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 to materialize 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" side of the Star Wars universe penned by top-tier writers, the budget proved insurmountable. Even at the early 2000s, the potential cost—well over $1 billion—was simply too much, even for George Lucas.
McCallum noted that the series' scale would have dramatically altered the Star Wars universe, possibly preventing Disney's acquisition of the franchise. Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm and Lucas' subsequent departure ultimately ended any hope for the series.
While McCallum remained tight-lipped on plot specifics, fan speculation points to the series bridging the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. He previously indicated a new cast of characters, a significant expansion of the Star Wars universe, and a mature audience target (adults, rather than children and teens).
First unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and with test footage surfacing in 2020, Star Wars: Underworld remains a "what if" scenario. For now, it seems destined to remain a lost gem in the Star Wars galaxy.
