Should Lucas allow someone else to make an EU movie?

Personally I don't think it should be a movie. I've always felt the EU would make an excellent TV series. You could break down a book into 2 or 3 hour-long episodes, spread out over a 22 episode season. You could probably cover 2 trilogies+ per season, or, actually, could probably fit the whole X-Wing series into a season. That could follow up with the Thrawn trilogy and Dark Empire/DE2 for the next season, then the JAT/I, Jedi/Callista trilogy for season 3, BFC and Corellian trilogies for the fourth season and then, perhaps, the fifth season would be the Hand of Thrawn duology and Union with a season cliff hanger of Vector Prime.

They'd obviously have to recast the heros from the film, but maybe a couple could return (Denis Lawson for Wedge, for example).

Perhaps they could break up the trilogies with stand-alone episodes based on some of the anthologies and short stories.

I think it would be a great treat for the EU fans as well as a way to introduce the EU to new audiences. And since it would be a TV series, the canon-purists could still ignore the TV series and claim only the movies counted.

Most importantly though, would be that it would help carry Star Wars in the public awareness beyond Episode 3 and help sustain it for another 20 years.

 

You got it right:

Yeah, personally, I think it'd be a great idea and you'd probably be able to fit the major/essential EU stories into 5 years and then NJO could get a whole season to itself.

Plus, the way I see it, there would be no harm. Afterall, once Episode 3 is out, Star Wars is basicly over. There will be no more films. All that will be left is Expanded Universe materials such as the novels and comics, so if that is all there will left of Star Wars once the movies are done, why not cater to and support that market?

I don't think it would be a problem as far as canon goes, because since they would always be extensions of the books and comics, those who ignore them can continue to do so. And, afterall, how many TV series are considered "official" extensions of the films they are usually based on? Not many.

I agree an animated adult/anime styled series would be cool, but let's face it, those space battles just wouldn't be the same if they weren't CGI or models. Besides, at this point, CGI can get real good quality at a lower cost. Hell, look at Babylon 5's later seasons. They were able to do that quality 4 or 5 years ago on a low budget, imagine what you could do today with all the advances in CGI technology- just look at the various Star Wars/B5/Trek fan films and several have pretty great quality effects work on a next to nothing budget. I could only imagine professionals could do just as well if not better.

And from a marketing stand point, like i said above, if all that remains (as far as new content is concerned) of Star Wars after episode 3 will be the EU, why not exploit that?

Besides, Lucas probably wouldn't mind having a TV series to test out new film technologies on like he did with the Young Indy Chronicles (where they first experimented with several effects techniques that were later used for the prequels and other ILM-effects films).

 

Well, I was basing that on the idea that each book would be adapted into a 2 or 3 hour script, spread out over 2 or 3 episode, each an hour in length. You'd obviously have to trim or rewrite some material to fit within that timeframe. But thats the way with any book adaptation. And like I said above, if it is, say, 3 episodes per book- you'd be able to fit a trilogy into 9 episodes. You could do another trilogy in that same time span bringing it to 18 episodes. Assuming you are working with a 22 episode season, that leaves 4 more episodes to either do a stand-alone book (ala Shadow Hunter or Truce at Bakura) or several single-episode stories based on the Anthologies or other short story collections.

So, if you have 2+ trilogies per season, in five seasons you could do the equivilent to ten trilogies + 20 single-book or single-episode stories.

I think that would be ample enough space to present the "essential" expanded universe in a live action format. You'd probably have room left to work in some new tie-in material to bridge the various trilogies.

 

(part 1 of 2)

You're right about it not feeling quite as continuous, but there are ways to do semi-anthology shows properly. I imagine setting a time frame prior to each episode would help viewers place things in their mind. The show could be called Star Wars Tales, SW Chronicles, SW Universe, etc to imply this.

Ok, I'm gonna post this in both this thread and the other related one to cover all my bases (All your base belong to...sorry )

This is an example of how an EU TV series could pan out as a semi-anthology epic series.


2 Hour Premiere- Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire

Season 1- "Birth of the New Republic"

Episode 1- Shadows of the Empire, part 1
Episode 2- Shadows of the Empire, part 2
Episode 3- Shadows of the Empire, part 3
Episode 4- The Truce at Bakura, part 1
Episode 5- The Truce at Bakura, part 2
Episode 6- Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, part 1
Episode 7- Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, part 2
Episode 8- Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, part 1
Episode 9- Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, part 2
Episode 10- Twin Engines of Destruction
Episode 11- X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, part 1
Episode 12- X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, part 2
Episode 13- X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, part 3
Episode 14- X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, part 1
Episode 15- X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, part 2
Episode 16- X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, part 3
Episode 17- X-Wing: The Krytos Trap, part 1
Episode 18- X-Wing: The Krytos Trap, part 2
Episode 19- X-Wing: The Krytos Trap, part 3
Episode 20- X-Wing: The Bacta War, part 1
Episode 21- X-Wing: The Bacta War, part 2
Episode 22- X-Wing: The Bacta War, part 3

