George Lucas' Scrapped Palpatine Prequel Series Revealed

Ian McDiarmid said at Spacecon 2026 that before selling Star Wars to Disney, George Lucas discussed a television series tracing Palpatine's rise and his relationship with the mysterious Darth Plagueis. The idea began as a speculative lunch conversation in which Lucas suggested following the Emperor's progress and including an assassination attempt, and he even floated the possibility that McDiarmid might direct — a prospect that made him say, "I fainted." But sadly, that didn’t come to pass.

This was one of several projects Lucas considered between Revenge of the Sith and the sale of Lucasfilm. Others included the live-action Underworld series, scrapped over budget concerns, and a Han Solo prequel commissioned from Lawrence Kasdan that later evolved into Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Lucas' original plans for a sequel trilogy were also abandoned after Disney took over. Palpatine later returned in The Rise of Skywalker, a choice that drew controversy when the character was revealed as Rey's grandfather.

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