May the Force be with George Lucas

Today marks the DVD release of the final installment of the Star Wars movie franchise, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. However, this definitely does not mean the end of the franchise in general. Anyone who knows anything about George Lucas knows that he'll milk this cash cow until... well, until those cash cows come home.

While the prequels were mostly disappointing (although I would argue that Episode III was by far the best of the prequels and better than Return of the Jedi), I don't think that Star Wars is circling the drain by any means. The franchise simply needs to be saved from its own creator, Mr. Lucas himself. While his first trilogy redefined sci-fi cinema (and popular cinema as a whole), his second trilogy suffered under his CGI-over-story mentality. Evidence of this could be seen on certain web documentaries of the Episode III (which will be part of the special features on the DVD), when Lucas can be seen approving designs for General Grievous. At one point, he remarks, "Wow, I better get started on the script." Instead of working on the story, Lucas was more focused on the visual aspect and the special effects. The main complaint I had with the prequel trilogy was that its story (if it even had one) was not as engrossing as the original trilogy's.

But do not fret: even though Lucas has said there will be no more Star Wars movies, two outlets remain for the franchise, and I think these outlets will leave fans more satisfied - mainly because George Lucas has minimal involvment. First, there are Star Wars videogames. For years, these games were as crappy (and in some cases, crappier) as any other videogame based on a movie. However, in recent years the Star Wars games (the Galaxies series, Knights of the Old Republic series, and Battlefront series) have become some of the best games out there for both PC and console gamers. If you're a gamer and/or Star Wars fan, check out these games.

The other avenue is television. Cartoon Network has already been home to the series of animated Clone Wars shorts, which earned an Emmy, and now two - count 'em, two - new Star Wars shows are on the horizon. One is another animated series slated for 2006, which I believe will also deal with the Clone Wars. The other, slated for 2007, is a live-action series. Not much is known about it at this time, but since Lucas has said that he won't be involved much in the creation of the series, in order to pursue other projects, my Jedi senses are tingling with anticipation.
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*** 11.07.05 - Update - Star Wars producer Rick McCallum recently gave an interview and discussed the TV show and Episodes VII, VIII, and IX.