George Lucas Once Planned a Palpatine-Focused STAR WARS TV Series, According to Ian McDiarmid

Over the years, some fans must have wondered about the countless Star Wars projects that never made it off the drawing board. Now, thanks to Emperor Palpatine himself, we’ve learned that we almost got a live-action series centered on the rise and reign of the galaxy’s most sinister ruler.

During a panel appearance at Spacecon 2026,Ian McDiarmid, the actor who has portrayed Emperor Palpatine across multiple Star Wars films, shared a surprising story about a project thatGeorge Lucasonce wanted to develop for television.

Long before The Mandalorian, Andor, Ahsoka, and the rest of Lucasfilm’s streaming lineup proved that Star Wars could thrive on the small screen, Lucas was apparently exploring the idea of telling Palpatine’s story in an entirely new way.

McDiarmid recalled: “[George Lucas] was talking about, I think I can tell you now, a television series. At the time we didn’t think about Star Wars in terms of television series. Very speculative.

“We had lunch one day, and he said I’ve got this idea, and I hope you might want to be involved. We could sort of follow the Emperor’s progress, like Hilter’s, some of that. There might be an assassination attempt, and of course it wouldn’t succeed.

“It sounded really exciting. And he also said that maybe you could direct one, and then I fainted. But sadly, that didn’t come to pass.”

It’s a pretty interesting concept to imagine now. A series charting Palpatine’s climb to power and his grip on the galaxy could have offered a deeper look at one of the franchise’s most iconic villains.

Considering how much audiences have embraced character-driven stories like Andor, it’s easy to see why fans might be disappointed this one never happened.

Of course, cancelled Star Wars projects are almost a genre unto themselves at this point. Over the years, Lucas had no shortage of ambitious ideas that never materialized.

Among them were concepts for a project featuring only droids and another centered entirely on Wookiees. Both ideas sounded unlike anything fans had seen from the franchise, but neither moved forward.

Then there’s the infamous Star Wars: Underworld series, which spent years in development before Disney acquired Lucasfilm.

The show reportedly would have explored the darker corners of the galaxy, focusing on the Empire’s growing influence and the criminal underworld of Coruscant. Rumors also suggested a bounty hunter would have played a central role in the story.

Fans also wonder what might have been with Star Wars 1313, the highly anticipated action video game that would have followed Boba Fett through the dangerous lower levels of Coruscant. The game promised a more mature tone, cinematic storytelling, and fast-paced combat, but it was ultimately shelved when Disney shut down LucasArts.

Even Boba Fett nearly got another shot at the spotlight. Around the time Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was being developed, a standalone Boba Fett movie was reportedly in the works with Josh Trank attached to direct.

While the project was never formally announced, Trank’s departure from an unnamed Star Wars film effectively ended its chances.

More recently, another intriguing idea reportedly failed to make it through the Lucasfilm pipeline. A project titled The Hunt for Ben Solo, developed by Steven Soderbergh and Adam Driver, was pitched to Lucasfilm and reportedly received a positive response internally.

However, Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman reportedly couldn’t get behind the concept because it hinged on Ben Solo still being alive.

The list of abandoned Star Wars projects keeps growing, and while a Palpatine-focused television series will likely never see the light of day, it’s hard not to imagine how compelling it could have been to watch the future Emperor manipulate his way to ultimate power across multiple seasons.