Why We Need A Jedi TV Series Set In The Modern World

Now Star Wars films are falling from the sky like a meteor shower of Force-inspired entertainment, maybe Disney will unleash Star Wars in an alternative universe, and modern urban setting.

KPop group EXO released the single Lightsaber in 2015, a collaborative project with Disney promoting Star Wars II The Force Awakens. In the music video cool Jedi youths roamed the streets, visited a bar, ran into a slick Sith, and were just hip AF with lighsabers on hand.

I found these minutes of footage way more interesting than all recent Star Wars films combined. The idea of Jedi and Sith gangs roaming the streets, fighting to rule the underworld or maintain the law… Could anything be cooler?

Transplanting Jedis into the present day or near future offers a host of fabulous storytelling and aesthetic opportunities. Forget maintaining the timeline, or keeping visual consistency. Restrictions are minimal. Instead, go wild creating a fresh, dark, street style infused Jedi world.

And the stories! The same kind of tale that inspired the original Star Wars can easily be put in play. Ruling party corruption, dodgy officials, power struggles, and arguments over belief systems—the list of potential plot points is endless. But modern aspects can easily be integrated too, so the take is familiar yet fresh.

Lightsaber fights in a location that is a tad Blade Runner would be brilliant. Forget bikie gangs, mafia families, and fighting for thrones now the Jedis and Siths are in town. An urban Star Wars TV show would be lit (pun intended).

An alternate reality means different drugs, wilder music, and a new world order. And the robotics! With the right production team, this could be a seriously creative explosion of small screen storytelling.

Come on Disney. Be bold. Use the Force. Seize the day.

Note: You can watch the music video for Lightsaber by EXO on the SMTOWN YouTube channel.