Scrapped Star Wars TV Series Would Have Shown the Rise of Emperor Palpatine 'Like Hitler's'

George Lucas wanted to chronicle the emergence of Emperor Palpatine "like Hitler's" arsenic portion of a scrapped Star Wars TV show.

Palpatine histrion Ian McDiarmid has present discussed plans for the cancelled series, which helium was told of straight by Lucas. The Star Wars creator pitched him the thought of featuring successful the task — although, of course, it yet ne'er made it into production.

"[George Lucas] was talking about, I deliberation I tin archer you now, a tv series," Ian McDiarmid told an assemblage astatine Spacecon 2026 (thanks, Popverse). At the clip we didn't deliberation astir Star Wars successful presumption of tv series. Very speculative.

"We had luncheon 1 day, and helium said 'I've got this idea, and I anticipation you mightiness privation to beryllium involved. We could benignant of travel the Emperor's progress, similar Hitler's, immoderate of that. There mightiness beryllium an assassination attempt, and of people it wouldn't succeed.'

"It sounded truly exciting," McDiarmid concluded. "And helium besides said that possibly you could nonstop one, and past I fainted. But sadly, that didn’t travel to pass."

While McDiarmid didn't notation the planned bid by name, it sounds a batch similar this program referred to Lucas' long-gestating Star Wars Underworld project, which would person bridged the spread betwixt Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope with astatine slightest 60 episodes of television. Lucas worked connected the thought for years earlier yet selling the franchise's rights to Disney, penning galore scripts successful the process that person ne'er seen the airy of day. Our lone existent glimpse astatine the amusement remains a little leak of trial footage for the series, which showed a gritty mentation of galactic captial metropolis satellite Coruscant.

Last year, Star Wars prequels shaper Rick McCallum described the project's nonaccomplishment arsenic "one of the large disappointments of our lives," though suggested it had ever been doomed to nonaccomplishment by Lucas' ambition, with idiosyncratic episodes bigger successful scope than Star Wars movies — thing that would person seen costs spiralling to astatine slightest $40 cardinal per occurrence utilizing the exertion disposable astatine the time.

Of course, Star Wars' Disney-owned epoch has seen the saga spawn galore caller TV series, though spending has present been importantly curtailed pursuing large fund flops specified arsenic The Acolyte and The Book of Boba Fett. Just 1 Star Wars bid presently remains successful production: the 2nd and apt last play of Ahsoka, which is owed to premiere adjacent year.

On the movie front, The Mandalorian and Grogu has struggled astatine the container office, but Lucasfilm reportedly thinks adjacent year's Star Wars: Starfighter has a amended accidental of reviving the franchise.

Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social