George Lucas Wanted to Make a Palpatine ‘Star Wars’ Series
Long before Disney’s purchase of Star Wars and the eventual debut of The Mandalorian, George Lucas had plans to bring the galaxy far, far away to television.
Over the intervening years, much attention has been paid to Lucas’s grandiose plans for Star Wars: Underworld, a series which would have presented a seedier side of the galaxy and delivered a Star Wars story for adults.
“I think we had over 60 scripts… like third draft scripts,” Star Wars producer Rick McCallum recently shared. “These were dark [scripts]. They were sexy. And they were violent. They were absolutely wonderful, complicated, challenging scripts.”
Photo: Lucasfilm
“The problem was that each episode was bigger than the films, so the lowest I could get it down to with each that existed then was $40 million an episode,” he continued.
While Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm spelled the end of Underworld, it turns out that the project was not the only Star Wars television series that Lucas had in mind.
A Palpatine Series Was in Development
In a recent interview with Variety, Star Wars star Ian McDiarmid, who has portrayed Emperor Palpatine since The Empire Strikes Back, reflected on a cancelled project that would have centered on his Sith Lord.
Photo: Lucasfilm
According to the Star Wars legend, George Lucas envisioned a television show that would delve into Palpatine’s backstory, including his relationship with his master.
“Just the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise. It’s fairly obvious that my character murdered Plagueis on his road to becoming Palpatine,” McDiarmid recalled.
Lucas Did Not Share More Information
While Lucas shared the basic premise of the series with McDiarmid, the actor says that they never dove deep into Palpatine’s backstory.
George Lucas. Photo: LucasFilm
“But beyond that, no. With George, you didn’t discuss anything really. You turn up and you shoot. These films take a long time to make and the pressure is intense for many reasons; of course, George was at the forefront of all of that. So he had all of that to think about day by day. He takes a good deal of trouble over casting; but, once he’s cast, then he likes the actors to get on with it.”
What Happened to the Series?
Based on what we know, it sounds like Lucas may have been planning the Palpatine series when he sold the franchise to Disney.
Interestingly, Darth Plagueis did finally make his on-screen debut in Star Wars: The Acolyte. Unfortunately, after his brief cameo, the series was quickly cancelled.
With Palpatine finally destroyed in The Rise of Skywalker, it looks like McDiarmid’s time in the Star Wars universe has to come to an end.
Darth Plagueis. Photo: Lucasfilm
Perhaps, though, Lucasfilm will dust off an old concept and finally give fans the proper Darth Plagueis (and Palpatine) story that they have been craving.
