I'm not gonna lie: this one stings. Star Wars prequels producer Rick McCallum recently revealed that the legendary cancelled series, Star Wars: Underworld, would've cost a staggering $40 million per episode to produce. This massive budget ultimately sealed its fate, leading to its cancellation due to financial constraints.
"The problem was that each episode was bigger than the films," McCallum explained during his interview 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 further expressed that the inability to bring this project to fruition remains "one of the great disappointments of our lives."
With 60 "third draft" scripts penned by "the most wonderful writers in the world," Star Wars: Underworld promised to explore the Star Wars universe in "sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful" ways. However, the sheer cost—60 episodes at $40 million each—would have pushed the total budget well over $1 billion, an amount even George Lucas couldn't muster 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 added. The series met its end once Disney acquired Lucasfilm and George Lucas stepped away from the helm.
While McCallum did not disclose specific plot details in this interview, fans have long speculated that Star Wars: Underworld would have depicted the events occurring between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. McCallum previously shared that the series would introduce an entirely new cast of characters, significantly expand the Star Wars universe, and cater to an adult audience, rather than targeting teens and children.
Star Wars: Underworld was first unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and test footage from the series leaked in 2020. Unfortunately, it appears that this may be the last we hear of it.
