Star Wars live action series: how grownup is too grownup?

[Temis the Vorta]

The problem with the live-action series.

But according to longtime Lucas producer Rick McCallum, there's a bigger obstacle than the show's finances: It's not exactly family-friendly...What's got McCallum more worried is how to sell the show's adult content and still maintain the Star Wars brand.

"Our biggest problem is that these stories are adult. I mean...these are like Deadwood in space. It so unlike anything you've ever associated with George before in relation to Star Wars. These aren't for kids. I mean, we hope they'll watch, but it's not being targeted at 8-to-9 year old boys."

It's possible to make Star Wars that is "grown up" but not "adult." McCallum is right that Deadwood is outside the Star Wars brand, but doesn't need to be like Deadwood to have appeal to grown ups. The series doesn't need to be "gritty" (to use an overused term) by having the sex and violence of a cable series, and the overarching sense of doom and the futility of human existence blah blah blah.

Star Wars' essential character is that it doesn't exist in that kind of "real world." It exists in a stylized cosmos derived from myth, which has a deliberate air of unreality about it. Regardless of whether you think there's some kind of "eternal clash between good and evil" in our universe, there's one in the Star Wars universe, and in fact, that's the single defining element of that universe.

So the Deadwood approach would be off-brand even if it were as sanitized as Sesame Street. It exists in the wrong universe.

To have a grown-up Star Wars simply would mean more complexity and depth to personalities and politics. The OT was pretty simple (if effective) in that regard; a TV series would give you more latitude to play with. There could even be more theological/metaphysical complexity, delving more into the actual meaning of the "eternal clash between good and evil."

The violence never needs to get worse than PG - the good guys fighting and killing actual flesh and blood beings, not just robots, but not necessarily in a graphic way. And sex has always struck me as out of place in Star Wars. Leia's bikini is about as far as they need to take it.

Basically, take the approach of The Clone Wars and put less emphasis on action, and more on the characters and the complexity of the storyline. You could have a show that a smart eight year old could follow, but wouldn't bore a grown-up.

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

That sounds... kinda awesome.

Anyways, what you do is what Batman is doing. They release a kids cartoon (Brave and the Bold - my 3 and 5 year old nephews love it). They release a more mature Batman cartoon (The Batman, Direct to DVD movies, Timm-verse Batman, etc etc), and then they also release the adult Batman (Nolan movies) stuff. It's all about effective targeted marketing.

Also I don't really see why they have to reach "Deadwood" levels of maturity. Hell, just hitting a Farscape/Angel/DS9/LOST level of maturity would be more than enough.

[ManOnTheWave]

No matter what they say they want to do, it is not going to be Deadwood. If it ever happens.

[Temis the Vorta]

Yeah, it would end up as a pathetic and misguided attempt to be Deadwood - the worst possible thing.

[cylkoth]

Stone_Cold_Sisko wrote:

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Also I don't really see why they have to reach "Deadwood" levels of maturity. Hell, just hitting a Farscape/Angel/DS9/LOST level of maturity would be more than enough.

Thank you. I was going to post something similar-namely, the original Trek was a 10pm show, that didn't stop young-ins like me from watching once it hit rerun syndication.
The assumation that you can't be adult without tossing in cuss words and naked boobies is really tiresome. Just tell a good frickin story (that makes sense!), and everybody will line up for it.
It's Star Wars stupid.

[Temis the Vorta]

For all we know, "scruffy nerfherder" is as salacious as anything Al Swearegen ever spewed at the screen. And "sithspawn" definitely sounds nasty.

[Captaindemotion]

How do you say ''cocksucker' in Huttese?

[doubleohfive]

[Temis the Vorta]

[JD]

Yeah, I don't really see the need to take things up to a "Deadwood" level of content. Like Temis said, they just need make the stories a little more complex, and maybe get into some darker themes for it to be more "adult". They really don't need all of the sex/nudity, graphic violence, or languarge for adults to get into it.

[RandyS]

JD wrote:

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Yeah, I don't really see the need to take things up to a "Deadwood" level of content. Like Temis said, they just need make the stories a little more complex.

Actually, what they need is to make the stories, period.

After seven years, I've given up waiting for this show.

[Captaindemotion]

doubleohfive wrote:

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This.

Is.

Genius.

That is all.

[Relayer1]

There was a LOT of interest in this a while ago. If they don't get it moving soon, no-one will care.

Oh, wait...

[Admiral James Kirk]

ManOnTheWave wrote:

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No matter what they say they want to do, it is not going to be Deadwood. If it ever happens.

I'm the biggest George Lucas fan in the multiverse and even i don't buy McCallum's load.

[Icemizer]

I would definitely watch a Star Wars as dark as Deadwood.