Earlier this month, Cinelinx reported that Netflix and Disney are developing three Star Wars live action shows.
Last March, Cinelinx reported that Netflix and Disney were establishing a shooting schedule for the Star Wars shows so they could easily shoot in between films and use the same sets. These schedules may or may not already lock in certain films, but it seems the main reason for locking in these schedules is so Disney and Lucasfilm know both where they can film and what personnel they need.
It seems that this rumor is accurate, as the announcement of the Han Solo centric film with Christopher Miller and Phil Lord is the second Star Wars anthology film. Disney also scheduled Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Daredevil Season 2, meaning their schedules are more firm and they now know what they can and cannot add to it.
Cinelinx reported that Disney and Lucasfilm are looking for develop three films for Netflix and develop a similar deal that Marvel and Netflix have with their Defenders series. Apparently, the enormous success of Daredevil Season One has led to Netflix agreeing to work with Disney for cheap.
This is good for Disney, Lucasfilm, and Netflix. It allows Lucasfilm to have more, new Star Wars content in between the long wait for the films. Netflix can create genre content and work with studios that have a solid track record. Disney can continue to take advantage of their treasure trove of intellectual properties and expand their empire.
There is reason to believe that this rumor is true. Netflix released the final season of The Clone Wars and is rapidly growing, both in terms of acquisitions for subscribers and original content. Disney has always been great at keeping up with growing trends and helping Netflix grow can be beneficial to both companies.
However, keep in mind that the new Star Wars universe and The Force Awakens, no matter how good it looks now, cannot be truly judged until we actually see it in action. If general audiences are unimpressed with the film, then this rumor may just disappear into the ether.
If The Force Awakens is the hit it is shaping up to be, however, I suspect we will get three types of tv shows. One show may focus on the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. This could focus on the changes in the Empire and Rebel Alliance as they change their identities to the First Order and Resistance respectively.
The second show could focus on the present day Star Wars- post The Force Awakens events. While I’m not sure what exactly would be in the show, as in terms of storylines and types of characters, it stands to reason that Disney will want to be looking to supplement the viewer’s experience from The Force Awakens. They’ll want to focus on a character like Finn, Poe, and Rey while reminding audiences why they loved The Force Awakens in the first place.
I would consider creating a third show during the Clone Wars and the time of the prequels. It would give Lucasfilm and Disney a chance to fix some of the many problems with the prequels and tone. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if a show was in development that was set hundreds of years before the events of the Skywalker saga.
D23 has come and gone, as well as TCA, and we haven’t heard anything further on these rumors. Does this debunk or lessen the chances of a live action Star Wars television series? Its hard to say, because Disney has done this before when dealing with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel didn’t officially seal the Doctor Strange deal at last years Comic Con, and thus planned a large scale press coverage event in late October of last year when they revealed their slate for Phase 3.
If Disney does have more information for their live action projects to be announced, I could see them holding a mysterious press event like this again. It won them even more fan appreciation, as it was largely a fan event, but imagine if they held the same event for Star Wars. Star Wars has much more goodwill from fans to still make up, so imagine having Kathleen Kennedy or J.J. Abrams come on stage and talk about the future of a galaxy far, far away? They already have their directors for episode 9, the Han Solo and Rogue One stories, and it would be a great place to announce more information about episode 8,9, and other anthology stories.
What do you think? Will we see a galaxy far, far away on Netflix? Sound off in the comments below!
