Entertainment Weekly is reporting that George Lucas is still intent on creating two Star Wars spin-off TV series.  Lucas and Episode III animation director Rob Coleman are proceeding on a computer-animated series set during the Clone Wars, which should be the first of the two series to air, though no network is involved yet.  Unlike most producers who have to get network backing before embarking on the actual filming of a project, Lucas is likely to self-finance the animated series as well as a dark and edgy live action series set between Episodes 3 & 4. 

 

Star Wars producer Rick McCallum is starting to interview writers for the live action series, which will be shot in high-def and has a projected budget of about $1.8 million per episode.  In the unlikely event that no network wants to air the series, Lucas told EW, 'Let's say we make 13 episodes, try to sell them and nobody wants them, it's okay! We'll put them on DVD.'  By extending the Star Wars saga on the small screen (see 'Lucas Plans 2 Star Wars TV Series') as was decided well before the release of the final Star Wars film, Lucasfilm should be able to maintain at least a portion of the giant Star Wars licensing revenue stream.

 

In other Lucasfilm TV news, Rick McCallum is also working on preparing the Young Indiana Jones Chonricles TV series for DVD.  The 30-episode Young Indy series ran on network TV from 1992-1993, and the folks at Lucasfilm have an ambitious plan for the DVD series that includes up to 95 short documentary films providing the historical context for the various episodes.  So far only about 3 of the projected 22 DVDs have been completed (and about half of the documentaries), so don't look for the release of the Young Indiana Jones for about 18 months.