Lucas’s dark vision for star wars: palpatine as hitler echoed in cancelled series
George Lucas, obsessed with capturing the chilling ascent of Emperor Palpatine, reportedly envisioned a Star Wars television series that mirrored the rise of Adolf Hitler – a plan subsequently scrapped but now brought to light through a Spacecon 2026 conversation with Ian McDiarmid.
A twisted genesis: palpatine’s shadow
McDiarmid, the actor who brought the manipulative Sith Lord to life, revealed during his panel appearance that Lucas initially pitched the project as a way to explore Palpatine’s trajectory, drawing a disturbing parallel to the Nazi leader’s ascent to power. ‘He was talking about, I think I can tell you now, a television series,’ McDiarmid recounted. ‘We could sort of follow the Emperor’s progress, like Hitler’s, some of that. There might be an assassination attempt, and of course it wouldn’t succeed.’
The initial concept, though undeniably unsettling, reportedly captivated Lucas, who even suggested McDiarmid direct one episode – an offer the actor politely declined, fainting at the prospect. The project, which Lucas referred to tentatively as ‘Star Wars Underworld,’ would have comprised a staggering 60 episodes, bridging the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and reportedly dwarfed even the scale of the feature films in ambition. Early test footage glimpsed years ago showcased a bleak, almost dystopian Coruscant – a far cry from the polished, utopian vision typically associated with the galaxy far, far away.
The lost legacy: a $40 million per episode gamble
Rick McCallum, a producer on the prequel trilogy, has previously lamented the project’s demise, describing it as ‘one of the great disappointments of our lives.’ Initial estimates suggested that individual episodes could have cost upwards of $40 million to produce, a truly staggering figure considering the technology available at the time. Lucas’s relentless pursuit of cinematic grandeur, ultimately selling the Star Wars franchise to Disney, appears to have contributed significantly to this ambitious – and ultimately unrealized – vision.
Today, Disney’s ownership of Star Wars has yielded a wave of new television series, though recent endeavors like The Acolyte and The Book of Boba Fett have faced significant financial setbacks. Currently, only Ahsokaremains in active production, with its second and concluding season due next year. Meanwhile, the hopes for a revival of the franchise through film – specifically Starfighter – are cautiously optimistic, though realistically positioned against recent box office disappointments. The echoes of Lucas’s abandoned project serve as a stark reminder of the creative potential that was lost, a testament to the dangers of unchecked ambition.
The sheer scope of Star Wars Underworld – a proposed epic spanning decades – highlights the immense investment Lucas poured into the franchise. It’s a sobering thought, considering the current state of spending within the Star Wars universe, reduced considerably after such a monumental, yet ultimately unattainable, undertaking. McDiarmid’s anecdote isn’t just a fascinating tidbit; it’s a window into the complex and sometimes unsettling creative process behind one of the most beloved franchises in cinematic history.