Star Wars is among the many most beloved franchises ever made, but it surely’s taken the saga a very long time to translate its success to the small display screen. After 40 years and some failed makes an attempt, The Mandalorian and its many spin-offs helped set up Lucasfilm as a streaming presence whereas increasing the galaxy into an interconnected saga extra according to Marvel’s cinematic universe. It’s a feat that was more durable than it regarded, given Lucasfilm’s previous makes an attempt to interrupt into live-action TV.
For years, followers have been interested in Star Wars: Underworld, a failed live-action collection George Lucas was engaged on for ABC. In accordance with producer Ron Moore, Underworld would have bridged the hole between the Star Wars prequels and the unique trilogy, whereas taking the saga in a decidedly grownup path.
“I feel we had over 60 scripts,” Moore just lately instructed the Younger Indy Chroniclers podcast. The episodes, penned by a “phenomenal group of expertise,” had been “darkish,” “attractive,” and extra violent than any prior Star Wars venture. Underworld “would have blown up the entire Star Wars universe,” Moore mentioned, earlier than including, “Disney positively would have by no means provided to purchase [Lucasfilm]” had the collection gotten the inexperienced mild.
Three years earlier than the Star Wars sequels, Lucasfilm was engaged on a “darkish” and “attractive” TV collection.
Lucasfilm
Underworld was canceled in 2012, the identical 12 months Disney acquired Lucasfilm, but it surely wasn’t the content material that impressed ABC to ax the collection; it was the price range. “The issue was, every episode was larger than the movies,” Moore mentioned. “The bottom I might get it all the way down to, with the expertise that existed then, was about $40 million an episode.”
Even within the streaming age, as studios (Lucasfilm included!) spare no expense on status TV, $40 million is a ridiculous amount of money to blow on a single episode. However the trade has since made main strides with visible results, and had been it made in the present day, Underworld doubtless wouldn’t value practically as a lot as these early estimates.
For what it’s price, Moore is open to bringing the collection out of manufacturing purgatory. “It was enjoyable to go work on the abortive live-action present that I did manner again when,” he instructed The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. “I obtained an incredible quantity of thrill writing strains for Darth Vader in a single episode, and it will be enjoyable to try this once more.” Moore added that he does have a couple of different concepts in his again pocket, and that there are “corners of the Star Wars” universe he’d prefer to “poke round” in.
Sadly, it’s been over 4 years since Moore expressed curiosity in returning to that galaxy far-off, and the percentages of Disney+ reviving his Star Wars pitch are fairly slim. He’s not working with Disney on a Swiss Household Robinson reboot, as a substitute specializing in an upcoming Outlander spinoff, a live-action God of Battle adaptation, and one other season of Apple TV’s For All Mankind. For now, Underworld lives solely within the imaginations of Star Wars followers, however perhaps in the future a model of that grim-dark Star Wars story will discover its manner into the sunshine.
