More Jedi for a new generation
THE name Simon Kinberg ( pictured right) might not instantly ring a bell. To X-Men devotees, this prolific British screenwriter and film producer is behind that triumphant franchise.
Nowhe has been poached for Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels.
He got involved with the show two years ago after being approached by Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm and the brand manager of the Star Wars franchise, after the company was bought out by The Walt Disney Company.
On the conception of Star Wars Rebels, Kinberg reveals: “I’m really excited about the idea of the origin story of the Rebel Alliance. I felt like we had the opportunity to create new characters, as opposed to being an origin story of characters we already know. I feel like the prequels did that a little bit already and that it would be fun for the next generation of fans.”
Although Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO and R2D2 feature in the animation, there is an influx of novel characters.
Kinberg notes: “It’s been the most surreal thing I’ve ever encountered in my career; to write for R2D2 and C-3PO. It’s pretty incredible. Over the first season, you’ll see some of the classic characters, but the main characters are the five-man crew of the Ghost spaceship: Kanan, Ezra, Zeb, Hera and Sabine. This gang make up the rebel cell that will then proliferate into eventually what will become an alliance.”
Expanding on his involvement, he offers: “I am the co-creator as well as executive producer. I’ve written a bunch of episodes, too. As the executive producer, I read all the scripts. Sometimes I will re-write material, watch cuts of the show and give notes on whatever I think about the performance or animation.”
Interestingly, he is also consulting on JJ Abraham’s upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
He comments: “I was involved at the beginning of the process. I can’t talk too much about it, other than to say this: ‘As a fan of Star Wars, I am as excited about this film as I have been for any film ever’.
“I learnt so much from Star Wars that I feel it was my film school in terms of how to tell a great story and create dense but fun characters. I also learnt about something that I ended up doing a lot with my work, which is how to use an ensemble story. I also learnt a lot about tone. When I wrote Mr and Mrs Smith, there was a lightness and darkness to the film; a playfulness and an element of danger.”
On this reimagining of a well-known saga, he notes: “Star Wars Rebels is the story of a young kid who is not quite on his path yet. He gets swept up in a larger adventure on a ship travelling the galaxy, which is where he ends up fighting people he didn’t even know existed and recognising powers he didn’t know he had. The spine of the story may sound familiar to the original movies. However, that’s a coincidence.”
Star Wars Rebels, Disney XD (DStv channel 304), Saturdays at 8.30am.