Now that Andor has completed its two-season run to common acclaim, followers have been enthusiastic about what’s subsequent for Star Wars TV exhibits. Granted, we have got loads to look ahead to, akin to an upcoming Ahsoka season 2, and a number of other Star Wars motion pictures in growth, however there’s nonetheless hope — nevertheless small — that Disney seems to be to a undertaking shelved a very long time in the past, from an idea far, far-off.
The Lucasfilm of 2005 was a distinct beast in comparison with the place we at the moment are in 2025. Quickly after the debut of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, creator George Lucas introduced at an occasion that the franchise’s first live-action foray into TV can be Underworld. Set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, this sequence was meant to delve right into a Star Wars world that did not revolve across the Skywalkers. As a substitute, it could have been primarily based within the cityscape of Coruscant, initially specializing in the legal gangs, earlier than delving into untold tales of identified characters.
Lucasfilm was purchased by the Walt Disney Firm in 2012, and with it, all the things to do with Star Wars was now in another person’s fingers. This additionally meant that some modifications have been made, akin to Underworld being cancelled, together with its online game adaptation, Star Wars: 1313. However what was Star Wars Underworld? Who was concerned, and the way far into manufacturing did it get?
What was Star Wars Underworld?
In 2005, it appeared like the tip of the street for Star Wars, with no extra motion pictures or live-action exhibits on the horizon. It felt like Lucas and his firm wished to maneuver on, with the workforce starting to work on the then-unannounced fourth Indiana Jones film. So it was a shock when Underworld was introduced in 2005, alongside The Clone Wars. Allegedly set between Episode III and IV, with some occasional flashback episodes, the sequence would delve into features of the Star Wars universe that hadn’t been explored earlier than, akin to completely different legal factions working throughout Coruscant. Underworld can be serialized episodes, with roughly twenty of them to a season, and can be filled with particular results, because the prequels have been.
Rick McCallum, a producer at Lucasfilm till his retirement in 2012, quickly after Disney purchased it, appeared on a podcast earlier this 12 months referred to as Younger Indy Chroniclers. On this three-part interview present, McCallum recalled how far Underworld got here in growth. “There was a interval the place individuals thought we weren’t doing something. And we spent 5 years doing over 60 scripts, some reaching third drafts, with probably the most great writers on this planet on them,” McCallum revealed.
“These tales have been darkish. However they have been attractive, they have been violent, they made you suppose, they usually have been simply completely great.”
In an interview with author Matthew Graham at Den of Geek, he reveals that from 2007, for a number of years, he and Chris Chibnall (Physician Who, Broadchurch) would go to Skywalker Ranch and work on a number of scripts for Underworld. Ronald D. Moore, identified for writing Star Trek and the Battlestar Galactica reboot, was additionally introduced on quickly after. Moore spoke about this in actor Katee Sackhoff’s podcast earlier this 12 months, explaining what occurred when he met Lucas to speak about Underworld round 2009.
As much as 60 scripts have been written — sufficient for 4 seasons. Rumored plots will sound eerily acquainted to anybody who’s watched the final ten years of Star Wars TV exhibits: the early years of the Empire below Emperor Palpatine, how Han Solo and Lando Calrissian met, a Boba Fett look, Obi-Wan Kenobi showing in Coruscant earlier than a ultimate duel with Maul, and extra. As late as January 2012, McCallum and Lucas have been each speaking about Underworld, saying that “it was on the shelf” for now. However all the things was about to vary.
The autumn of Underworld
As 2012 was wrapping up, two insurmountable partitions arose to dam Underworld: Cash and Disney. As McCallum mentioned within the podcast, the episodes have been just too costly to make on the time. “The issue was that every episode was greater than the movies. So the bottom I might get it all the way down to with every episode that existed then was $40 million an episode.”
So, Underworld was swept below the rug, no less than till the episodes could possibly be made at a less expensive fee. In the meantime, Lucas was busy writing his personal tackle Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, earlier than in the end deciding at hand off his empire to the Home of Mouse. Though Disney might have made Underworld, in addition to Lucas’ imaginative and prescient of the Sequel Trilogy, time has proven us the corporate took a distinct path with the franchise.
Years later, the solely surviving take a look at footage of Underworld was uncovered, showcasing 5 minutes of a scene set in Coruscant, as a means of attempting out the visible results for the way they may work in Underworld. It is nothing a lot and does not add something to the general franchise, but it surely’s a singular look into what might have been.
Might Underworld return, one way or the other?
As Luke Skywalker mentioned in Episode VIII: The Final Jedi: ‘Nobody’s ever actually gone.” You’ll be able to apply that to cancelled initiatives like Underworld, too. McCallum talked about in the identical podcast that it could have taken Star Wars onto a model new path. “It will have blown up the entire Star Wars universe, and Disney would have undoubtedly by no means provided George to purchase the franchise.”
You get the sensation with Lucasfilm, and its present CEO, Kathleen Kennedy, that story takes priority earlier than something is greenlit, which is probably going how we received the unbelievable Andor sequence.
It is also one of many final issues Lucas labored on earlier than he determined to promote to Disney, so Underworld is simply going to turn into extra legendary as time passes. Mix this together with his early concepts for what he had in thoughts for the Sequel Trilogy, akin to Darth Maul changing into the brand new large dangerous, and instantly, you surprise how issues might have been completely different.
Nonetheless, there’s at all times an opportunity the sequence might return not directly. Andor proved {that a} Star Wars present can thrive with out counting on legacy characters, and Underworld seemingly ticked quite a lot of comparable bins, simply another way. Because it stands, round 60 almost-complete scripts could possibly be given a lightweight revision and presumably put into manufacturing by the tip of the 12 months. Is it probably? No, but it surely’s enjoyable to consider the street not taken.
Finally, Star Wars Underworld stays an enormous ‘what might have been’ within the franchise’s historical past, but it surely’s additionally clearly been the inspiration behind a few of the wonderful exhibits we have gotten in recent times. With out Lucas deciding to promote to Disney, we would not have gotten Andor and all the things else coming quickly, so maybe it is solely proper that Underworld is now one with the Power.
