cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/25616618
I can’t believe Lucasfilm reportedly has 60 scripts for a Star Wars television show that have largely gone unused. Although it’s been a matter of record for several years, new details about George Lucas’ Star Wars: Underworld have recently been revealed. To that end, many have been wondering if the fascinating series will ever become a reality.
One of the last projects George Lucas worked on before selling Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, Star Wars: Underworld was intended to be a major multi-season show the likes of which had never been seen before on network television. However, there are some key reasons why the show never got made. However, I firmly believe that the time has come for Lucasfilm to finally make Star Wars: Underworld a reality, especially seeing how 60 out of a hundred intended scripts were apparently written for the series before its cancellation.
According to reports, Star Wars: Underworld was George Lucas’s big idea and mission in the late 2000s, shortly after getting the animated Clone Wars series off the ground in 2008. Gathering several accomplished television writers to Skywalker Ranch, around 60 third-draft scripts were written for this intended series set during the Dark Times of the Empire’s rule, between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Story arcs would have focused on Palpatine, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Lando Calrissian, with many actors like Ian McDiarmid and Jeremy Bulloch intending to return for the show.
Underworld would have been predominantly set in the lower levels of Coruscant, while also tying into the intended video game 1313 from LucasArts that was also cancelled shortly after the series. Confirmed to be darker and more geared toward adult audiences, it seems Lucas intended for a big chunk of the Star Wars franchise to start growing up with its audience. However, it ultimately wasn’t meant to be.
I only skimmed this article, since I’ve read similar things elsewhere recently, but while these exact scripts aren’t being used, the ideas in them are.
We know that some aspects of Solo, including Lando losing the Millennium Falcon and Han & Chewie first meeting came from these scripts.
We know that parts of Boba Fett’s story comes from these scripts, with speculation that the base of The Mandalorian does as well. Possibly unrelated to the scripts but we know Dave Filoni & Lucas have spoken in detail about Yoda and the Yoda species ala Grogu.
We know some of the concepts and vibes we experience in Andor come from the settings described in these scripts, as well as the overall plan for Rogue One.