There were some that, before release, said that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is more a cinematic experience than a simple video game. Hayden Blackman, who was a lead designer at LucasArts, even went so far as to say that it was the seventh movie in the Star Wars franchise, set to link the original trilogy to the prequels.

Well, there are now rumors that some people want to make the “cinematic” attribute literal by creating a movie, live action or animation based upon the exploits of the Apprentice. The source of the speculation is the same lead designer who talked to a Los Angeles based blogger in an interview which was then quoted by the Los Angeles Times.

Blackman said that a film based on the video game is “not impossible. Never say never. George has looked to tell new Star Wars stories through the games and with the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe, and then he has also shown a willingness to let the characters come into the films. Look at Aayla Secura, a creation in the comic books who became part of the theatrical films”.

Then, he went on to say that “Lucas is clearly pleased with this new entry to the broader Star Wars story, and I would not be surprised for a moment to see it on a theater marquee at a CG-animated project in the next few years, especially with the intensifying Hollywood interest in video games and toys as film properties”.

Despite a lukewarm critical reception, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has managed to sell more than 1.5 million copies in just one week since launch. And George Lucas has always been skilled at exploiting such marketing opportunities, so there's a real chance that a new Star Wars movie might be created taking the plot of the game as the starting point. Just don't expect it to appear in 2009.