Live-Action Star Wars Series

[Anonymouswizard]

I'd love to watch Star Wars:Scoundrels.

A dark, mature, hard core Star Wars show rated R/X/MA, on HBO, Starz or Cinemax. One little kidz under 18 could ever, ever, ever watch. Spartacus or Banshee are good examples of the type of show it could be.

Ah, well, I can dream....

Such a project would probably flop, because many people wouldn't see it as Star Wars.


To explain my view, the easiest way to explain it is to use The Last Jedi, and the Prequel Trilogy. To me Star Wars is old school space opera, with grand heroes and epic plots. It's not that I dislike dark or adult science fiction, I praise the Night's Dawn trilogy like it's the perfect space opera a lot (it's not, there's a lot of problems), it's that when I think of Star Wars I'm thinking of something that even during it's dark moments is heroic and epic. The Prequel Trilogy might have changed a lot in the tone and universe, but it was still about these larger than life heroes and always gave the hope that it would be sorted out (ignoring the fact that we know the Empire rises, of course). TLJ abandoned the heroes being big epic heroes in favour of making one character's sideplot entirely pointless to the resolution of the story (and actually stopped the one epic hero moment that was going to happen), and despite it's attempts had an ending that comes off as completely hopeless (sure Poe, talk about burning the first order down with about twenty people on a starship).

Not that I couldn't take a serious Star Wars story, but it would have to be space opera. I don't see this desire to make Star Wars dark and gritty when we can just make new space operas, or heck adapt the Night's Dawn books into a TV series (writing the script for such a thing would probably be my dream project, even though I don't really have the skills for it). I mean, I'm considering rewriting a Space Opera novel I'm stuck with into a radio drama format, I honestly think it might fit better.

@Peelee: honestly wouldn't surprise me.

[Rogar Demonblud]

My honest opinion is that they'll use this series to fill in some gaps between the OT and the ST. Might as well support the new movies, right?

[Darth Ultron]

Such a project would probably flop, because many people wouldn't see it as Star Wars.

True, but it can also save the franchise.

They can keep the Star Wars for kidz, but also have the Star Wars Dark.

I agree classic Star Wars was all Epic old school space opera. And there is nothing wrong with that. But sadly ''old school space opera" has come to mean ''only kidz stuff". All the tons of like way below G science fiction for kidz has tainted the old school space opera...and that is still with us today.

And, well, you do need to let go of the Epic...even more so for a TV show. It's fine to have a Epic story once in a while....but to have a Epic story every day is just silly. And this really shows in Star Wars as the bad guys just keep doing the same super evil epic plot of : build a massive weapon of evil destruction(but bigger each time). So like what, Star Wars 13 or so will have the Death Galaxy, right? Maybe get to the Death Universe in Star Wars 20?

The Star Wars galaxy is full of stories, and they don't need to all be about ''Chosen ones" and "Super Weapons".

Rogue One, as poorly done as it was, was pretty close to Dark Star Wars.

[Cikomyr]

I still want to have Star Wars The West Wing The Coruscant Senate as a political thriller with Mon Mothma, fight against oppressional government, manipulated medias, etc..

Take us to the heart of the Empire. Show the corruption bare, and how the brave opposition tried to fight it legitimately.

[Anonymouswizard]

True, but it can also save the franchise.

**Stuffz**

True, but I kind of don't care if Star Wars lives and dies. I honestly don't care, such a project has about equal chance of killing or revitalising the franchies, except for the fact that my friends who don't read or watch space opera will be telling me to watch something stupid because it's Star Wars.

To bring up your points, old school space opera is kind of hit and miss. People assume it's for kids, unless it's X Y or Z, because for a long time Space Opera has been pushed as something for kids. Unless you're into space opera books, in which case the sheer variety of both classic and modern space opera (the divergence of the two genres is around the publication of Iain M. Banks's SF novels) means that the fact there's both adult's stuff and kids stuff is on display. Actually a ton more adult books in the genre, but that's a moot point.

'You can't do Epic for a TV show' is only true in episodic format. If we go for a proper serial format we can go epic while at the same time not breaking our Budget. Babylon 5 is a good example.

Also there isn't only one epic storyline. Empire was epic. The Thrawn Trilogy was epic. Epic is more about styling and stakes than about plot (although plot does feature).

Now you can be dark and epic. But if you're not epic than you can't be Star Wars.

If you're not epic then why aren't I just reading Foundation? It's a brilliant nonepic 'fall of an empire' story.


@Cikomyr: that sounds like an interesting idea. Relatively low budget, in an era people know about, adding complexity to the lore, and will be interesting in it's own right. A++, would consider again.