But does the Jedi master expect to ever retire hisStar Warssoldiers?
Whats going on with that live-action TV series he announced, anyway?
How excited is he for the debut ofIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?
Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Wireimage
Whats the status of his longtime promise to direct artier films?
In an extended conversation, EW.com found out the answers to those questions and more.
And that, with: Gee, it would be fun to go back to animation.
And is it going to be worth it?
And we can always do it later if we really want to.
So that was really the logic behind it.
Im finishing the scripts for the third year.
And now Im working on the scripts for the first year of the live-action show.
[Smiles] So its a lot of scripts.
Where is the live-action one going to fit into the overallStar Warsnarrative?Its completely separate.
I mean, there are a million stories in the big city youve only seen one of them.
Some of the characters from the features find their way in there, so its not completely divorced.
Its as if we just went down the street and told a different story.
Same thing, its just different people doing the same thing in the same city.
With the same Emperor.Yeah.
So its a familiar world, its just that youre seeing a completely different side of it.
Do you have a web connection yet?Not yet.
Are you still hoping for 100 episodes?Yeah, Im going to 100 episodes no matter what.
Cast?No, we havent gotten there yet.
We know where the whole first year is before we even start to work on it.
I mean, I can do that because Im financing the whole thing.
How long will the episodes be?Theyre an hour.
Its a regular live-action TV series you know,Law & Order.
[Laughs and waits a beat] I hope.
Its just that, technically, its a much harder thing to pull off than we thought.
But were getting closer now.
The field [of 3-D] is opening up a little bit.
But itll get there.
Do you see any end to working onStar Wars?
[Vigorously shakes his head]
No?No.
I mean, Im doing it just for fun now.
You know, Im an executive producer now I dont do the day-to-day work.
I check in once a week, maybe, and itll be the same thing on the live-action show.
Star Warsfeature films are over, though, right?No more, no more.
I mean, except for this kind of stuff, which is sort of spinoffs of TV shows.
When I get that done, Ive cleaned off the boards everything Ive ever developed Ive made.
So now I can start fresh and say, Okay,nowwhat do I want to do?
So were talking a couple of years?Yeah, it should take another couple years.
The live-action TV series probably wont go on until around 2010.
Hes actually executing his now and thumbing his nose at me.
Because hes always been saying, When are you going to do those movies?
When are you going to do those movies?
[Chuckles] Hes been saying that ever since I started working for him, back 40 years ago.
And Ive said, I will, I will.
Youre still making all those.
Have you talked about it with each other?Yeah, we talk about it.
Because when youre doing personal films, they disappear real fast I dont care who you are.
A few people, esoteric fans, will enjoy it, [but] thatll be it.
All that kind of stuff.
Theyre just not going to do it.
They arent going to do it.
No matter what you do.
How are you feeling aboutIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?
Feeling good?Oh, yeah, we had a great time making it.
Are you nervous about it in any way?No, no, its a great film.
Will it beat [The Dark Knight]?
But well certainly give Batman a run for their money.
Are you going to do anotherIndiana Jonesmovie after this one?That I dont know.
And Im to a point now where if it isnt successful, its not the end of the world.
You know, I lovedAcross the Universe, its a brilliant film.
And, yeah, we didnt make it bigger and better, we made it exactly the same.
So if you loved the other ones, youll love this one.
But if you expect to have F-14s flying under freeways that isnt there.
Its just another period adventure movie with this wacky archaeologist.
I think its funnier than the other ones, and its exciting.
So its got all the stuff that all the other ones have.
And Harrisons great in it.
