Star Trek’ has always been more successful as a TV show, but now ABC is looking to compete by bringing ‘Star Wars’ to the small screen! With the network’s close affiliation with Disney (Disney owns ABC) and its success with Marvel’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it should come as no surprise that the network would want to get in on ‘Star Wars’ as well. During the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour in Beverly Hills, we learned that not only is ABC interested but that talks were already underway in order to try and bring stories from a galaxy far far away to the small screen!
When asked about an interest in having such a show, Entertainment President Channing Dungey stated that:
“Oh, as a fan, I would absolutely love to say ‘Yes,’. The conversations with Lucas, we have had conversations with them and will continue to have conversations with them. I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to extend that brand into our programming.”
So that there was no confusion on what she was stating, Dungey clarified after the panel that:
“It’s all a little bit hush-hush. That company exists under a big shroud of secrecy. If you feel Marvel’s secretive, [Lucasfilm] takes it to a whole other level … [Talks] are ongoing. We don’t have an official timeline yet.”
While it has never been confirmed that this concept is for a live-action series, it seems unlikely that ABC would go the animated route with ‘Star Wars Rebels‘ currently running on Disney XD. With their track record of working with Marvel, it feels like they would go the same route.
The problem that we could see ABC running into ,though, is the cost of producing such a series. The last time a ‘Star Wars’ live-action show was pitched there were 50 scripts worth of episodes written and while everyone loved it, there was just no way to work it into any kind of a budget outside of HBO who wouldn’t touch it due to lacking ownership rights.
Would you be interested in seeing ABC bring a ‘Star Wars’ series to the small screen or would you prefer Netflix be given the option to bring these stories to life who have had a better budget and track record with Marvel properties? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
