Discussion Star Wars 6.5

In much the same way the 'live action SW tv series' was going to bridge the two trilogies, do you think there will be anything released beforehand that will help prepare us for and catch us up to the events in Episode 7?

A full fledged tv series is out of the question but I can see shorts, comics, and assorted online material being produced. The well done promos for Matrix 2 & 3 come to mind. The last one led right up to the beginning of Matrix Reloaded. I can see Disney doing the same over the next 2-3 years to tide us over.

 

Doubt it. Though I could see them doing so after.

A bit like- we got ESB, we got RoTJ- and some time later, we got a "bridge"- Shadows of the Empire.

Though the prequels might have done so to a degree with the Clone Wars Multimedia Project (but then, TCW got in on the act and did the same its own way).

 

It depends on a lot of factors: the time period of the ST, what's being kept from EU sources, what's left unsaid in the movies.. I agree that this material is going to end up coming later, like SOTE and TCW. And I agree that something is needed.

 

I've seen rumours that Crucible, the latest (chronologically) EU novel, which is still to come out, will be a "bridge".

But at the moment I'm doubtful.

 

Well the Holiday Special could be considered a "bridge" between ANH and ESB since it introduced Boba, so obviously we'll get a 4 hour long Holiday Special bridging the events between ROTJ and VII.

 

I'm guessing we'll see one or two novels that act as a sort of "prequel" to Episode 7. It wouldn't surprise me if we get a prequel mini-series in the form of comics, too, that make up about six issues.

 

Maybe if we watch "Caravan of Courage" and "Battle for Endor" together, we'll get that 4 hour bridge

 

And Willford Brimley damn well better be in it.

 

I think it's probably too late to get anything like that BEFORE episode VII...however, I'm quite confident that after episode VII is released-or perhaps sometime during the production of the sequel trilogy-we will see something like that. Whether it be a TV series (which wouldbe my choice), or books or whatever, it'll be interesting to see what they do to fill in that gap of time-Assuming that the sequel trilogy takes place at least 20 to 30 years after ROTJ.

This actually brings up an interesting idea-I wonder if they will make more books that are supposed to fit in between the films of this new trilogy? I suppose that could be called the "alternate EU..."

 

If Luke ends up having a 20ish year old kid be the star, then I would love to see how Luke met the mom. Though I doubt we would see this story in 7. So I'm hoping we could see that in a tv show. That is if Luke does end up with someone, he may not after all.

 

I'll go with a comic mini-series as an almost sure thing. And Marvel getting Star Wars back is a forgone conclusion. And Star Wars did save them the first time. I don't know how much saving Marvel needs now, but Marvel did do prequel comics for two other recent Disney properties, Tron: Legacy and John Carter. Star Wars will no doubt get a bigger deal made out of it than those two, though.

An animated series is the next easiest thing as a potential Star Wars 6.5. They can have that up and running by fall 2014 with one hand tied behind their back. And scale is not really a problem. You can go pretty big with a Star Wars animated series as bridge between VI and VII.

As for a TV series: with more signs pointing to a possible 2016 release for Episode VII, a short TV mini series is within the realm of possibility, I think. A quiet, low-key 10 or 12 (or maybe 7 to play on that number) episodes that merely sets the stage for Episode VII. Nothing too big because you can't do that for TV in the amount of time available. Think a series of 7 one-hour long vignettes that jump around the galaxy and spotlights and catches us up with the goings on. Character pieces on some of the same sets that will be in the movie, but no huge scenes that would require the type of special effects that you would save for the movie. That sort of thing. As for cost, they were throwing around $5 million per episode for all of the big things they were planning for the "Underworld" live-action series. So a 7 episode stage-setting series for Episode VII can be just as ambitious and would come in at $35 million (or go crazy and double it and you're still only talking $70 million).

 

That's exactly why this kind of story seems necessary.

 

Hey if it's the same mom as the EU... you know what the TV series would be?

Thrawn Trilogy... AWESOME!

 

For some reason that "How he met the mom" reminded me of this

 

KID: So let me get this straight... Mom was an ex-imperial assassin that wanted to kill you at the time, and apparently would have succeeded if she'd gotten on that sail barge...

