I’m not going to sugarcoat it: the revelation about the cancelled Star Wars series, Star Wars: Underworld, is a tough pill to swallow for fans. According to producer Rick McCallum, the project was doomed due to its staggering budget of $40 million per episode. In an interview on the Young Indy Chronicles podcast, McCallum shared, “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 inability to bring this vision to life remains “one of the great disappointments of our lives.”
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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 that were “sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful.” However, the budget required—60 episodes at $40 million each—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 was ultimately cancelled after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and Lucas stepped away from the helm.
While McCallum did not delve into specific plot details during the interview, it's widely speculated that Star Wars: Underworld would have bridged the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The producer had previously mentioned that the series would introduce a fresh cast of characters, significantly expand the Star Wars universe, and cater to an adult audience rather than focusing on teens and children.
Star Wars: Underworld was first unveiled at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and test footage surfaced in 2020. Unfortunately, it appears that this ambitious project may remain just a tantalizing glimpse of what could have been.
