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New details have arisen regarding a cancelled Star Wars series helmed by George Lucas himself, and fans are upset that they never received the Star Wars show of their dreams.
Thank you in advance to Gizmodo's Germain Lussier for the original source (per the Young Indy Chronicles podcast).
Originally announced back in 2005, Star Wars: Underworld was supposed to focus on the seedier side of the Star Wars universe.
Set on Courscant and following the events of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Underworld was going to explore the criminal inner workings on the planet in the wake of the Republic's fall.
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The last update we heard regarding the project was in 2011, when Lucas announced that the project had been delayed by “three to four” years. Then Disney bought the Star Wars rights, resulting in the show being cancelled forever.
Rick McCallum, Lucas' producer during this period, has recently revealed the main reason why the series never saw the light of day; the whopping $40 million per episode budget that would have been required.
Over on the r/television subreddit, users shared their disappointment at the news.
“I’ve always wanted an underworld related Star Wars show or game,” commented user FreonKennedy.
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“Sucks it actually could’ve happened if not for the cost issues.”
“$40 million per episode in the early 2000s is absolutely insane money. No wonder it never happened. Even today that would be on the extreme high end like beyond Rings of Power territory. I'm fascinated by the "dark, sexy, violent" description though,” commented user TerribleRuin4232.
“Sounds like Lucas wanted to make Sopranos in space, exploring the criminal underbelly of Coruscant. Definitely nothing like the Star Wars we were getting at that time.”
Considering Disney’s Star Wars: Acolyte series was cancelled due to its $28.75 million per episode budget, there is no way they’d be willing to take a risk on Star Wars: Underworld’s projected $40 million per episode budget, so it’s no wonder they never followed up on Lucas’ plans.
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Still, there’s nothing stopping them from exploring the idea in a decidedly cheaper way, like for instance through an animated series?