| NEWS: Star Wars Rebels - new animated series in 2014 [message #68566] |
Tue, 21 May 2013 01:42 |
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From EW.com ...
'Star Wars Rebels' pilot to launch on Disney Channel -- Exclusive
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Star Wars Rebels, a one-hour animated pilot already in production
at Lucasfilm, is scheduled to premiere in Fall 2014 on the Disney
Channel before the new brand leaps to Disney XD for the ongoing
series, according to Lucasfilm sources.
The series will mine material in the 19 years that follow Episode
III: Revenge of the Sith and precedes the Episode IV: A New Hope.
In other words, using the life of the Skywalker twins as a measure,
the series will be active in the story years that come after their
separation as newborns and before their (unwitting) reunion on the
prison level of the Death Star.
No word on whether the show will feature Darth Vader (who would be
in the Empire's power consolidation years and earning his
reputation) or even pull in a character like Han Solo, the
smuggler and cynic who becomes an unlikely freedom fighter when he
opts to stand with his friends against cosmic odds. The title of
the show is vaguely phrased in a way that any rebel - even a Boba
Fett or Ahsoka Tano.
The series has three executive producers: Dave Filoni, the point
man on The Clone Wars animated series that launched in 2008;
screenwriter and producer Simon Kinberg, whose has a flair for
tonal rewiring and energizing familiar brands with new edge (e.g.:
X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes); and Greg Weisman, whose
credits include well-regarded work on Young Justice and The
Spectacular Spider-Man.
A press release that was being readied Monday morning included a
quote from Kathy Kennedy, the hand-picked successor of George
Lucas as Lucasfilm president as well as an elite producer
(Jurassic Park, Schindler's List) since the 1980s.
"I couldn't be more excited to explore new corners of the Star
Wars universe," Kennedy stated in the release. "I think Star Wars
Rebels will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and
their parents love about Star Wars."
Kennedy, who has brought a new vigor and decisiveness to
Lucasfilm in-house culture that (a bit like Obi Wan Kenobi out
in the lonely desert) seemed to forget some its fiery rebel
heritage as the dust of passing seasons gathered.
Kennedy shocked some observers when she jettisoned a
well-underway Lucasfilm initiative to re-release the prequel
trilogy in 3D. The decision was not cheap but allowed her to
turn all engines toward the new emphasis, an era of stories and
characters that will be most familiar to the fan generation that
sat down in the dark with in the Jedi summers of 1977-1983. The
centerpiece of the new focus is the third trilogy, with a first
installment expected in 2015 or 2016 and directed by J.J. Abrams.
The new venture will put considerable pressure on the creative
team. The animation process is not a fast one although it it was
not clear Monday how long Filoni and his colleagues have been
working on the new show. For the fans who see Kennedy's priorities
as a new hope for the Jedi universe as entertainment, the news of
Star Wars Rebels might bring to mind an exchange from 1977 space
epic with a now-relevant pun: The Rebellion could really use a
good pilot.
UPDATE: A video with Filoni just went live on StarWars.com and
YouTube.
I just wish Disney had had the decency to give The Clone Wars a proper
ending. :-(
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