A long time ago, with a copy of Final Draft far, far away, JB Gibson set out to adapt perhaps one of the most famed and influential movies of all time - Star Wars: A New Hope. Having spent over a year translating that epic tale into a mini-series format, he sat down with producer A. J. Black to discuss how he came to be the next George Lucas in advance of the Death Star plans not being in the main computer its launch on Saturday, November 19th...
Star Wars. Arguably the biggest film franchise in history. Exactly how big are your balls in wanting to adapt the saga your way?
Big enough, I presume. I know I got a lot of comments about the size of my testicles after I announced I was going to tackle this behemoth.
A New Hope is a story the majority of people are very familiar with - why should they want to read your adaptation? What's new or reimagined?
I think the beauty of my reimagining is that it's familiar in the sake that it's a story we've heard and come to love, but now it's been given a different, more modern voice. The original trilogy is very much a product of its day: A defined good and evil, very black and white. And while I do believe those things exist, I think we've seen in our modern times how blended those can become. Without giving too much away, one thing that's new/reimagined is the image of the Empire and the Rebellion. The Empire isn't this big terrible darkness hovering over everything. That darkness is there, but it's much more subtle and much deeper in the story than before. As for the Rebellion, at the beginning of this series, it doesn't exist. Yet.
Why the mini-series format? Did you ever consider writing it as a movie? What flexibility does having four episodes to tell the story give you?
Oh, I definitely thought about doing it as a movie but then I realized then it would just be a simple re-telling. I didn't want that. The "outline" is there in the original trilogy, of something much grander, a deeper story. Those movies were sci-fi/action/fantasy, not really as epic as they could have been. Many may disagree with me, but the one thing that has made Star Wars so epic is the expanded universe, not the actual movies. The mini-series format lends itself to telling a more detailed story, much more like a novel, with individual chapters. You get to know each of the characters more and learn different things about them.
Are we dealing with the characters we know and love - Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, the Droids, VADER!!? Or are you throwing new or more sideline characters into the mix?
We'll have all our original heroes and villains. They're not going anywhere, but I did decide to include more ancillary characters so that we could see how these events affect more than just the few. This version borders on a bit of an ensemble feel, but there are definite central characters.
Should this be successful, are we likely to see Empire and Jedi get the same adaptation treatment? What about the prequels (dare I ask)?
I think regardless of whether or not this is successful we'll see the other two in a similar format, the prequels are a bit of a different idea, though. When I started writing this I decided that the actual Star Wars Universe was a little difficult to navigate, so I went back and re-wrote 25,000 years of history. So, the prequels, as well as other story's are definitely there. Where or not I write them will be the interesting question.
Finally, is the Force with you?
I guess we'll find out when this premieres, won't we?
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