Adapted by:
John Tones
WriterI've been writing about culture for twenty-something years and, at Xataka, I cover everything related to movies, video games, TV shows, comics, and pop culture.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
In the Star Wars universe, the “what ifs” often overshadow the official paths the franchise has taken. For example, Disney placed the spinoffs that never materialized into its “Legends” category, outside the canon. The same applies to ambitious projects that never came to fruition, including Star Wars: Underworld, a series George Lucas had to shelve due to its high cost. This series could have changed the saga forever.
A Lucas series. According to Star Wars producer Rick McCallum, who recently appeared on the Young Indy Chronicles podcast, Lucas had been developing the series for years after completing his prequel trilogy with Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars: Underworld would have served as a narrative bridge between the original trilogy and the newer films.
We like thieves. This project would have explored the criminal underworld of Star Wars, filled with smugglers, thieves, and bounty hunters. According to IndieWire, Lucas aimed to create “The Sopranos in Star Wars.” Interestingly, this setting resembles Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, a commercially unsuccessful video game that struggled to find its audience despite its promising premise.
$40 million per episode. The series faced a major obstacle: its cost. McCallum noted that each episode would have required at least $40 million to produce. “The problem was that each episode was bigger than the films,” he said, highlighting both the massive budget and Lucas’ ambition. Lucas saw television as an untapped medium for telling complex stories with a unique structure.
Complicated scripts. The second hurdle was the scripts. McCallum described them as “absolutely fantastic, complicated, challenging.” He added that the series “would’ve blown up the Star Wars universe,” potentially deterring Disney from buying the franchise. The involvement of Battlestar Galactica’s showrunner as a writer underscores the series’ pursuit of a darker, more mature vision of science fiction—a tone rarely seen in Star Wars.
Long-term plan. Lucas planned more than 100 episodes, with 60 scripts nearly complete. This scale rivals the 2008 animated series Clone Wars. While Underworld never materialized, its influence persists. According to IndieWire, the basic idea for Rogue One originated from a subplot in the series, fitting its role as a bridge between trilogies. The series also aimed to explore Han Solo’s origins, a concept later adapted into a standalone film. Additionally, shows like The Mandalorian and Andor echo Underworld’s themes. In this galaxy far, far away, nothing goes to waste.
Star Wars now. While elements of Underworld have influenced modern Star Wars, two key aspects are missing: nostalgia, winks, and reliance on the original trilogies, as well as a willingness to take risks—except in rare cases like Andor. This philosophy stands in stark contrast to the bold vision Lucas aimed to explore with Underworld.
Image | Inkredo Designer (Unsplash)
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