Unveiling the $40 Million Episode ‘Star Wars: Underworld’ That Never Was!

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Originally, George Lucas didn’t view his story as being primarily intended for family audiences. The emergence of information about his aborted TV series, “Star Wars: Underworld,” indicates that the franchise might have taken a different path if it had been produced. Although “Star Wars” television shows have played a significant role in the franchise over the past six years, before Disney acquired Lucasfilm at the end of the 2000s, Lucas was on the brink of creating a gritty and adult-oriented series whose episodes would have cost more than many movies.

Originally conceived as a network television show before streaming services became popular, this hypothetical series would have been set following the events of Revenge of the Sith, possibly serving as a connecting link between the prequel movies and the original trilogy. It was common knowledge that George Lucas had plans for such a series, but during an interview on the Young Indy Chroniclers podcast, producer Rick McCallum shared details about Lucas’ ambitious and costly vision for the show. He stated:

Reflecting on it now, we had around sixty third-draft scripts from some of the finest writers globally working on it. We aimed to provide the same immersive experience for everyone at the Ranch, and boy, what a remarkable collection of talent we had! They weren’t light; they were intense, provocative, and downright fantastic. Sexy, violent, and intricate are words that barely scratch the surface. If this series had been produced, it would have pushed the boundaries of Star Wars to its very core. Unfortunately, Disney likely wouldn’t have even considered purchasing it from George Lucas. [laughs] It remains one of our greatest regrets. The challenge was, each episode was more expansive than any film we could produce at that time. At best, I could scale it down to around $40 million per episode with the technology available then.

George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars: Underworld‘ Could Have Been a Huge Success, or Terrible Disaster

Star Wars: Underworld, a project that never saw the light of day on screens, remains a significant “what if” in the Star Wars franchise’s history. Although today it seems that fans crave more mature content within franchises like Star Wars, DCU, and MCU, about ten years ago, there was much apprehension regarding tampering with formulas proven successful for major intellectual properties.

As a passionate cinephile, I can’t help but ponder what could have been if the “Underworld” series had made it to the big screen. Given its price tag, nearly three times that of an average episode from “The Mandalorian”, it would have undoubtedly boasted a staggering budget. While we may never know if Disney received these scripts when they acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, it was HBO that George Lucas had planned to pitch the series to. Regrettably, the plans for this potential collaboration fell through when HBO’s CEO found himself embroiled in a scandal, forcing him to cancel our scheduled meeting the day prior. Maybe, just maybe, some things are meant to unfold as they do.

Although the series named Underworld never made it to our screens, it’s rumored that several aspects from it have found their way into the Star Wars universe over the years following its cancellation. However, it remains uncertain if we’ll ever get a clear picture of what the scripts for Underworld actually entailed, much like the mysteries surrounding many films still in development.

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2025-03-09 15:02