Cancelled Series Star Wars: Underworld Was So Expensive, It Would've 'Blown Up' the Star Wars Universe

Rick McCallum, producer of the Star Wars prequels, recently revealed the staggering cost behind the cancelled Star Wars: Underworld series: a hefty $40 million per episode. This exorbitant budget, he explained on the Young Indy Chronicles podcast, stemmed from episodes exceeding the scale of feature films. Even with the technology available at the time, $40 million per episode was the lowest achievable cost. McCallum described the project's failure to materialize as "one of the great disappointments of our lives."

With 60 third-draft scripts showcasing a "sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful" Star Wars universe, penned by top-tier writers, the budget proved insurmountable. The estimated cost easily exceeded $1 billion, a sum even George Lucas couldn't secure in the early 2000s. McCallum suggested that the series' ambition would have fundamentally reshaped the Star Wars universe, potentially impacting Disney's later acquisition of the franchise. Disney's acquisition and Lucas' subsequent departure ultimately sealed the series' fate.

While McCallum offered no plot specifics in this interview, fan speculation centers on bridging the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. He previously hinted at a fresh cast, significant universe expansion, and an adult-oriented target audience, diverging from the typical teen and child demographics.

First unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and with test footage leaked in 2020, Star Wars: Underworld remains a tantalizing "what if?" The prohibitive cost appears to have definitively ended its chances of ever seeing the light of day.