LOS ANGELES -- The Force may soon be coming to a television near you.

Filmmaker George Lucas said that he is planning a live-action television series spin-off of the "Star Wars" film franchise.

Lucas told The Los Angeles Times that he has "just begun work" on the series, which will not include the films' major characters Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.

"The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters," Lucas said.

Lucas wrote and directed the first "Star Wars" film, which came out in 1977. It was followed by "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980 and "Return of the Jedi" in 1983.

He also wrote and directed the prequel trilogy in the "Star Wars" saga, which consisted of "The Phantom Menace" in 1999, "Attack of the Clones" in 2002 and "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005.

The filmmaker already has another television series in the works. Lucas Animation has been working for months on the computer-animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

Lucas wouldn't reveal details of the new live-action series, but joked that the series would be about "the life of robots."

Lucas is currently at work with director Steven Spielberg on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the long-anticipated fourth film in the adventure series.