2 Hour Special- Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

Season 2- "Empire Resurgent"

Episode 1- X-Wing: Wraith Squadron, part 1
Episode 2- X-Wing: Wraith Squadron, part 2
Episode 3- X-Wing: Wraith Squadron, part 3
Episode 4- X-Wing: Iron Fist, part 1
Episode 5- X-Wing: Iron Fist, part 2
Episode 6- X-Wing: Iron Fist, part 3
Episode 7- X-Wing: Solo Command, part 1
Episode 8- X-Wing: Solo Command, part 2
Episode 9- X-Wing: Solo Command, part 3
Episode 10- Courtship of Princess Leia
Episode 11- Heir to the Empire, part 1
Episode 12- Heir to the Empire, part 2
Episode 13- Heir to the Empire, part 3
Episode 14- Dark Force Rising, part 1
Episode 15- Dark Force Rising, part 2
Episode 16- Dark Force Rising, part 3
Episode 17- The Last Command, part 1
Episode 18- The Last Command, part 2
Episode 19- The Last Command, part 3
Episode 20- X-Wing: Isard's Revenge, part 1
Episode 21- X-Wing: Isard's Revenge, part 2
Episode 22- X-Wing: Isard's Revenge, part 3

2 Hour Special- (An Episode 2/Episode 3-era story)

Season 3- "The New Guardians of Peace and Justice"

Episode 1- Dark Empire, part 1
Episode 2- Dark Empire, part 2
Episode 3- Dark Empire ][, part 1
Episode 4- Dark Empire ][, part 2
Episode 5- Empire's End
Episode 6- Crimson Empire
Episode 7- I, Jedi/Jedi Search, part 1
Episode 8- I, Jedi/Jedi Search, part 2
Episode 9- I, Jedi/Jedi Search, part 3
Episode 10- I, Jedi/Dark Apprentice, part 1
Episode 11- I, Jedi/Dark Apprentice, part 2
Episode 12- I, Jedi/Dark Apprentice, part 3
Episode 13- I, Jedi/Champions of the Force, part 1
Episode 14- I, Jedi/Champions of the Force, part 2
Episode 15- I, Jedi/Champions of the Force, part 3
Episode 16- Children of the Jedi
Episode 17- Darksaber, part 1
Episode 18- Darksaber, part 2
Episode 19- Darksaber, part 3
Episode 20- X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar, part 1
Episode 21- X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar, part 2
Episode 22- X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar, part 3

2 Hour Special- TIE Fighter

Season 4- "End of an Era"

Episode 1- Before the Storm, part 1
Episode 2- Before the Storm, part 2
Episode 3- Before the Storm, part 3
Episode 4- Shield of Lies, part 1
Episode 5- Shield of Lies, part 2
Episode 6- Shield of Lies, part 3
Episode 7- Tyrant's Test, part 1
Episode 8- Tyrant's Test, part 2
Episode 9- Ambush at Corellia, part 1
Episode 10- Ambush at Corellia, part 2
Episode 11- Assault at Selonia, part 1
Episode 12- Assault at Selonia,

 

(2 of 2)

Season 5- "The New Jedi Order"

Episode 1- Vector Prime, part 1
Episode 2- Vector Prime, part 2
Episode 3- Vector Prime, part 3
Episode 4- Dark Tide: Onslaught, part 1
Episode 5- Dark Tide: Onslaught, part 2
Episode 6- Dark Tide: Ruin, part 1
Episode 7- Dark Tide: Ruin, part 2
Episode 8- Dark Tide: Ruin, part 3
Episode 9- Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, part 1
Episode 10- Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, part 2
Episode 11- Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, part 1
Episode 12- Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, part 2
Episode 13- Balance Point, part 1
Episode 14- Balance Point, part 2
Episode 15- Balance Point, part 3
Episode 16- Edge of Victory: Conquest, part 1
Episode 17- Edge of Victory: Conquest, part 2
Episode 18- Edge of Victory: Rebirth, part 1
Episode 19- Edge of Victory: Rebirth, part 2
Episode 20- Star By Star, part 1
Episode 21- Star By Star, part 2
Episode 22- Star By Star, part 3

2 Hour Special- "Dark Journey"

Season 6- "Balance of the Force"

