Why ‘Star Wars’ SERIOUSLY Needs A Wildlife/Nature Show On Disney+
Seriously, why is this NOT a thing? Now this article is going to be a little different. It is a mixture of an opinion piece and a pitch if you will. I'm totally behind this idea and from the feedback I've gotten, it seems most fans would be open to a wildlife/nature show set within the Star Wars universe. That feedback not only surprised me, but I think it will also surprise you.
Many months ago, I came across a tweet by Dr. David Shiffman suggesting a nature/wildlife show set within Star Wars. It will be a show that is away from the battles, the wars, and the conflicts between the Jedi and the Sith. Just nature, visiting planets and observing the animals and creatures that live there.
I’m just gonna keep suggesting this until it happens: a nature/wildlife show set in the Star Wars universe. No battles, no Jedi, just “this week were visiting the swamps of Dathomir. Crikey that rancor is a beaut!”
— Dr. David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) March 9, 2021
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There's a word in that tweet that most likely remind you of something. It is a six letter word beginning with C that was the signature of a dearly missed Crocodile Hunter. We'll come back to that later. However, there's an idea here. This concept HAS potential. It stuck with me for several days. It was a different look upon the Star Wars galaxy, away from the battles and the fighting. Would fans be interested in this concept?
Well several days later, I decided to host a poll on it on a Star Wars fan page I run on Facebook:
Since Facebook removed polling options for a lot of pages, I created a React Poll. Pretty simple, Love is Yes, Wow is Maybe, and Angry is No. To help get a wider reach, I shared this poll in a few dozen Star Wars groups to get as much feedback from the fanbase. Nearly 2,000 took part and here are the results:
A near landslide. More than I was expecting. So there is interest in this concept. In every Star Wars film and show you see creatures big and small at some point. In some of the films, they are part of the story. They add to the world of Star Wars, making feel like a living universe.
Now on Disney+, one of the top options next to Star Wars, Marvel and STAR is National Geographic with countless documentaries about the animals of our planet, from our jungles to our deserts to our oceans, and more. These shows are a great way to learn about animals of our planet. They can be informative while also (at times) relaxing. They can sometimes be rather peaceful, well until that crocodile jumps out of the river grabbing some poor animal from the riverside. Nature, you can be scary!!!
The funny thing is that we already have a slight taste of this concept. Earlier this year, Disney+ quietly released Star Wars Biomes, which is an 18-minute visual tour of Star Wars locations such as Hoth, Tatooine, Sorgan, Crait, Mustafar and Ahch-To. It is a peaceful flyover over these iconic planets that leaves you wanting more.
Biomes only scratched the surface of this concept. If Lucasfilm were to do a wildlife/nature show, how could they go about doing it? Well, this is where we get into the pitch side of this article. If there is enough interest, there could be demand. I would say there are two ways Lucasfilm could do a Star Wars wildlife/nature show.
Attenborough Inspired
There is something soothing when watching a documentary with David Attenborough narrating. There is a certain calmness to it. There is no interaction, just observation with no interference. It is nature unscripted, opening above the planet, briefly informing us about the environment below.
We could go from the plains of Naboo, to its dense forests before submerging to its waters. We could go from observing shaaks grazing to witnessing a newborn opee sea killer chewing its way out of a colo claw fish's stomach. We would see nature in all its beauty, ugliness, and death.
What is a good wildlife/nature documentary without a good narration? We would need a voice to guide us across these worlds. To tie it in with Star Wars, a voice like Liam Neeson's would work on two levels. One, there is authority behind his voice, a command to it. Two, it will essentially be Qui-Gon Jinn talking to use through the Force. After all, the Force is an energy field created by all living things that binds the galaxy together. Given that there won’t be any other characters on screen, it makes sense to have someone from the netherworld of the Force be our guide.
Crocodile Hunter Inspired
"Crikey, that rancor is a beaut!"
It would still be a wildlife/nature show, but with a little bit of a narrative. We would follow a character visiting these worlds to document, observe, and sometimes interact with the creatures. They could be a zoologist going from planet to planet studying the wildlife, and logging them in a holo-diary. We could have them traveling with a small droid companion who could help record findings and be someone for the character to talk to. With this type of inspiration, we could have some interaction with the exotic creatures of Star Wars, getting up close and personal.
Perhaps the character could be a young Jedi who is one with nature and has a connection with animals through the Force, which is an ability called animal kinship or beast control in Star Wars lore. Ezra Bridger demonstrates this ability in Star Wars: Rebels.
I'm going to do a little fan casting here. Hypothetically speaking if there were to be a Star Wars wildlife/nature show that's inspired by the Crocodile Hunter, I think Lucasfilm should approach Robert Irwin. Imagine the son of the late Steve Irwin traveling around the Star Wars galaxy, documenting and interacting with creatures big and small while adding a little bit of that Australian flare to it. Hey, if Star Wars can have American accent, British accent, and in Kit Fisto's case, a Jamaican accent. An Aussie should be fine. Now if you check out Robert's Twitter, you will see that he is big Star Wars fan.
I can picture both styles working for a Star Wars wildlife/nature show. Each episode will run about 20- 30 minutes long and feature creatures on a planet or two. It will be a totally different kind of show from the ones we are getting with different vibe and atmosphere. It will also be a great addition to fans that enjoy digging deep into Star Wars lore. We only get a brief glimpse of these creatures in the films and shows. A documentary like this will be a great way to learn more about them. For example:
How does a krayt dragon come to dwell in an abandonned sarlaac pit?
What is the migration pattern of banthas across the Dune Sea?
What is the food chain of the nightmarish jungles of the planet Felucia?
How do wampas hunt their prey, the tauntauns?
How does the space slug travel from one asteroid to another?
Do adolescent rancors fight for a mate?
How does the sarlacc spore travel the vast void of space to find a new home?
What is the hatching and first flight of porg chicks (porglets) like?
How does the vulptex come to have crystal-like fur?
What were those creatures in the background of The Mandalorian “Chapter 13: The Jedi”?
And more.....
I think it would be fascinating to be able to see Star Wars' own National Geographic-like wildlife/nature show. If there's interest in such a show/series then maybe there could be a demand for one if more people talk about it.
The question is, would YOU watch it?
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