"Star Wars: Underworld Cancellation Due to Sky-High Costs"

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: the revelation from Star Wars prequels producer Rick McCallum about the cancelled series Star Wars: Underworld is a tough pill to swallow for fans. McCallum recently disclosed that the series would have come with a staggering price tag of $40 million per episode, a budget that ultimately led to its cancellation.

In an interview on the Young Indy Chronicles podcast, McCallum explained, “The problem was that each episode was bigger than the films. 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 failure to bring this project to fruition remains “one of the great disappointments of our lives.”

With 60 “third draft” scripts penned by some of the world’s most talented writers, Star Wars: Underworld promised to explore the Star Wars universe in ways described as “sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful.” However, the financial reality was stark: 60 episodes at $40 million each would have pushed the total cost well over $1 billion—a sum that even George Lucas couldn’t muster in the early 2000s.

McCallum noted, “[It] would’ve blown up the whole Star Wars universe and Disney would’ve definitely never offered George to buy the franchise.” The series met its final demise after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and Lucas stepped away from the helm.

While McCallum did not divulge specific plot details in the interview, fans have long speculated that Star Wars: Underworld would have bridged the narrative gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The producer had previously mentioned that the series would introduce an entirely new cast of characters, significantly expand the Star Wars universe, and aim for an adult audience rather than the typical teen and child demographic.

Star Wars: Underworld was first unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and test footage surfaced in 2020. Since then, however, there has been no further development. It seems that fans will have to come to terms with the fact that this ambitious project may never see the light of day.