Andor is the latest in what seems like an exciting future for Star Wars on television. In the next few years, we will be getting shows such as Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Lando, Skeleton Crew, and additional seasons of both The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch. Although Star Wars is one of the most successful film franchises of all time, it's always had a place on the small screen too. Back in 1978, The Star Wars Holiday Special debuted on ABC and capitalized on the Star Wars craze that had swept the globe.
Thankfully, Star Wars television has significantly improved since the days of Chewbacca’s family and “Life Day.” Lucasfilm developed the cartoon shows Droids and Ewoks in the 1980s, and released two Ewok movies featuring the return of Warwick Davis as Wicket. In the 21st century, many younger fans were first introduced to the franchise through The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Resistance.
However, not every Star Wars show saw the light of day. You can’t find success like what Disney+ is experiencing now without a few missteps and false starts. These Star Wars shows and television projects were canceled before fans ever had the chance to see them.
Splinter of the Mind's Eye Television Movie
The original Star Wars was a risky project in 1977. Many skeptics in the industry suspected that it would bomb, and George Lucas needed a plan to get back on his investment if the film underperformed. After commissioning author Alan Dean Foster to write the official novelization, Lucas also asked for the sequel novel Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. The book was intended to serve as the treatment for a low-budget sequel that could recycle some of the same sets, costumes, and props.
This constrained the story of Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. Han Solo doesn’t appear in the novel because Harrison Ford had yet to sign on for a sequel, and Lucas even asked for the removal of a space battle that would be too expensive to film. The story revolves around Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia (who flirt throughout their adventure) as they search for a Kyber crystal on the planet Mimban. Of course, Star Wars became the highest-grossing film of all-time, and Splinter of the Mind’s Eye was released as a novel in 1978.
Here's How
Lucasfilm had utilized the animation company Nelvana for the animated segment of The Star Wars Holiday Special, and renewed their deal to create the cartoon shows Ewoks and Droids. Although Droids didn’t last more than one season, there was still some interest in another series starring R2-D2 and C-3PO. Lucasfilm Special Project Manager Jok Church pitched an educational series called Here’s How which could be used in classrooms to teach children real-world science.
Third Ewok Television Movie
The television movies Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor were able to utilize the same sets, props, and costumes that had been used to create Endor in Return of the Jedi. The specials were relatively successful (and even won Emmys), so naturally Lucasfilm was interested in a third installment. According to Warwick Davis, there was interest in Ewoks III before Lucasfilm pulled the plug on both Droids and Ewoks in the mid-1980s. Although Ewoks never got to be a trilogy, the first two films are now available on Disney+.
Star Wars: Underworld
In 2005, George Lucas declared that the Star Wars theatrical saga had concluded and that the future of the franchise would be on TV. At a fan event, Lucas announced that two shows were in development: an animated series (which became The Clone Wars) and a live-action show (which was later named Underworld). Underworld would have been set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and featured characters like Emperor Palpatine, Chewbacca, Boba Fett, and C-3PO. Lucas described it as a “soap opera” that was closer in style to 1940s noir films, which would likely lead to several spinoff projects.
There were some impressive names added to the crew, including the prequel trilogy’s producer Rick McCallum and Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore. Although over 50 episodes were written, the series ultimately ballooned in budget and remained in development hell until the purchase by Disney.
Young Jedi
The Bad Batch wasn’t the first time that Lucasfilm tried to work in a Clone Wars spinoff. The fifth season of the series featured a four-part storyline involving a group of Jedi younglings that build lightsabers on Ilum and go on adventures with Ahsoka. The episodes were screened as a test pilot at Celebration VI, where Lucas announced that it would lead to another animated series. However, all plans were halted once The Clone Wars was canceled in 2013.
The Clone Wars Season 8
The Clone Wars’ initially abrupt ending came as a surprise, as Lucasfilm’s animation department had already begun scripting, recording, and creating story reels for another few seasons. 13 episodes were released as “The Lost Mission” in 2014 on Netflix before the final episodes debuted on Disney+ in 2020. Several planned storylines were adapted into other media, including the novel Dark Disciple and the comic series Son of Dathomir.
The Blu-Ray for “The Lost Missions” included two story arcs that were still in an early stage of animation. One of these was the four Bad Batch episodes (which were ultimately completed and added to Season 7), and the four centered on Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they searched for a Kyber crystal on Utapau. According to Dave Filoni, future storylines that never made it past the scripting stage would have featured R2-D2 and Captain Rex teaming up for a Top Gun adventure, Boba Fett crossing paths with Cad Bane, a return to Mon Calamari, Yoda’s adventures on Kashyyyk, and the emergence of the Yuuzhan Vong.
Star Wars Detours
It was announced in 2010 that Lucasfilm was developing an animated comedy series from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senerich. Star Wars Detours would have featured an astounding voice cast that included Weird Al Yankovic, Dee Bradley Baker, Anthony Daniels, Ahmed Best, Billy Dee Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Felicia Day, Zachary Levi, Catherine Taber, Cree Summer, Donald Faison, Nat Faxon and Joel McHale. In 2012, Lucas attended Celebration, and revealed an official trailer and several clips from the series, which had already completed 39 episodes and written 62 more.
Then the Disney purchase happened. The release of Detours was infinitely postponed, and Green has indicated that Lucasfilm currently does not have any plans to let it ever be seen. Although one episode called “Dog Day Afternoon” leaked last year, the rest of the series remains in the archives.
Rangers of the New Republic
In December 2020, Jon Faverau and Filoni were announced as the creators of a spinoff series of The Mandalorian that would star Gina Carano as Cara Dune. Although Rangers of the New Republic was in early stages of pre-production, Lucasfilm canceled the project after ending their employment of Carano following her xenophobic and racist social media posts. Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that the storylines planned for the series would be woven into subsequent seasons of The Mandalorian.