I don't know if we're ready for the impact Disney's streaming service is going to have. It's going to be huge. Disney already has the world's biggest franchises under its belt, and a big part of the reason for the Fox acquisition was to acquire even more content. And one of the biggest draws of the service will be the various Star Wars projects that will be exclusive to it, including Jon Favreau's live-action TV series, which is shaping up to be gigantic and very expensive.
The New York Times did an extensive piece on Disney exec Rick Strauss, and he revealed some info on the service and the Star Wars series. “Quality is going to be critical,” Strauss said, and that quality comes at a price: reportedly $100M for 10 episodes. Damn. Yeah, that means each episode is going to cost more than most of the flicks you'll see at the local arthouse theater.
Favreau added, “Star Wars is a big world, and Disney’s new streaming service affords a wonderful opportunity to tell stories that stretch out over multiple chapters.”
Disney is sparing no expense, not just with Star Wars but on every project, whether it be feature film or series. The shows will have budgets between $25M and $35M, while films could reach as high as $60M. It helps to be the most profitable studio in the world with the green to inject that much money into what is, for now, an experimental venture.
Going back to the untitled Star Wars series, we still don't know much about it. We'd heard from Favreau it would take place about seven years after Return of the Jedi's Battle of Endor, but the generally reliable folks at Making Star Wars say it's only three. Maybe they know something Favreau doesn't? Probably not.
They also say the series could take place on the planet Mandalore, home of the battle-hardened Mandalorian warriors. The most famous of them is, of course, Boba Fett. They say “when the Empire falls, Mandalore falls into a state of turmoil and the series is about restoring Mandalore to its former self and how Mandalore sways will have huge galactic ramifications.”
Sounds like the plot of numerous episodes of Star Wars Rebels centered on Sabine, a female Mandalorian frequently at odds with her people. The Mandalorians are one of the most popular races in all of Star Wars, and their warring backstory is full of potentially awesome storylines. No matter what direction the show takes, Disney has a potential goldmine on their hands. Honestly, they could make a show with nothing but Porgs, Gungans, and Ewoks and people would subscribe.
