A new Underworld reportedly had a full 60 episodes already written by the time it was canceled.

Part of the reason Underworld was canceled was because of its sheer ambition: each episode, had they been produced, was estimated to cost $40 million. In comparison, each episode of The Mandalorian cost about $15 million to produce, which is still a very large figure 20 years after Underworld was supposed to be broadcast. Accordingly, Star Wars: Underworld seemed to be relegated to stories of what could have been, until a recent announcement from Lucasfilm. After two decades, it looks like Star Wars is finally returning to Lucas' Underworld, though the new show looks significantly different.

Star Wars' New TV Show Is Heading To The Underworld

Tales Of The Underworld Is Set To Follow Bounty Hunters & Criminals

A new trailer from Tales-style anthology collection: Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld. As the trailer depicts, Tales of the Underworld is set to follow two legacy characters from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Cad Bane and Asajj Ventress, both notable criminals and bounty hunters. Ventress was even seen walking the lower levels of Coruscant, meaning Tales of the Underworld will at least partially take place in the same setting Underworld hoped to explore. After two decades, Star Wars is finally making a show centered around the "scum and villainy" Underworld wanted to breathe life into.

This Is Very Different To Lucas' Original Plans

Tales Of The Underworld Is Animated, Focused On TV Characters, & Possibly More Optimistic

While Tales of the Underworld is set to explore the criminal side of the Star Wars galaxy in depth, it's still quite different from George Lucas' vision for Star Wars: Underworld. At the most obvious level, Tales of the Underworld is a fully animated show, while Underworld was intended to be live-action. Additionally, at least part of Cad Bane's episodes seem to take place long before even Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and on Duro, while Underworld was supposed to focus almost exclusively on the Dark Times on Coruscant.

Ventress' story fits more neatly with Lucas' vision, but it also diverges in its own ways. Underworld reportedly would have seen returning characters from the main Star Wars' Inquisitors. Additionally, as a bounty hunter, Ventress has a dubious moral standing, but she was seen protecting a child in the trailer for Tales of the Underworld, which suggests it will be more interested in telling stories of good vs. evil than Underworld was.

Will We Ever See The REAL Star Wars: Underworld?

Despite Having 60 Episodes Written, Star Wars: Underworld Seems Lost To Time

I, for one, am extremely excited to see Tales of the Underworld (not least because I adore Cad Bane), but it does call into question whether Star Wars will ever get around to carrying out George Lucas' real vision for Star Wars: Underworld. As previously mentioned, 60 episodes of Underworld had already been written, and a massive live-action show like that would be much easier to produce and finance now than it was in the late 2000s. There's never been a better time for Lucasfilm to create Underworld, but it still seems like an empty hope.

Now that Tales of the Underworld is telling a story focused on criminals, it just doesn't seem like there's much room left for Underworld, in its original format, to make much of a mark.

Part of the reason Star Wars: Underworld seems like a pipe dream is because different parts of Underworld have survived and been incorporated into existing Star Wars stories already. Both The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi have explored the lower levels of Coruscant in live-action, and Andor follows street-level characters in a grittier, more mature tone. Now that Tales of the Underworld is telling a story focused on criminals, it just doesn't seem like there's much room left for Underworld, in its original format, to make much of a mark. Underworld wouldn't be nearly as groundbreaking in 2025 as it would have been in 2005.

On top of it all, Disney has mostly avoided using George Lucas' unfinished projects. For example, when Disney purchased Lucasfilm, Lucas reportedly had scripts for the Star Wars sequel trilogy that were scrapped in favor of Rey Skywalker's journey. Additionally, Lucasfilm has been expected to announce a pivot away from television and back towards theatrical movies at Star Wars Celebration 2025 for some time, meaning Underworld simply may not fit with the company's plans for now. There's still a sliver of hope that Underworld could come out some day, but it doesn't seem to be in Star Wars' immediate future.