Last we heard about “Star Wars: Underworld”, a mature TV series set in the STAR WARS universe and likened to THE GODFATHER/”Deadwood” in space, there were over fifty (50!) episodes written and the show as a whole was all ready to go. The big holdup? It’s creators wanted top-tier special effects for every episode, leading to a price tag of $5 million per hour-long episode. Which is a hefty commitment for any studio with any franchise. Yes, even STAR WARS.
And while a fair amount of the general concept art work done for the show (along with situations/dialogue) has been lifted and redone to fit the upcoming STAR WARS: 1313 video game, it turns out that hope may not yet be wholly lost for “Star Wars: Underworld”. Because ABC, home of Joss Whedon’s upcoming “S.H.I.E.L.D.” TV series, may be looking into the potential possibility of producing the long-languishing STAR WARS show.
“We’d love to do something with Lucasfilm, we’re not sure what yet,” said ABC entertainment president Paul Lee. “We haven’t even sat down with them. We’re going to look at [the live-action series], we’re going to look at all of them, and see what’s right. We weren’t able to discuss this with them until [the acquisition] closed and it just closed. It’s definitely going to be part of the conversation.” Because here’s the rub: now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, many of the up-front fees for rights and the like are already taken care of. “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” will be shifting to a Disney-owned channel onces its current contract expires. And then there’s the “S.H.I.E.L.D.” factor, a show whose presence actually might provide the perfect model of how to deal with STAR WARS: EPISODE VII being on the way. “It’s going to be very much up to the Lucasfilm brands how they want to play it,” said Lee. “We got to a point here with Marvel, a very special point, where we’re in the Marvel universe, and very relevantly so, but we’re not doing The Avengers. But S.H.I.E.L.D. is part of The Avengers. So maybe something oblique is the way to [approach the Star Wars universe] rather than going straight head-on at it.”
So there you have it – ABC is hoping for talk, and I imagine they’ll at least get that. Where it all goes from there is anybody’s guess, but make sure to stay tuned!
Sort-of plot recap: Sources say the live-action series centers on the story of rival families struggling over the control of the seedy underside of the Star Wars universe and the people who live within the subterranean level and air shafts of the metropolis planet Coruscant (the Empire’s urban-sprawl-covered home planet). A bounty hunter may be the main character. Set between the original Star Wars film trilogy and the prequels, the time period allows for all sorts of potential appearances from classic figures from the Star Wars universe.