Club Jade

On the official blog today, Howard Roffman talks about his history with George Lucas, Bob Iger and Kathleen Kennedy, as well as his emergence from semi-retirement. “The prospect of being involved with a new trilogy of Star Wars films made by a new generation of filmmakers was nothing short of exhilarating for me,” he writes.

Howard Roffman, speaking at a European licensing conference, says that we’ll be seeing the Seth Green comedy project (which may or may not be named Star Wars: Detours) “within the next two years.” From a press released found by Jedi News:

[Roffman] said that Lucas has always found Star Wars parodies extremely funny, citing a brutally frank French & Saunders parody as an example, and is thrilled to be exploring opportunities in a new area of the brand.

It’s not much – or anything all that surprising – but things have been quiet on the comedy front lately. (Yes, of course George has a sense of humor.)

I believe he’s referring to a Phantom Menace skit French & Saunders did in 1999 – unless they did another – which I’ve embedded below the cut. (more…)

Marketing Week’s Laura Snoad talks to Howard Roffman on how Lucasfilm is keeping Star Wars relevant in the post-movie era. He pings on the books, video games, and other merchandising issues. Includes a question from our very own Eliz, the answer to which contains interesting bit on the StarWars.com redesign:

The website will also be easier for people to shop for Star Wars products and connect with other fans to see what other news is being generated from multiple sources. There’s an evolution in StarWars.com from wanting to be the [only] fans’ site to understanding we can connect to other channels that fans use to communicate with each other.