Almost as long as “Star Wars” has been a franchise, there has been chatter about the saga eventually making the live-action leap to television. The closet things ever got was with “Star Wars: Underworld,” a project George Lucas was working on following “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge Of The Sith.” Writers including Ronald D. Moore (“Battlestar Galactica“) and Louise Fox (“Camelot“) were hired, and reportedly at least 50 scripts were created for the potential series that would’ve told stories that unfolded in the timeline between the original trilogy and the prequels. However, once Disney bought Lucasfilm, the show was shuttered — but not the idea of doing one.
ABC revealed during their presentation at the Television Critics Association that tentative talks were happening with Lucasfilm about a TV show, but it all seems very tenuous.
“…as a fan, I would absolutely love to say ‘yes.’ The conversations with Lucas[film], we have had conversations with them and will continue to have conversations with them. I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to extend that brand into our programming,” network president Channing Dungey said (via Collider).
“It’s all a little bit hush, hush…We don’t have an official timeline yet,” he added in an interview with The Wrap.
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Right now, it all sounds a bit exploratory, but it’s definitely something on Lucasfilm’s radar. Certainly, the anthology films seem to be borrowing conceptually from ‘Underworld’ in terms of filling in narrative gaps and featuring classic characters (the series would’ve featured young version of Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and more). And last winter, Kathleen Kennedy said the company still has material from ‘Underworld’ and the canceled videogame “Star Wars 1313” in the archives, and it could be stuff they reconfigure and utilize down the road. However, Lucasfilm has been very careful with each step they’ve made with “Star Wars,” so I wouldn’t expect a show anytime soon.
Meanwhile on the movie front, fans were introduced to a new vehicle this week, the U-Wing, which will make its debut in the upcoming “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
“The U-Wing is a new ship in the Star Wars universe,” Creative Executive Matt Martin said. “It’s a troop transport and gunship, so it’s there to bring in Rebel troops to heavy fire zones and get out as quickly as possible.”
Check out the unveiling during the latest episode of the “Star Wars Show” and a couple of snaps below.
