Firefly

Lucas said after the New Year’s Day event, he’ll refocus on two Star Wars television projects: an animated version for 2008 and a live-action show set for 2009. Even though he has plans to start making smaller and more experimental films, getting away from the franchise is never easy.

"It’s always going to be there," he said. "When I did the second trilogy, I came to grips that this was my life and that was always how I was going to be defined. It brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of people, and it’s hard to sort of deny it."

Lucas said he’s seen the new "Battlestar Galaticia," a critical favorite, as well as Joss Whedon’s "Firefly," both live-action television dramas set in the intergalactic world.

"Ours will be very different," he said. "It’s very Star Wars, but it doesn’t involve the Skywalkers." The characters come from the same universe, Lucas added, but the stories are, "a little bit more adult." Hopefully, he added, "it will be something most people have never seen on television before."