goes back to my point about him as a video game character. There are many miles separating what makes a good video game character from what makes a good movie/TV character. See Tomb Raider. And while, yes being a bounty hunter doesn't necessarily limit him as a character, being a vat-grown cloned bounty hunter kind of does. No real background, no relatives, no real history. Dull.
Boba Fett being the protagonist doesn't change the likelihood of this show sucking. Good writing and directing are what will determine that.

You haven't answered my question: Have you played BOUNTY HUNTER?

And what does being a vat-grown clone have to do with anything? Unlike the rest of the clones, Boba was grown in real-time, raised by Jango in a father/son relationship. For all intents and purposes, he's a normal kid, by STAR WARS standards anyway.

Han Solo had no real history or background. Are you saying he's dull? If so, pay no attention to the blaster I'm about to unholster under our table...

Okay, good point about Han Solo. A lot of his background has just been assumed by fandom at large. And no, I haven't played Bounty Hunter, and I'm assuming you ask because it fills in a lot of character on him.

Still, I can't see Lucas dedicating a Star Wars TV series to a bad guy. The difference between Anakin and Fett is redemption. We all know that Boba Fett will ultimately live and die a villain.

Actually, I asked because the game shows how you could build a compelling weekly series (that still has a longterm story arc) based on a Fett. There's not much background on Jango in the game but there is character development. He's a badass mercenary on a twisted hunt who strangely finds opportunities to make unexpected moral decisions. Again, he's neither a hero nor a villain. He's just "a man making his way in the universe."

So take that template and add a slice of revenge. Boba's father was killed by a Jedi. If there is a central Jedi character in the live action series, and Boba catches wind of his existence, I bet that will be Boba's driving force as a character. He will roam the galaxy hunting prey, running afoul of both Imperials and Rebels, doing his thing, but it will be that Jedi character he really wants to bring down.

Or not. Just hoping for the best...and I'm not sure why.

Umm...Han Solo has volumes of EU text dealing with his background. Plus, RTS fans can at least tell you a little bit about it!

Have you ever played Empire At War?

EU doesn't really count though, does it? And actually, that proves my point even more: Who needs background? The present here-and-now is far more important. If anything, it was the need for background that fucked the Prequels.

I haven't played EMPIRE AT WAR. Any good?

Yeah, I don't count EU, since only the true hardcore Star Wars fan has read that stuff. The original point was that Han Solo worked as a character in the original trilogy, before any EU content existed.

Empire At War was pretty cool for a while, but I got bored with it pretty quickly.

Like any RTS, EaW will get boring if you play through a few of the scenarios...

But, like any Lucasarts game...they opened up the source code and let people mod the crap out of it.

There's all kinds of extra hours worth of modifications to the game that you can download...and if you crank up the difficulty setting, instead of playing on Easy or Normal, it can actually get a little challenging. I figured that out a long time ago when I was getting bored with Battlefront and Battlefront II...the Clones will kick your ass on Hard if you're not used to it.

Oh, and according to the Holocron, an internal Lucasarts team that keeps track of the canon and non-canon continuity, EU novels are considered second only to the films in terms of Canon. Moreover, every EU novel (before Lucas' ridiculous quote of fan-betrayal) is screened by George himself to make sure it fits into his "vision" and what not. He has to approve everything before it goes to print, and he gets to make the call on when a major character from the film dies in the EU.

Well we've heard the business about Lucas approving every piece of Star Wars fiction before, but that doesn't seem to apply to Zahn's trilogy. His use of leftover Clone War technology doesn't seem to match up with what we were shown later in the prequels. So I take that whole "Lucas Approved" claim with several grains of salt.

Anything Lucas puts into film is considered the absolute canon. If it doesn't directly contradict something presented in an EU novel, then the EU novel's concept stands as canon.

The Thrawn Trilogy was written after the movies were released. Moreover, the timespan for the entire Thrawn series begins after the Battle of Endor and it doesn't directly contradict anything major from the films.

Hell, the Thrawn books gave us all kinds of long-used Star Wars furniture...like...Coruscant, which has been used in subsequent films and would seem to suggest that Lucas liked the material put forth in the Thrawn Trilogy, and also Mara Jade, who has become very popular with other authors and publications within the EU, and is rumored to be featured in the coming TV series, which would solidify her character as absolute canon.

