live-actionTV "Star Wars: Underworld" -Info, Pics, Rumors, Casting

[jefferiestubes8]

Variety's Vulture had an article up late yesterday:
The Star Wars TV Show May Get Some Play at ABC
where they mention:

A potentially great side effect of Disney purchasing Lucasfilm: That Star Wars TV show — the adult-oriented one that's been likened to "Deadwood in space" — may actually happen sometime this decade. Fifty scripts overseen by recently departed Lucasfilm producer Rick McCallum have been sitting on a shelf for a while, and they now look a little more viable with ABC right there in the corporate family.

Entertainment Weekly noted yesterday:

The financials for a big-budget TV show are more compelling if the license fee and other income sources stay in the family. Already one Star Wars-related project is in the works for kids network Disney XD. Cartoon Network's popular and innovative animated title The Clone Wars will likely shift to XD after its current deal expires.

While the 2015 release date for the next feature film affects the TV show I will bet we will see the TV series before 2020. Disney XD will be the wrong place for a dark TV series. If they water it down it could work on a high quality cable network that Disney may be grooming for the next half dozen years. Broadcast ABC network I think is also not a great fit at the moment.

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

 

[Hunter X]

Interesting that the EW article mentions Ron Moore as one of the writers of those 50 scripts. I hadn't seen his name in connection to the show before.

 

[Icemizer]

They own half of A&E so it could end up there.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If the live action TV series ever sees the light of day, it's very unlikely to have any resemblance to Deadwood. Disney owns the brand now, there's zero chance that they will allow the brand to be dragged that far away from the family-friendly image that they will want to maintain.

EW noted that merchandising is a big part of the equation, that means selling toys to kids, so it's gotta be something kids can watch. Disney might go for something that hits the tone of Once Upon a Time, that parents and kids can watch together.

One of the writers on that show is a big Star Wars fan and there was an episode that basically retold Anakin's story (except now he was called Rumplestiltskin) and did a better job of it in one hour than the prequels did in six. There're your showrunner.

 

[Captain Craig]

And it begins again. This time though as noted, with ABC in the family, traction is likely to take hold. Other than the Disney channel does the Entertainment giant own any other cable channels? Is it just ABC and Disney Channel?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: live-actionTV "Star Wars: Underworld" development - channel

Other than the Disney channel does the Entertainment giant own any other cable channels? Is it just ABC and Disney Channel?

target demographic Pre-schoolers

Playhouse Disney
Disney Junior

target demographic Elementary schoolers

ABC Kids
Disney XD

target demographic Middle and high schoolers/families

ABC Kids
Disney Channel
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNEWS
ABC News+
Eyewitness News Channel
ESPNU
ESPN Classic

target demographic Adults

ABC
ABC Family
SOAPnet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_channels_owned_by_Disney

they could go with Disney Channel or ABC Family if they really want to raise up those channels in 5-10 years. Television could be a somewhat different marketplace by then. Disney just signed an exclusive agreement with Netflix for movies.

of note:

Netflix subscribers will also get to see Lucasfilm’s Star Wars franchise, which Disney acquired earlier this year. While the next Star Wars release is set for 2015 and Starz will have the rights, all films released thereafter will be available on Netflix.

http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2012/12/12/what-the-netflix-disney-deal-means-for-you/

and

Disney's shows and movies are currently aired on Starz network but starting in 2016, only Netflix's subscribers can watch Disney's titles from Walt Disney Animation, Marvel, Pixar and Disneynature on their TV's, computers, phones and tablets. Netflix will also have Pay-TV rights over new Dreamworks releases from 2013 onward.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1066321-the-force-is-strong-with-the-netflix-disney-deal

Disney could be laying the groundwork for the next SW TV series streaming on Netflix.

 

[TemporalFlux]

The other thing to consider is that the television series could share resources with the films. Million dollar sets, effects, etc. can just be redressed and repurposed. It's been a standard in Hollywood for decades (i.e. Universal Studios Sliders episode "Slidecage" using, at no cost, the main set built for the cancelled Universal Studios Timecop series).

With films in constant production (I believe the word was one every three years), the television series could look like a blockbuster at a fraction of the cost. That's something Licas didn't have when he was trying to get the tv series going; Lucas wasn't making Star Wars films then and didn't want to make Star Wars films.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It would make sense for Disney to release a Star Wars live action series on ABC, ABC Family or A&E first, and then Netflix streaming after X amount of time, to avoid cannibalization. That way, the audience that wants to see the show immediately (with ads) can do so, and anyone who prefers no-ad streaming has to wait. The tradeoff is ads vs time, and everyone decides for themselves.

Of course I'm not counting DVR timeshifting, but that's just another kind of payment since you need to subscribe to something (cable, Aereo) to do that. (If a form of DVR timeshifting exists that requires only that you buy equipment, with no further subscription expense of any kind, somebody please tell me about it! )

 

[Sindatur]

It would make sense for Disney to release a Star Wars live action series on ABC first, and then Netflix streaming after X amount of time, to avoid cannibalization. That way, the audience that wants to see the show immediately (with ads) can do so, and anyone who prefers no-ad streaming has to wait. The tradeoff is ads vs time, and everyone decides for themselves.

Of course I'm not counting DVR timeshifting, but that's just another kind of payment since you need to subscribe to something (cable, Aereo) to do that. (If a form of DVR timeshifting exists that requires only that you buy equipment, with no further subscription expense of any kind, somebody please tell me about it! )

Ah, but, alot of shows on On Demand now, during their first week after initial airing, you can't fst forward through the ads, and I believe DVR recordings of those same shows act the same way. So, you're still stuck with ads, even if you don't watch it live with many shows

 

[Temis the Vorta]

For my money, the only purpose of a DVR is to zap ads, and I have no use for On Demand at all. Never even tried it, probably never will.

 

[Captain Craig]

Thanks Jeffery. My curiosity was about if they had a channel comparable to say a TNT/TBS/USA network where material that was less Disney-central might be shown. That list didn't appear to have one.

Disney at one point, maybe they still do, own Touchstone Films. I thought they might own Dimension as well. I read a thread somewhere and it was brought up that those might be the umbrella outlets to see perhaps a Marvel Knights release for harder, darker characters like Blade, Punisher, Ghost Rider etc at some point.

 

[C.E. Evans]

There sure are a lot of "ifs" and "maybes" in that article. Seems more like wishful thinking by the writer more than anything else...