The Star Wars Live-Action TV Series Is Casting, And There's Not A Jedi In Sight

 



 

This news may have just made my whole week. 

 

MTV is reporting that casting has gotten underway for the live-action Star Wars TV series that has been rumored ever since Episode III came out in theaters. 

 

During the junket for the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing,” star Rose Byrne let slip that Team Lucas is casting a wide net for actors to join the show. “A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it,” she said.

 

According to Lucas, the show will focus on minor characters from the saga and be set in the time period between “Revenge of the Sith” (Episode III) and the original “Star Wars” (Episode IV). The action will follow the Rebel Alliance as it slowly gains strength against the Empire. There will be Stormtroopers, but no Jedi or Darth Vader will appear on screen. As he did with the “Clone Wars” series, Lucas will write and shoot an entire year’s worth of episodes before looking for a cable channel on which to air the series.

 

It's not so much the news that casting has began that has me so excited.  It's more the prospect of a Star Wars show that has absolutely no Jedi's in it.  None, zip, zero, zilch.  This show will be sans Jedi. 

 

I realize that I am in the teeny tiny miniscule minority of Star Wars fans that never really cared for Jedi.  I've been over them for a long time to be honest.  To me, what made Star Wars cool was all the other people.  The smugglers like Han Solo, the X-Wing pilots, the typical soldiers in the rebellion, the bounty hunters...they're the ones who always excited me the most.  Jedi have always seemed sort of boring to me.  Sure, they can do tons of cool stuff, and Lightsabers are pretty much the most badass weapon ever, but personality wise, Jedi are like religious monks.  They're kind of flat and boring. 

 

I have frequently remarked that I believe one of the main failings of the prequel trilogy was the lack of interesting character interaction in the films.  The characters just weren't as loveable as Han, Luke and Leia?  Why?  They're all Jedi.  Han was a cocky smuggler. Luke (at least in the first two films) was a brash young pilot who was eager to prove himself.  Leia was a fiesty tempered princess who also happened to be running an organized interstellar rebellion.  They were interesting characters.  Everyone in the prequel films were all members of the same monastic guild basically.  There were no differing opinions, no clashes of personality.  Therefore, no interesting dialogue.

 

So to hear that the focus of the new TV show will be as far away from Jedi as possible makes me very happy.  I've longed for decades now to see a show based on smugglers and pilots and bounty hunters and rebel soldiers, and it looks like my long wait may finally pay off. 

 

I want to see blaster fights, not lightsaber duels.  I want to see starfighter combat, not force combat.  I want to see a small band of freedom fighters running from an evil glactic empire.  I don't want to see more Jedi waxing philosophical on why they've lost some of their connection to the force.

 

As a great man once said, "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side."

 

I know this is really early, but my hopes are now up really high for this show.  I just hope it doesn't disappoint.

 

(Via IO9)