With both ABC and Lucasfilm under the same house, a Star Wars TV show is now more likely than ever. So says Channing Dungey, ABC’s Entertainment President on her first press tour.
Dungey said “we have had conversations with Lucas[film] and we will continue to have conversations with them. I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to extend that brand onto our programming.”
Dungey later clarified that talks are ongoing and that there’s no timeline for a show yet.
I think Disney fans have already rallied around the DisneyXD animated series “Star Wars Rebels” and are clamoring for more. Live Action shows are more difficult and a space opera type show can up the budget. But “Battlestar Galactica” has shown how it can be done. The big question for me is, should it tie in with the existing cinematic narrative or perhaps go explore some new time period (like the early days of the Jedi Order)?
Back circa 2005, before he sold to Disney, George Lucas actually had an idea for a live-action TV in development. It was called “Star Wars: Underworld” and would have been an hour-long drama. He even brought in Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ron Moore for a few treatments. Alas, it never made it to the point of pick up by a network. With all the changes to the Star Wars universe since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, I have to imagine any show they’re considering would be something completely different than what Lucas was working on a decade ago.
Other franchises were also discussed at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour. Marvel on ABC is in a bit of a slump, with one show canceled, one show didn’t make it out of development and Agents of SHIELD slowing down in ratings a bit, Dungey confirmed that ABC is looking for a new strategy for Marvel on ABC. They are already looking to a strategy similar to what Netflix is doing with its family of Marvel characters (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, etc).
Would you like to see more Star Wars and Marvel on TV? How do you think Disney is handling their television product in general right now?
I’m a big Star Wars fan, but seeing how Agents of Shield flounders just on the fringes of the Marvel Universe, I fear that a Star Wars tv show would be a similar disappointment.
I also keep going back to the 1977 Star Wars tv special, and how awful that was.
Disney has to be careful with Marvel and any Star Wars TV projects. They both could be good but too much and people will tune out because of over-exposure of the genre. I’m more in tune to Star Wars with limited likes for Marvel characters.
Love to see more on TV. Star Wars or Marvel. Actually prefer Marvel stories and characters. Star Wars is a great saga, but out of 7 movies, they’very basically made the same one three times now. Enough with destroying the Death Star/Planet. Three times was one or two, too many.
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