A planned Star Wars television series, conceived by creator George Lucas, aimed to depict the rise of Emperor Palpatine in a manner likened to Adolf Hitler's ascent. Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid shared details about the project, which was never realized, directly from Lucas.
During a conversation at Spacecon 2026, McDiarmid recounted Lucas pitching the idea for a series that would follow the Emperor's progression. "We could sort of follow the Emperor's progress, like Hitler's, some of that," Lucas reportedly told McDiarmid, also suggesting the possibility of an assassination attempt that would ultimately fail. McDiarmid described the concept as "really exciting" and even mentioned Lucas' offer for him to direct an episode, though the project did not move forward.
While not explicitly named, the described series likely refers to Lucas' long-term "Star Wars Underworld" project. This ambitious endeavor was intended to bridge the narrative gap between "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" and "Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope" with a potential of over 60 episodes. Lucas worked on the concept for years, writing numerous scripts before selling Lucasfilm to Disney. A brief leak of test footage offered a glimpse of the show's grittier depiction of the galactic capital, Coruscant.
Rick McCallum, a producer on the Star Wars prequels, previously described the cancellation of "Star Wars Underworld" as a significant disappointment. He suggested that Lucas' immense ambition, with individual episodes planned to be grander in scope than the films themselves, would have led to prohibitive costs. The technology available at the time might have pushed episode budgets to $40 million each.
In the years since Disney acquired the franchise, numerous Star Wars series have been produced for television. However, recent high-budget productions like "The Acolyte" and "The Book of Boba Fett" have reportedly led to a curtailment of spending. Currently, only the second season of "Ahsoka" remains in production, with its premiere anticipated next year. On the film side, "The Mandalorian and Grogu" faced challenges at the box office, though Lucasfilm reportedly holds higher hopes for the upcoming "Star Wars: Starfighter" to revitalize the franchise.