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, a figure that 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 as "one of the great disappointments of our lives."

With 60 third-draft scripts already written, showcasing a "sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful" Star Wars universe, the budget proved insurmountable. Even at the time, the estimated cost—well over $1 billion—was beyond reach, even for George Lucas. McCallum added that the series' scale would have "blown up the whole Star Wars universe," potentially preventing Disney's later acquisition of the franchise. The project was definitively shelved after Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm.

While McCallum remained tight-lipped on plot details, fan speculation centers 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.

First unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and with test footage leaked in 2020, Star Wars: Underworld remains a tantalizing "what if?" Sadly, it seems destined to stay that way.