It’s safe to say that the Star Wars franchise has been well and truly revived – with the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, and the development of Episodes VIII and IX, along with a number of Anthology films. But, can we expect further developments in the realm of television? Such a universe expansion has long been rumoured, and ABC Entertainment President, Channing Dungey, was questioned on the issue recently at the Television Critics Association. His response was as predictably vague as it was tantalizing.
“As a fan, I would absolutely love to say ‘Yes’. We have had conversations, and we will continue to have conversations with Lucasfilm. It would be wonderful to extend the franchise.”
It all goes back to Disney. It’s been a pattern that the giant entertainment corporation has expanded its properties into television wherever possible. It worked, most notably, with Marvel, and the company also recently rebooted its Muppets properties into new TV shows. Surely a universe as filled with potential as Star Wars would qualify?
The possibilities are endless, and could well provide an opportunity for Disney to appease the fans that are clamouring for specific characters to be handed their own Anthology films. The idea of a The Wonder Years style show focusing on the early years of Chewbacca, for example, would surely be a ratings winner.
Undoubtedly, it will boil down to budgetary constraints, but with a creative behemoth like LucasFilm steering the ship, we might yet be in luck. What we can be certain of, is that if a Star Wars TV series is announced, the characters and scenarios included in it will give an indication of future plans for the movie universe, by contrast.
