That’s right. There are some new details about the new live-action TV show, written and directed by Jon Favreau. While the new information is limited, the implications are big. Let’s discuss!
This news comes from Joh Favreau himself, from the red carpet at the Solo premiere. The big scoop is that the new live-action show will take place 7 years after A New Hope, which puts it 32 years before The Force Awakens. We also learn that several of the episodes have already been written. The possibilities are huge, given that this time period stands at the crossroads of a lot of much-loved Star Wars stories. Consider that the show is:
- 7 years after the battle of Yavin, New Republic would be forming
- The First Order would be forming
- After the battle of Jakku
- The new Star Wars Animated Show will be close to if not overlap this time
- Snoke probably met the First Order around this time
- A few years after the Rebels series finale epilogue where Ahsoka, Hera, and Sabine go to find Ezra
- Luke could be starting a new Jedi order
- Jacen Syndula, the son of Hera and Kanan Jarrus would be a teenager or close to it
Clearly, the possibilities for world-building are huge. This show has the potential to introduce new characters as well as build connective tissue into the other storylines that it intersects. The show will feature new characters, so time will tell on how much will be completely new stories, and how much will interface with other stories:
Exclusive: @Jon_Favreau confirms that his live action #StarWars series takes place 7 years after Battle of Endor, between #ReturnOfTheJedi and #TheForceAwakens. Will feature all new characters, using cutting edge tech a la THE JUNGLE BOOK. Story coming to @nerdist… pic.twitter.com/iRyPS8hPDR
— Dan Casey (@DanCasey) May 11, 2018
You’ll notice that the tweet says “Battle of Endor”, but the quote from Favreau is “battle of Yavin”, as seen in this clip from Nerdist.
The fact that it features new characters doesn’t mean that it won’t touch on other content. He does mention that it “fits with the timeline”, so how it fits is unclear, but to me this suggest some sort of interface with existing characters. I think, in part due to the success of Marvel’s cinematic universe in creating highly-connected content, Lucasfilm will start to build connections more and more. OK, so that’s speculation on my part, but the fact that they are creating new shows around this time period, to me suggests they are constructing story lines that almost can’t help but overlap. I believe that fans love it when there are real meaningful connections. When it seems a bit forced if not contrived (i.e. Ponda Baba and Dr Evazan on Jedha in Rogue One). But when characters are developed further by new information and intersecting stories that enrich the narrative are well appreciated.
One important piece of information to all of this is that according to Favreau, the show will feature
“cutting edge tech a la THE JUNGLE BOOK.”
This little detail is huge. Let’s consider what this technology brings to the table. For example, check out this video here and this one here. In particular, they discuss the photo-real animation of animal characters, and interactive bluescreen environments that help lead to realistic CG environments. While Lucasfilm is obviously no slouch at realistic animated characters, one could wonder how much tech they will put into the TV show. TV often gets a little less funded than movies historically. This is a different era, however. We’re in the era of Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things, TV shows that have garnered a huge viewing audience, and a sizable budget for realistic effects. Therefore, it sounds like we can expect some pretty cool and imaginative characters and environments that aren’t limited by a smaller TV show budget.
Overall, I’m excited to hear more. The proximity to the OT will certainly lead to a lot of fun speculation, so stay tuned for more details on this show. We’ll be back to discuss them!
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