Test footage from George Lucas' cancelled live-action Star Wars TV show, Underworld, makes its way online. While the franchise finally made the leap to live-action television this past fall with The Mandalorian, longtime fans know Lucas was looking to make that jump as far back as 2005. Underworld, which was to be set between the prequel and original trilogies as the Empire rose to power, spent a number of years in development. Fifty scripts were written, and the initial plan called for 100 42-minute episodes. Unfortunately, due to cost concerns, the episodes were never produced.
Underworld was still on the table when Disney bought Lucasfilm, but obviously the series never saw the light of day. Even with The Mandalorian receiving praise from fans and setting the stage for the franchise's exciting future on Disney+ (there are additional shows coming through the pipeline), some viewers can't help but wonder what Underworld could have been if it was made. Now, they can get a taste with a test footage reel.
Appearing on the YouTube channel holonet is a video consisting of a short Underworld scene and behind-the-scenes making-of footage. You can watch it for yourself in the space below:
Set in the seedy underbelly of Coruscant, the sequence depicts a Rebel spy using a device to steal Imperial plans that seem to be related to a Star Destroyer. Stormtroopers and surveillance droids patrol the streets, illustrating the might and power of the Empire at this stage in the Star Wars timeline. Lucas' penchant for pushing the technological envelope is on fully display here, as the Underworld footage is a nice blend of practical and digital techniques. Actors are wearing actual stormtrooper costumes (as opposed to the fully digital clone troopers of the prequels), but they're primarily filming on a green screen and the Coruscant environments are added in post. One can see why Underworld might have been too expensive of a proposition when it was initially being considered. It likely would have had a greater chance of being made today, especially in an age where streaming services are prevalent. There are similarities between Underworld and how The Mandalorian is made.
Coincidentally, there were Underworld episodes focusing on events like the Rebels stealing the Death Star plans and Han Solo winning the Millennium Falcon, which of course were later depicted in Star Wars spinoff films. It'll be interesting to see if any other Underworld concepts are revisited for one of Disney's future projects. In particular, it might make sense to mine from the Underworld scripts for the Cassian Andor Disney+ show, since that's an espionage thriller set during the height of the Imperial era. Underworld as originally constructed is defunct, but that doesn't mean it has to be scrapped entirely.
Source: holonet