That galaxy far, far away is getting its own late-night-style talk show online.
“The Star Wars Show,” premiering Wednesday, is a weekly seven-minute recap of the latest news and events plus interviews with superfans and guest celebrities. The series, from Lucasfilm and Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, is hosted by Andi Gutierrez, StarWars.com’s digital communications manager, and actor-fanboy Peter Townley.
“There’s an abundance of Star Wars news and information right now and for the foreseeable future,” said Mickey Capoferri, senior director of content and programming at Lucasfilm. “‘The Star Wars Show’ will be the place for new and old fans to engage with every aspect of the franchise in fun and authentic ways.”
Episodes of “The Star Wars Show” will be available every Wednesday at 12 noon Pacific on the Star Wars YouTube channel, StarWars.com, the official Star Wars app for iOS and Android, and Star Wars social media channels including Facebook and Twitter.
Lucasfilm’s strategy with the show isn’t necessarily to generate revenue: “The Star Wars Show” will not carry advertising and is not designed to pitch products. The point is to help keep Star Wars in the zeitgeist.
“Monetization is absolutely not the goal,” Capoferri said. “This is not an infomercial. It’s to inform and entertain fans without pushing things on them.” If and when there is a sponsor attached to the series, he added, “it will be organic, more like branded content.”
“The Star Wars Show” will cover exclusive news and stories about the films, TV shows, books, comics, video games, toys, merchandise, fan culture, art and more. Also in the mix will be never-before-seen footage, behind-the-scenes looks and comedy sketches. Throughout the week, Lucasfilm will also be posting “microcontent” from the show on social media.
The show’s guest lineups haven’t been disclosed yet, but Capoferri said visitors might include actors from the films.
The set for “The Star Wars Show” was built in an old copy room at the Lucasfilm offices in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park, decorated with action figures and other memorabilia. “There’s a lot of history here,” said Capoferri. Lucasfilm originally planned to launch the show on May 4 (which is the “official” Star Wars Day) but postponed the premiere because of scheduling issues.
Gutierrez also is the host of “Rebels Recon,” the official recap show of “Star Wars Rebels,” and she co-hosted the 18-hour livestream of Force Friday and the red-carpet premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Townley has appeared in theater and film productions in the San Francisco Bay Area, and he maintains that “Han shot first, always and forever.”
Watch the premiere episode of “The Star Wars Show,” featuring a conversation with “Warcraft” director Duncan Jones discussing the film and his experiences with Star Wars:
Pictured above: Andi Gutierrez and Peter Townley on the set of “The Star Wars Show.”