Episode 1- Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream, part 1
Episode 2- Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream, part 2
Episode 3- Enemy Lines: Rebel Stand, part 1
Episode 4- Enemy Lines: Rebel Stand, part 2
Episode 5- Traitor, part 1
Episode 6- Traitor, part 2
Episode 7- Traitor, part 3
Episode 8- Destiny's Road, part 1
Episode 9- Destiny's Road, part 2
Episode 10- Destiny's Road, part 3
Episode 11- Force Heretic : Remnant, part 1
Episode 12- Force Heretic : Remnant, part 2
Episode 13- Force Heretic : Refugee, part 1
Episode 14- Force Heretic : Refugee, part 2
Episode 15- Force Heretic : Reunion, part 1
Episode 16- Force Heretic : Reunion, part 2
Episode 17- (New Jedi Order Final Paperback to be Announced), part 1
Episode 18- (New Jedi Order Final Paperback to be Announced), part 2
Episode 19- (New Jedi Order Final Paperback to be Announced), part 3
Episode 20- (New Jedi Order Final Hardcover to be Announced), part 1
Episode 21- (New Jedi Order Final Hardcover to be Announced), part 2
Episode 22- (New Jedi Order Final Hardcover to be Announced), part 3

2 Hour Special- Either "Young Jedi Knights 2" OR "Rebel Alliance" (Tell the tale of the Death Star plans and the early days of the alliance, tying in the story with both Soldier for the Empire, material from the ANH Radio Drama and then end with a lead-in to A New Hope itself)

(If a seventh season is possible [and why not, freakin' Voyager got 7 years, why can't we?] I would suggest doing "Tales of the Jedi" era stories as I map out below and makes things come full circle with the Jedi vs Sith...but you could also concievably go for post-NJO stories as well)-

Season 7- "Tales of the Jedi"

Episode 1- Golden Age of the Sith, part 1
Episode 2- Golden Age of the Sith, part 2
Episode 3- Golden Age of the Sith, part 3
Episode 4- Fall of the Sith Empire, part 1
Episode 5- Fall of the Sith Empire, part 2
Episode 6- Fall of the Sith Empire, part 3
Episode 7- Knights of the Old Republic, part 1
Episode 8- Knights of the Old Republic, part 2
Episode 9- Knights of the Old Republic, part 3
Episode 10- The Freedon Nadd Uprising
Episode 11- Dark Lords of the Sith, part 1
Episode 12- Dark Lords of the Sith, part 2
Episode 13- Dark Lords of the Sith, part 3
Episode 14- Dark Lords of the Sith, part 4
Episode 15- The Sith War, part 1
Episode 16- The Sith War, part 2
Episode 17- The Sith War, part 3
Episode 18- The Sith War, part 4
Episode 19- Redemption, part 1
Episode 20- Redemption, part 2
Episode 21- Redemption, part 3
Episode 22- Redemption, part 4

2 Hour special- Jedi vs. Sith

If there was to be a Season 8 or beyond, I would suggest Episode 1-era EU or, again, whatever is post-NJO...but I think 7 seasons would be more than sufficient.

 

I wanted to add also that I mapped all that out simple to give an example of one way you could spread out the EU in a way that works well as a whole but can also be taken on a season-by-season basis (I tried to illustrate this by choosing appropriate places to end a season at and start the next from).

Now, obviously, some stories may end up longer than others, so in many ways, that concept blueprint above can be altered to give some stories additional episodes and other stories fewer. Heck, many could probably be shortened to 2 episodes even though I've planned for 3. That would make excellent room for pure-anthology episodes based upon the short stories published in various forms (gamer, tales, anthology, etc) or even some other one-shots such as Enemy of the Empire, etc.

I also again apologzie for the redundant postings to both threads but I figure I'd cover all my ground with this one since i bothered to lay everything out.

 

>>Nice ideas Quest!<<

thanks

>>I don't think SotE should be in the series, as it's before RotJ. Put it out on Video though. <<

Well, with SFTE and SOTE, they do take place prior to ROTJ, but I figure it would be good to start the series on familiar ground during the classic trilogy. It also meshes well with the idea of a semi-anthology and sets the stage for future episodes to tell tales that take place during the films as well. SOTE also sets up Black Sun and makes a logical connection between ESB and ROTJ. However, I could see the decision to do entirely post-ROTJ stories could be valid. But then SOTE seems to be enjoyed alot by people (and I'm certain some people on these boards wouldn't have any objections of seeing Xizor ) so it would be a good way of getting things off to a good start.

>>You're gonna have difficulties with I, Jedi and Academy Trilogy, as they cover different amounts of time span, and have slight contradictions (i tihnk, i actually haven't read Academy Trilogy) <<

Well, that's why I listed "I, Jedi" at the same time as the JAT. The series could integrate the two (starting with Corran Horn's part prior to JAT, and then go into Jedi Search, integrating Horn's parts throughout the whole series, and then following Horn's adventures after the events in JAT.) I, Jedi would essentially become the bookend story to the JAT, with parts added to the middle.

>>Very good, but what would happen if I missed an episode!!! <<

Well, you'd have to wait for the DVD, I guess...but then, as Star Wars fans, that's something we're used to, isn't it?:

There's always reruns

...or you could just read the books again;;D