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 jaw-dropping $40 million per episode. This exorbitant budget, driven by the ambitious scale of each episode exceeding that of the films themselves, ultimately sealed its fate. "The problem was that each episode was bigger than the films," McCallum explained on the Young Indy Chronicles podcast. "So the lowest I could get it down to with the tech that existed then was $40 million an episode." He described the project's failure to materialize as "one of the great disappointments of our lives."

With 60 third-draft scripts penned by "the most wonderful writers in the world," showcasing a "sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful" side of the Star Wars universe, the budget proved insurmountable. Even at the early 2000s, the potential cost – well over $1 billion – was simply too much. McCallum noted that the series' ambition would have "blown up the whole Star Wars universe," potentially preventing Disney's later acquisition of the franchise. Disney's subsequent takeover of Lucasfilm and George Lucas's departure effectively ended any hope for the series' revival.

While McCallum remained tight-lipped on specific plot details, fan speculation has long centered on the series bridging the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Previous statements indicated a completely new cast, a significant expansion of the Star Wars universe, and a target audience of adults, unlike the more family-friendly approach of other Star Wars content.

First unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and with test footage surfacing in 2020, Star Wars: Underworld remains a "what if" scenario. The immense budget, it seems, ensured that it would stay that way.