"Star Wars: Underworld Cancellation Due to Sky-High Costs"

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: the revelation about the cancelled Star Wars series, Star Wars: Underworld, is a tough pill to swallow for fans. According to producer Rick McCallum on the Young Indy Chronicles podcast, the series would have cost an astonishing $40 million per episode to produce. This staggering budget ultimately led to its cancellation due to financial constraints.

“The problem was that each episode was bigger than the films,” McCallum explained. “So the lowest I could get it down to with the tech that existed then was $40 million an episode.” He further emphasized that the inability to bring this project to life remains “one of the great disappointments of our lives.”

Rank The Star Wars Movies and TV Shows

With an impressive 60 “third draft” scripts penned by some of the world's most talented writers, Star Wars: Underworld promised to delve into the Star Wars universe in ways that were “sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful.” However, the budget required to bring these scripts to life—$40 million per episode—pushed the total cost well over the $1 billion mark, making it financially unfeasible even for George Lucas in the early 2000s.

“[It] would’ve blown up the whole Star Wars universe and Disney would’ve definitely never offered George to buy the franchise,” McCallum noted. The project was officially scrapped after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and George Lucas stepped away from the helm.

While McCallum didn’t disclose specific plot details, it's widely speculated that Star Wars: Underworld would have explored the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The producer had previously mentioned that the series would introduce an entirely new cast of characters, significantly expand the Star Wars universe, and aim for an adult audience rather than focusing on teens and children.

Star Wars: Underworld was first announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and test footage surfaced in 2020. Unfortunately, since then, there’s been no further development, leaving fans with the bitter realization that this ambitious project might never see the light of day.