LUKE: Yep.

MARA: Really... You think I'd have beaten you?

LUKE: Probably... or I'd have thought of something...

KID: So... how the force do I exist?

LUKE: Ten years and a force intervention.

 

I don't think we'll get anything beforehand - unless the ST follows canon, then you can see anything post ROTJ as such. But it's beyond doubt that we'll get a plethora of stuff afterwards!

 

Indeed. It's kinda hard to dovetail into the ideas, themes, and designs of the ST when Episode 7 is still being made. I think past efforts by Dark Horse and Marvel have proven clumsy. You can always tell the moment that they finally get a preview of the designs for the next movie, because Obi-Wan suddenly has a new hairstyle than he had the previous issue.

But if there were a 30+ year gap in between 6 and 7, you could at least start planting the seeds with a cartoon set after ROTJ, or with Thrawn adaptations.

 

I'd rather there be no build up at all. I'd rather there be a major cluelessness as to what it will be about. no spoilers or leaks.

That would be radical and bodacious. Somewhat bossanova, as the kids say nowadays.

Right?

 

I definitely agree that we'll get something after Episode VII. Or if it's before, it'll be more of a little graphic or something of the sort.

 

While I know the Expanded Universe isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that it's not on the same "canon" level as the films, let's not forgot the tons of previously established post-ROTJ material that already exists out there. While we still don't know how Lucasfilm is going to approach the EU in the future, particularly in regards to Episode VII, I'm thinking there is a good chance that most, if not all, of the EU will be jettisoned, much to my personal dismay, as well as thousands of other fans (although many other fans will be pleased). My guess is they will pick and choose popular EU elements to incorporate into film canon (in some ways similar to how TWC does, although on some occasions there are still some areas where both sources operate just fine).

I know we're all just speculating here, but at this point in time I think it may be a bit too early requesting story ideas for books, comics, etc to bridge the two trilogies, especially considering the massive amount of stuff that's already out there. Give or a take a few years, Episode VII will be fitting in about the current timeline position that the Expanded Universe is at (obviously excluding the distant Legacy series), so there is always a possibility, albeit slim, that everything we have now is the "bridge." I would assume Lucasfilm will be letting us know relatively soon what the future of Expanded Universe will be.

Yes, there's a lot of inane and repetitive stories out there in the EU, but there's also a lot of good, fun stuff to read. It saddens me that some fans are so judgmental and quick to dismiss EU material, simply because it's not film canon or not specifically created by Lucas, but to each his own. As a fan of the entire saga as whole, I've enjoyed and continue to enjoy EU stuff throughout the years, and do appreciate the effort Lucasfilm takes to try and maintain a somewhat cohesive timeline of this massive universe.

 

An inane story can be like junk food- not delightful- but still pleasurable.

I've found pleasure in reading nearly all of the EU, and delight in quite a lot of it.

 

I'm not a huge Matrix fan, but this was awesome:


I'd love to see something similar done in the GFFA to bridge the two trilogies.

 

Yes, I think at the least we'll see some type of comic book mini-series (or regular series) that will "lead up" to Episode VII prior to the film's release.

To make an analogy: Back in Fall 1998, Dark Horse started their self-titled "Star Wars" series, which took place during the Episode 1 era and focused on Ki-Adi Mundi. Very good series, and definitely gave fans a "taste" of what the SW universe was like at that time period.

On a similar note, I have no doubt that Hasbro will start releasing some Episode VII toys prior to the film's release, like they did prior to the opening of Episode 1, i.e. the green-boxed STAP w/Battle Droid & the mail-away Mace Windu, and the "Midnight Madness" red-packaged figures that were released in Early May '99. It was cool to see these, since it just whetted fans' appetites for the film. To a lesser extent, toys were also released prior to Episodes II and III.

 

Based on the way the future EU projects have been refocused on the big three since shortly before the Disney deal, I speculate that they may elect to wrap up The Clone Wars cartoon rapidly and retain that team to produce an identical series set in the 6.5 gap.

 

this is something ive been looking very much forward to, until the news of j.j. being involved. not that he has total control, but i dont see him going along with anything like this at all. disney on the other hand would be foolish however to ignore this from a money standpoint.