It was written after the original movies were released, but not the prequels. And one of the major plot elements is a "cloning cylinder" used to create a clone of a great Jedi master. Later, the prequels showed that the Clone Wars had nothing to do with making clones of various people...only one. This seems like a pretty big discrepancy to me. And since I assume that Lucas knew the Clone Wars were about the birth of the Stormtroopers, and not cloning Jedi Masters, it would seem to suggest that he really didn't pay that much attention to what Zahn was doing.

Not that I think he should. I wouldn't pay that much attention if I were him. I just wish they wouldn't claim that he personally oversees everything that goes out. Nobody has that much time.

Joruus C'Baoth's existence contradicts absolutely nothing concrete in the Clone Wars.

The EU establishes that Palpatine knew a lot about cloning technology, and that the Emperor cloned Jedi Master C'Baoth and used the clone for his own purposes.

The films never directly or indirectly state that cloning was limited only to those on Kamino, nor do they state that Jango Fett was the only person ever to be cloned. In fact, in the EU, it is specifically established that Palpatine's cloning technology comes from a different planet, using different techniques.

How does that conflict with the Clone Wars storyline at all?

No, technically, the prequels never actually say that what happens in Zahn's books couldn't have happened. That's not the same as supporting them. Plus, you're using EU information to support your case that the EU is valid, which just seems like tap-dancing to me.

Really, the EU doesn't factor into anything as far as I'm concerned. Even if none of it contradicts what's in the movies, it isn't really necessary either. Pulling the EU material into a discussion of what's going to be in the TV series doesn't seem very productive, since I really doubt that Lucas is going to pay much attention to EU sources.

I don't have much interest in EU material but considering that the name Lucas originally gave Coruscant in his rough REVENGE OF THE JEDI draft was Had Abaddon, I suppose it has its uses.

Besides being infinitely more interesting then 90% of what Lucas puts out, the EU is definitely a useful tool. It allows Lucas to get exceedingly rich off of the Star Wars name, it gives him free material created by more talented writers to use in whatever way he sees fit...oh and he gets exceedingly rich, too.

The general rule is that if something put out in movie directly contradicts something established as canon in the EU, the movie canon takes precedence. I'm sure that this is a situation that happened with the prequels...but since there were no Old Republic era novels written and hardly any EU-related works for the Rise of the Empire eras before they came out, I can't think of any situation that the prequels directly stood in contrast to in long-held EU canon.

The Thrawn Crisis is a weak set to focus on anyway...it didn't really ruffle any feathers, and Zahn was specifically told by Lucas how he was to proceed with that trilogy. Zahn originally wanted C'Baoth to be a clone of Kenobi, but Lucas nixed that and he was forced to make something up.

It's been established that Lucas loves to fuck with his fans. We get it.

But whether or not you want to believe it, it's a confirmed fact that Lucas is made aware of just about anything that goes on in the EU that has any major plot change relating to the movies. He has very consistently brought the hammer down numerous times on authors and publishers when their story did not match his vision.

Here's another example, Chewbacca. Lucas personally approved the time and place of his death when it was proposed to him for an EU novel set in the New Republic timeline.

Yes, he does review the EU material. Yes, he gets final word on anything, and yes, he has a history of exercising that authority...with extreme prejudice.

Have you read Shatterpoint? That's a good one.

Avoid Dark Horse comics, though...

Fixed.

Also:
There's your series. Go back before the prequels and show us Jedi being Jedi, not those stubborn, short-sighted bores we saw in the prequels.

They could...there has been, not surprisingly, very little published in the EU in regards to the Old Republic.

There are huge gaps between the start of the Rule of Two and the re-formation of the Galactic Republic and the Rise of the Empire era that we see in the prequels...

They could easily spin off a TV series in that timeline.

Opinions my friend, opinions.

Hey if the series can match or exceede the tone of ESB and have even a fraction of the action and fx level of the movies then I'm all for it.

On the other hand, if it turns out to be a 50 hour extended version of the Phantom Menace with lil Luke and Leia runnin around then forget it.

They will probably steer clear of Luke and Leia...or at least Luke...for the most part.

