March 11, 2008 - As per usual with all Lucasfilm projects and especially those with the name Star Wars, hard facts about the upcoming Star Wars live-action series are hard to come by right now. However, a new report on collider.com says they have gleaned some information.

Collider says that the show could be described as "Deadwood meets The Sopranos" and is likely to feature gangsters and perhaps a crime family. The recent revelation that Boba Fett will play a role certainly opens the door for appearances by the established gangster Jabba the Hutt, though it's hard to gauge whether he would be part of this "crime family," at least in a Sopranos sense – though scenes of a domestic Jabba and his Hutt wife and kids would certainly be amusing. And how about Lobot taking on the role of the Lorraine Bracco/Dr. Melfi type therapist for Jabba?

While it's still unclear where the live-action series will end up airing, collider says Showtime and HBO are both contenders and the show might follow the template of those types of cable series with shorter seasons, made up of around 12 episodes. The report also says that the upcoming The Clone Wars animated series is aimed more at children, while the live-action series is more PG-13 and darker in nature. It should be noted though that previously, George Lucas has described The Clone Wars as also being PG-13 in tone.

George Lucas is reportedly very involved in both new series, and is said to be going over all the scripts and giving notes. Collider says that within Lucasfilm both new series are considered official Star Wars canon, unlike the majority of "Expanded Universe" stories. One way that will be reflected is in the portrayal of Jedi, who will not be as unstoppable and superheroic (in terms of abilities) as they were portrayed in the earlier Clone Wars shorts, but more in line with their powerful but far from invulnerable portrayal in the films.