The oft mentioned and long anticipated live-action Star Wars television show has apparently begun the casting process.  The MTV Movies Blog interviewed actress Rose Byrne at a junket for her new film Knowing, and she let slip that many of her friends had already auditioned for the Star Wars series.  Byrne, no stranger to the Star Wars univerese appeared in 2002’s Attack of the Clones.

Star Wars Live-Action TV Series Exclusive @ MTV Movies Blog

As with the Clone Wars animated series, George Lucas plans to produce an entire seasons worth of shows before shopping it to potential networks.  Set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the series is said to focus on the early days of the rebellion against the Galactic Empire.  Although the TV show will focus on lesser known and new characters, the possibility of cameos from familiar Star Wars characters has not been ruled out.  Cyborg Darth Maul and Boba Fett anyone?!

As long as Lucas gets a strong team of writers and directors for the series, this property has a lot of potential.  Frankly, the less involved he is the better.  Director Kevin Smith has openly admitted many times that he would love to write or direct for  the TV series.  Plus, there are so many talented writers working in sci-fi TV right now that were weaned on the original trilogy—the writers of Lost, Heroes and Battlestar Galactica come to mind.  George, I know it’s your sandbox but it’s time to let the new kids play in it.

Your Best Friend over at Action and Action has posted his list of the 10 Reasons Why George Lucas Shouldn’t Have Directed the Prequels. Similarly, these are reasons Lucas should keep his hands off of the Star Wars TV series.