"Star Wars: Underworld Cancellation Due to High Costs"

It's a tough pill to swallow for Star Wars fans: the ambitious project known as Star Wars: Underworld was shelved due to its staggering budget. Rick McCallum, the producer behind the Star Wars prequels, recently shared that the cost of producing each episode would have been a mind-boggling $40 million. This financial hurdle was simply too high, leading to the project's cancellation.

In an insightful 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." The producer expressed his deep disappointment over the project's unrealization, labeling it as "one of the great disappointments of our lives."

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The series was poised to be a game-changer for the Star Wars universe, with 60 "third draft" scripts penned by some of the world's most talented writers. These scripts promised to explore the galaxy in "sexy, violent, dark, challenging, complicated, and wonderful" ways. However, the astronomical budget—potentially reaching into the billions with 60 episodes at $40 million each—proved to be an insurmountable obstacle, even for George Lucas 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 project was officially abandoned after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and George Lucas stepped away from the helm.

While specific plot details were not disclosed in the interview, fans have long speculated that Star Wars: Underworld would have delved into the period between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. McCallum had previously hinted that the series would introduce a fresh cast of characters, significantly expand the Star Wars universe, and cater to an adult audience rather than younger viewers.

Star Wars: Underworld was first announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2005, and test footage surfaced in 2020. Unfortunately, since then, there has been no further development. It appears that this ambitious project may remain a tantalizing "what if" in the annals of Star Wars lore.