Experiencing the Process of Crafting Scripts for George Lucas' Unrealized Star Wars Series
Slipped Into the Star Wars Underworld
It's March 2025, and chat about the elusive Star Wars Underworld is all the rage. Following Star Wars producer Rick McCallum's discussion on the imagined series, the scene was set for Ronald D. Moore, esteemed writer and producer of shows like Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, to share his experiences being part of the writing team for Lucas' envisioned live-action Star Wars show.
Joining Katee Sackhoff's The Sackhoff Show, Moore recounted their summons by George Lucas to brainstorm what a live-action Star Wars television series could entail. Here's the telling excerpt.
"Galactica was reaching its end. Caprica was about to kick off in that same span. I received a call from George Lucas, intriguing possibilities of a potential series," Moore shared. "I met with George and McCallum, and at that juncture, George was keen on a live-action Star Wars TV show... His plan was to gather an international team of writers, and I was one of the Yanks, with others from UK, Australia, and New Zealand. We'd assemble at Skywalker Ranch for extended periods... We'd get together for long durations, break apart, and then regroup to write more scripts."
"The process continued for roughly a couple of years," Moore continued. "We'd gather, disband, gather again, and... over the course of that time we penned around forty to fifty episodes... George decided that was enough. His intent was to then produce it with his own funds and present it to a network: 'Take it or leave it, here's what it is. No need for your notes, no need for your thoughts, it's done. Do you want it?'"
This, however, didn't quite pan out thanks to McCallum's accounts. Lucas' brilliant concept never left the drawing board due to astronomical costs. Eventually, Lucasfilm and Star Wars were sold to Disney, and plans for the show vanished into the cosmos like the Death Star.
Still, Moore has fond memories of his time groaning over Star Wars scripts with the series creator himself. "At some point, the starstruck sensation wore off, and you're just in a writer's room debating Star Wars with its creator," Moore recalled, before slipping into a pitch-perfect Lucas impression. "You're engulfed in a story conference bickering."
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- Ronald D. Moore shared that in the future, he was part of the writing team for a potential live-action Star Wars television series, a concept envisioned by George Lucas.
- Moore recalled his time discussing the concept with George Lucas and Rick McCallum, describing the international team of writers assembling at Skywalker Ranch to work on scripts for Star Wars television.
- Despite working on around forty to fifty episodes over a couple of years, the planned TV show never left the drawing board due to astronomical costs, eventually disappearing like the Death Star.
- Moore still cherishes the memories of his time working on Star Wars scripts, reminiscing about the debate-filled story conferences with Lucas himself.
