Michael Moreci Interview Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from Episode 48 of The Living Force Podcast. Check out the full episode wherever you get your podcasts!

‍

The Living Force: I think it’s time to start talking about some Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars - Battle Tales. So Michael, you mind telling us a little about how this idea was born? Where did it come from?

Michale Moreci: Sure, yeah. This is one of those rare things, at least as far as I know it’s rare, that I was actually the alpha of this idea and getting this off the ground. When I did Flight of the Falcon, that was something that Lucasfilm and the story group had built that plan out and then they came to me and decided, ‘Okay here’s what you’re doing’ which is what usually happens. Which is good! They have a massive thing to work with.

The Living Force:  It’s pretty big, yeah.

Michael:  There are some stakes.

[everyone laughs]

Michael:  I think we all knew eventually the final season would come back, I think we all kind of had that in the back of our minds, and it was just a matter of time. When it finally did get announced at San Diego Comic Con, I had this idea sort of ready. It was born out of Star Wars Adventures: Vader’s Castle.

The Living Force:  Cavan’s series!

Michael:  Yeah, Cavan’s! Exactly. And that’s kind of the template, you know?...So I was able to say okay, we’re already doing this. And that’s always the best thing when you’re pitching, it’s like, ‘You’re already doing it, so let’s just do it like over here and this way’. 

I was able to go around and say, “We have Clone Wars coming back, let’s do these Battle Tales and tell these stories the same way Cavan tells Vader’s Castle where there’s a three-page intro set in the present, somebody tells a story that’s fifteen pages in the past, and then two more pages that caps it off and leads into the next issue.” And that’s exactly the template. 

And Lucasfilm loved the idea! We were able to get the powers that be like Dave Filoni to sign off on it’ and we were off and running! The big thing that I think they love that I was most excited about was it being a clone series. I don’t wanna use this excuse to tell Jedi stories and Dooku stories. I wanna tell battle stories because I love the clones, and people I know love the clones.

I have two young kids who are immersed in all things Star Wars and they are crazy about the clones’ They love it.

The Living Force:  I must have said a thousand times, what a time to be a kid right now! Cause the superheroes are back, the Star Wars is back, it’s incredible! I’m jealous!

Michael: No kidding! There’s so much good stuff for them. We never had anything close to this.

The Living Force:  Absolutely. Now as you’re saying, this series will follow a number of different characters. How does the vibe of the series shift with each character? Are you genre-smashing, are you doing all kinds of battles? How is that going to work?

Michael:  The way I approach really any story, but particularly story for kids, is that there has to be some sort of lesson or clear point to it. What are each of these issues going to be about? What are the clones “learning”? And I think that’s an important thing for kids. 

Kids really respond when you’re talking to them in ways that they understand, in a story they understand and a point they understand. So each story is kind of set around salient Star Wars messages of teamwork, trusting one another, and stuff like that. Then how do we kind of frame cool clone war stories around that? 

So each story will have a different tone or a different feel because, for example, the Wolffe story is way different from the Cody story because they’re just such different characters. And the Rex story, which has Anakin, is obviously different. All of the clones have such different dynamics with their Jedi which kind of helps define who they are. 

The issues are driven by having this cool, kid-friendly point, but also leading with the clones and asking, fundamentally, who these characters are that we know and love.

The Living Force: I gotta admit, when you said, ‘The Wolffe story, the Cody story,’ I could feel the tingle up my spine. What is this world we’re living in?! This is incredible! Do you have a personal favorite Clone Wars series character?

Michael:  I mean it’s neck-and-neck if we’re gonna go, like, broadly. Ahsoka and Rex are my two favorites.

The Living Force:  OH MY GOD!

Be sure to check out our full interview with Michael Moreci on The Living Force Podcast, and pick up Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars - Battle Tales #1 available now.