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 a heartbreaking truth about the cancelled Star Wars: Underworld series: its astronomical budget. Each episode would have cost a staggering $40 million to produce, effectively sealing 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 added that the project's failure remains "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 writers, the budget proved insurmountable. Even at the early 2000s, 60 scripts at $40 million per episode easily exceeded $2.4 billion—a sum even George Lucas couldn't secure.

McCallum noted that the series, had it been made, "would’ve blown up the whole Star Wars universe and Disney would’ve definitely never offered George to buy the franchise." Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm and Lucas's subsequent departure ultimately ended any hope for the project.

While McCallum didn't divulge plot details, fans speculate the series would have bridged the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. He previously hinted at a new cast, significant expansion of the Star Wars universe, and a target audience of adults, rather than children and teens.

First unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and with test footage leaked in 2020, Star Wars: Underworld remains a "what if" scenario. It seems this ambitious vision will likely remain unrealized.