Ever since the Star Wars franchise expanded onto television via Disney+, creators have taken the opportunity to expand on nearly every aspect of the franchise. Fan-favorite characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett have gotten their own series, while Andor and Star Wars Rebels expand upon the Empire's reign. The Mandalorian not only gave the Star Wars franchise a jolt of life but also started to fill in the gaps between Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. According to a Star Wars alum, creator George Lucas had plans for a series that would have given dimension to one of the franchise's most iconic antagonists.
This reveal occurred at Spacecon 2026, when Ian McDiarmid, who portrays Emperor Palpatine, said that Lucas wanted to make a series focused on Palpatine's rise to power. While the project never happened due to Lucas selling off Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise to Disney, McDiarmid talked about how Lucas had a solid vision in mind for a Palpatine-themed 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."
At first glance, the idea of showcasing how Palpatine became a Sith Lord sounds ripe with possibility. Mixing elements of a political thriller with the usual Star Wars trappings sounds like a recipe for success, and Andor proved that such a combination could work. But there's another reason the Palpatine show might not have gone through, and it's not the Disney buyout.
The biggest reason George Lucas might have shelved the Palpatine story is that it would cover the same ground as the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Witnessing Anakin Skywalker's rise as a Jedi Knight and fall to the dark side as Darth Vader was tragic enough. Attempting to replicate that story could have resulted in a massive misfire or a major case of deja vu for Star Wars fans. There's also the fact that Palpatine just works better as a villain. Even Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, for all its faults, understood this and depicted him as pure evil.
While George Lucas might have had plans for a Palpatine-based TV show, it wouldn't be the first time he tried to push the Star Wars brand into live-action television. Lucas would reveal his plans for other Star Wars projects over the years, including films based on droids and Wookiees (yes, really). The most ambitious projects were Star Wars: Underworld, a more mature series that would focus on the criminal underworld of the city-state of Coruscant, and Star Wars: 1313, a video game that would have featured Boba Fett in the prime of his career as a bounty hunter. Eventually, those series would come to life but in different forms with Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld and The Mandalorian on Disney+, respectively.
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of.
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
Emperor Palpatine might not have gotten his own show, but another Star Wars series would feature the wildest connection to the infamous Sith Lord. In the series finale of The Acolyte, there is a moment where a mysterious, alien-like figure steps out of a shadowy cave to witness Qimir (Manny Jacinto) and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) discusssing the nature of the Force. Series creator Leslye Headland would later reveal that this figure is none other than Darth Plagueis, the Sith Lord who served as Palpatine's master. Palpatine first discussed his relationship with Plagueis in Star Wars: Episode III - Return of the Sith, where he reveals to Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) that Plagueis taught him how to master life and death. Had The Acolyte continued, it would have been interesting to see more of Plagueis.
In a day and age where nearly every major Star Wars character has had their own television series or been a major part of a TV show, it's not hard to imagine Emperor Palpatine getting the same treatment. At the same time, it's probably for the best that Palpatine was only in the movies, as his evil feels truly threatening on the big screen.