I wouldn't think that doing anything to alter a character as established as...

Ok, nevermind...there'll be plenty of Luke and Leia.

The alien invasion business was pretty much it for me. I'm not touching Star Wars novels anymore. That was some bad mojo.

They were running out of storylines to keep the money coming in...and the prequels hadn't yet debuted...so they improvised.

Yet again, Lucas, whether he will admit it or not, is directly responsible for the Yuuzhan Vong storylines, as he has "ultimate creative control" and he most definitely did approve that story arc.

About as many times as they've found yet another Death Star prototype just laying around.

I'd tune in for a teenaged Leia series, in which she learns the ways of the universe and "practices" on other girls a lot.

The worst of the EU is a collective travesty that should be avoided at all costs.
The best of the EU is better than anything that came out of the prequels.

There is plenty of material in both extremes. The key is knowing what's good and what isn't, and avoiding the bad ones. Fortunately, the truly bad ones hardly get referenced in later works, so they're completely avoidable.

Or I could save myself the work, not read any of them, and read original stuff that's probably better than anything the EU has to offer. But that's crazy talk.

More.

Good to see some BOUNTY HUNTER love on this board. The rivalry between Montross and Fett, as well as Fett's relationship with Wessel and Roz was more interesting than anything in the prequels. And the whole Bando Gora Kamari Vossa storyline was creepy. I loved the fact that Palpatine wanted to eliminate her despite the fact that she was a Dark Jedi.

Getting back to the topic at hand:

Yup, he's a lot more involved now than he used to be. If you read some of the interviews with Lucas around the time of EPISODE I's release he states that when he sat down to write the script that he had named the Republic capitol planet something else but then his Lucas Historians told him "no, no it's already been established as Coruscant." So he followed the EU canon. From that moment on he got himself a lot more involved in the EU games, books, etc.

Well, here's what a friend of mine who works at ILM (and was an FX coordinator on the prequels) has told me about what he knows about the live action series so far (based on the artwork and storylines he's seen). As with my Episode III news, take this for what it's worth:

- takes place between Episodes 3 and 4.

- plans to film in Australia in HD.

- no Luke, Leia, Chewie, Uncle Owen, Obi Wan or Han (at least for the first season).

- with this series, Lucas is drawing much more from the STAR WARS EU than the movies ever did, using some characters and planets from the games and comics.

- mostly new characters.

- some diplomats (e.g. Mon Mothma, ) and lots of minor characters like young Imperial Naval Cadets/Officers, civilian transport captains, etc. According to him, Lucas apparently wants to focus on how the switch from Republic to Empire effected the average person in the galaxy.

- he told me that, yes, there are Bounty Hunters but he's seen no signs of Boba fett...yet. He has seen a few new bounty hunters as well as older ones from the films and EU.

- there are Jedi (light and dark). He hasn't seen anything about Vader but assumes he'll make at least a minor appearance.

He's been working on FX for the PS3/360 game STAR WARS: FORCE UNLEASHED game (Lucas merged ILM and his games division in 2005) for a few months. Apparently some of the storyline/characters in there will dovetail/parallel the live action series, because a lot of what takes place in the game is being used by Lucas and McCallum as they're putting together the series bible (due to be finished by mid summer).

All this was in mid-January. He said that when the series goes into pre production in late summer, he'll probably know a lot more.

Either way, I'm excited.

Thanks for the info, Kreep. Always welcomed.

Tons of material here. I want to see Mon Mothma and Ackbar kick the rebellion into high gear. Let's visit the catfish planet and see the Wookiees get enslaved.

Bobba Fett action will be cool, but not too much, just have him as a recurring baddie. Let's see some stories on the other cool bounty hunters, Bossk, Dengar, Zuckuss, 4-LOM and IG-88, characters I always liked more than Fett.

Is Palpatine making appearances? He would have to I would think.

I hope at least the droids make cameos.

Would love to see young Lando and his exploits with the Falcon. What few, very few, EU novels I've read, the Lando adventures were fun.

Jumping of the edgy tv bandwagon, perhaps we can see a "Very Special Episode" with Jek Porkins dealing with his weight problem.

Bounty Hunter was a shitty game.