by Christian Blauvelt, Source: ew.com
Star Wars fans have been abuzz this week about a potentially big new mystery project in the works dealing with that galaxy far, far away.
It all started when tech site Fusible reported that Lucasfilm had registered Internet domains based on permutations of “Star Wars 1313.” That may not seem revealing in and of itself, but fans first got whiff of a traveling museum exhibit called Star Wars: Identities when Lucasfilm registered that particular domain. Then on May 1, Lucasfilm filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the name “Star Wars 1313″ and declared that it would relate to everything from “online social networking services” to “toy action figures” to “compact discs and DVDs featuring games, films, animation, music, computer game software, and video game software.”
That’s pretty comprehensive, and, well, pretty vague. One thing is certain, though. Lucasfilm isn’t yet ready to reveal what this project is just yet. When asked for comment, a rep for the company said, “We have no announcements at this time.” That hasn’t stopped fans from wildly speculating about what this means for Star Wars‘ future, particularly as it relates to a certain beloved Mandalorian bounty hunter. We share some of our theories about what it could be after the jump:
A Boba Fett Movie — The one thing every Star Wars fan is hoping for from the Star Wars 1313 URL registration, no matter how implausible, is a Boba Fett movie. The (admittedly scant) basis for this hope? Well, in Elizabeth Hand’s 2003 young adult novel Star Wars: Boba Fett — Maze of Deception, a ten-year-old Fett poses as clone cadet CT-1313 on the banking-planet Aargau when trying to access his father’s fortune. Director Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger), who designed Boba Fett’s trademark armor for The Empire Strikes Back and The Star Wars Holiday Special, has previously discussed his desire to helm a Boba Fett film. That could be just the thing to recapture the Sergio Leone-in-space vibe of the original trilogy.
But if the “1313″ in the domain name does in fact refer to Fett, it likely means it’s a project related to his juvenile adventures. Maze of Deception is a decent yarn–yes, this Star Wars obsessive has read it–but it seems highly unlikely that Lucasfilm would base a film around an obscure reference in a decade-old novel for tweens. Much more likely is…
A “Young Boba Fett” Book Series, Video Game, or TV Series — The Fettmeister has played a larger role of late on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, with Attack of the Clones‘ Fett, Daniel Logan, returning to voice the character. It’s possible that, given the success of The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a spin-off series. And what better spin-off could they muster than one related to Boba Fett? Sure, it would most likely be a kid-friendly portrayal of his boyhood adventures, but that would be an ideal concept for all manner of tie-in merchandise, from video games to books, or anything else covered by their patent. There is precedent for this too. See: The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series in the ’90s.
A Star Wars “Pottermore” — Social networking is also covered by the patent, which could mean that Star Wars 1313 is actually going to be a comprehensive fan site for all manner of Star Wars geeks. Imagine, instead of being “sorted” into Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff you could be sorted into the Rebel Alliance, the Galactic Empire, Black Sun, or the Hutt Cartel. Then, based on your personality profile you could be deemed a “scoundrel,” “soldier,” “Jedi,” “Sith,” or “nerf herder,” much like the character classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Seth Green’s Star Wars TV series — The Robot Chicken co-creator and writing partner Matthew Senreich have been working on their “animated comedy series” set in the Star Wars Galaxy for about two years now. When asked about the project Green is characteristically tight-lipped, but it could be time to finally unveil his work to the public. Perhaps “1313″ is some oblique hint that the series could arrive in 2013? Or maybe Green’s show actually is about Boba Fett, who was one of the most hilarious standouts of Robot Chicken Star Wars.
Star Wars: Underworld — George Lucas has said he has 50 TV scripts in the can for his long-rumored live-action Star Wars TV series. But he’s also repeatedly said that the technology to shoot a series as ambitious as the one he has in mind hasn’t been invented yet — nor is there a network that would give them complete creative control. Maybe they’ll instead follow the Netflix model and release the series online on the “Star Wars 1313″ site?
Those are my thoughts/hopes. What do you guys think “Star Wars 1313″ could be?
