The past few months have seen the debut of The Mandalorian, the first live-action TV series set within the Star Wars universe, and it couldn’t have been more of a success. The thing is, though, that we could have had this new step for the franchise many years ago. You see, prior to selling the brand to Disney, George Lucas was working on Star Wars: Underworld, a vastly ambitious TV show that never ended up making it to screens.
Fans have obviously been fascinated to find out what this aborted series would’ve been like though and now, for the first time, we have actual test footage and behind the scenes material to set our eyeballs on. YouTube channel Holonet has uploaded the above 10-minute long video, giving us our first look at Underworld, which would have been set in the period between the prequels and the Original Trilogy.
The scene being filmed in this footage reel would’ve take place in the seedy underworld of Coruscant, following a Rebel spy using a device to steal some plans off the Empire that seem to be to do with a Star Destroyer. A very classic Star Wars set-up, then. With the mix of practical production and digital effects on show here, you can already get a sense of how Lucas had big dreams for the project. In fact, the sheer expense it probably would’ve taken to make it is likely why Underworld never materialized in the first place.
Lucas envisioned Underworld running for 100 x 42 minute episodes, with fifty scripts having been written prior to its cancellation. With all this work already completed, then, it’s not a surprise that many ideas ended up being retooled and used elsewhere in the Disney era. One episode would’ve seen Han Solo winning the Millennium Falcon, for example (see Solo), while another would’ve told the story of the Rebels that stole the Death Star plans (Rogue One, anyone?).
The Mandalorian likewise dips into the underworld of the galaxy, while the Cassian Andor series will fall into this period, too. Star Wars: Underworld might’ve been consigned to the scrapheap, but clearly it’s still influencing the direction of the franchise.
