A New Hope: The Future of Star Wars
by Reg Seeton

The Video Game Galaxy:

Although the video game industry predates Star Wars by 6 years, with Pong invented in 1971, both have grown up in chorus with one another. Given the soaring revenues generated from the exploding video game market, the future of Star Wars will always include games. Although all 6 feature films have generated billions at the box office, the video game market is outpacing and surpassing Hollywood like never before. With recent first week sales of Grand Theft Auto IV totaling upwards of half a billion dollars, it’s safe to say that the upcoming September release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be a windfall for Lucasfilm, especially on the heels of the animated Clone Wars as a marketing lead in. At last count, over 60 Star Wars video games have been released over the years since 1982. While fans might be longing for more feature films, the video game industry has proven it doesn’t need the big screen to be successful. When the animated film and series hit the scene in the near future, along with the planned live-action series, the future of Star Wars in the gaming world will be stronger than it ever has been.

Live-Action Longevity - The Law & Order Factor:

Now that the franchise is three decades old, how will Star Wars cater to its aging fan base? It very well might come in the form of the upcoming live-action series slated for 2010. As much as I believe many deeper aspects of Star Wars would be better served in animated form, so much can be explored in a live-action TV series if done right. Still, anything live-action on TV comes with certain confines and restrictions. If the future doesn’t include live-action feature films, making the franchise accessible to a mainstream audience via television on an ongoing basis is the best possible move to ensure live-action longevity. As well, it certainly opens up the franchise to explore uncultivated dramatic layers through various characters, sub-plots and arcs that wouldn’t (or couldn’t) be explored in a live-action feature film. That’s not to mention the many new characters and storylines that could also be spun-off into other shows and to other mediums. Think about it, with 120 minutes to work with in a film, only so much ground can be covered. In a long running TV series, all corners of the galaxy can be explored.

Since many Star Wars fans are now adults, the upcoming live-action TV series might be the perfect bridge between a new animated series, the video game universe, and a lack of feature films. In 2007 at Celebration Europe, producer Rick McCallum elaborated on the live action TV series, its tone and target audience, "As I said before, it’s a much darker, much more character-based series, much more adult, and we’re hoping that it will go on for up to 400 episodes." Assuming that we could expect at least 20 episodes a season, 400 episodes would mean 20 years of Star Wars on the small-screen. If there’s any one property in the entertainment world that could outlive Law & Order and Gunsmoke as the two longest running shows in TV history, it’s without a doubt Star Wars. From an economical standpoint, at $1 million per episode, it would take at least 10 years to even come close to the budget of one live action feature film. In terms of the affect on future generations of fans, a 20 year live action Star Wars series could have a much greater impact across several generations than any of the films, original trilogy or prequels.

The Verdict:

If you have any doubts whether the Stars Wars franchise will still hold the same magic as it did for the original trilogy purists or the prequel generation, think again. In its current state, with big plans for the future, Star Wars might have an even bigger impact on future generations. Although the first trilogy kick started the franchise and the prequel trilogy continued the saga for a new generation of fans, giving them their own trilogy, the future of Star Wars looks brighter than ever. What wasn’t explored in the first 30 years will undoubtedly be harvested for up and coming generations to enjoy. It’s staggering to think that if the live-action series does end up running for 20 years, the entire Star Wars landscape will be transformed into something we’ve never seen or known. In many ways, the up and coming future fans are lucky. Like Obi-Wan told Luke in the first film, which is relevant to every fan’s experience with the Star Wars franchise, "Your destiny is different than mine."