Why the jump to TV? Luces explains: “I've always wanted to explore other parts of the Star Wars universe that I never really got to go to. So television's going to be the perfect opportunity to do that. I can move around more freely and have more experimental time.”
Clone Wars, which is entirely 3D CGI, is set in the time periods between Episode II and III in the Star Wars saga. It will be a direct offshoot of both films, featuring most of the characters we’re already familiar with such as Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda. The live-action series, however, will be something different. “It's the Star Wars universe, but it's characters from the saga who were [previously] minor,” Lucas explained. “It's set between III and IV, when the Empire has taken over. It's like Episode IV in that the Emperor and Darth Vader are heard about — people talk about them — but you never see them because it doesn't take place where they actually are. There are storm troopers and all that, but there are no Jedis.”
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This new direction will give fans a chance to experience storylines involving popular characters that aren’t central to the Star Wars saga, a refreshing change for the franchise. Lucas explains, “It's different, but I think it's very exciting because I get to explore a part of that universe that I haven't been able to explore. Once you have a saga, it's got a lot of requirements because it's about a particular [thing] — in this case, Darth Vader — and so it's his story from the time he's 10 to the time he died. You really can't go off that track because that's the story. Whereas now, I can make a left turn on 10th Street and go down there and see what's going on.” A Boba Fett back-story, anyone?
Scripting should get underway on the live-action series next month. However, Lucas’ production team has already completed forty of the roughly one hundred Clone Wars episodes he plans on producing, and the graphics look fantastic:
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Finding a network that will air the show could be tricky, though. “Unfortunately, it doesn't fall into the realm of what animation typically is, which is either adult, kind of off-color humor or kiddie stuff,” Lucas explained. “This is, like Star Wars, sort of in between those two things. It's a lot of battle stuff, and it's obviously the Clone Wars, so it's a war picture. So it's kind of a PG-13 animated TV series, which is something that has never been done before and obviously doesn't fit in any of the conventional slots that these things fall into. It's got a very, very sophisticated look to it. We're still trying to figure out how to put it on the air.”
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