‘Star Wars: Underworld’ had 60 scripts before Disney shut it down, fans joke: "Better than anything Kathleen Kennedy ever came up with"

In a galaxy not so far away, Star Wars: Underworld was set to be one of the most exciting projects in the franchise’s history—a live-action TV series straight from the mind of George Lucas himself. It promised a grittier, darker, and more mature dive into the galaxy’s criminal underworld.

But the project hit a massive roadblock—its budget was sky-high, and then Disney swooped in and bought Lucasfilm.

Sadly, the Underworld was left to gather dust. According to producer Rick McCallum, though, the dream was very real—over 60 scripts were written before the whole thing got locked away in the archives.

As disappointment set in, users naturally turned to humor. Some joked that this could have been better than anything Kathleen Kennedy has ever produced, while others compared it to Disney’s box office flops.

As projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Little Mermaid, and Haunted Mansion failed to make an impact, fans couldn’t help but wonder if this missed opportunity would have fared better.

A user (@dontcallmeraylo) stated:

"Would have been better than anything Kathleen Kennedy ever came up with."

Another user (@aleenaamiir) added:

"Lucas was really about to drop the wildest Star Wars show ever, and they said, "Nah, too expensive."."

Accompanied by a hilariously relatable GIF, a user said:

"What could have been."

A user (@SnowKing1210) sarcastically said:

"Thanks Disney. You ruined everything."

One user (@iamWeaselccf) highlighted:

"This gets cancelled but acolyte gets like 400 million? Yikes 😬"

A user (@KingArthurCole) went on to say:

"Would have been better than a lot of the slop they did for the last few years. Surely it could have been reviewed down to be less expensive."

A user (@TheQuestBroski) quipped:

"We could have gotten 60 episodes of Georgekino but instead we got slop. Thanks, prequel haters."

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Star Wars: Underworld and its untold stories

Star Wars: Underworld was conceived as a dark look at the galaxy's seedy side, centering on the planet Coruscant.

This concrete jungle of high-rise buildings and crowded sidewalks would have provided the setting for a series that explored the world of crime, providing a new spin on the Star Wars franchise.

The series would have filled the story gap between the prequel and original trilogies, and the more mature-oriented plot would have hugely broadened the thematic scope of the franchise.

The writing team for Star Wars: Underworld consisted of some of the industry's most skilled writers. Rick McCallum has sung the praises of the quality and richness of the scripts.

In an audio clip shared by Young Indy Chroniclers on YouTube, he spilled some juicy details, saying:

"I think we had over 60 scripts, third draft scripts [with] the most wonderful writers in the world."

"…and these were dark, they were sexy, they were violent, just absolutely wonderful, complicated, challenging… It would have blown up the whole Star Wars universe, and Disney definitely would have never offered to buy that. It’s one of the great disappointments of our lives."

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Budget and production challenges

One of the primary reasons Star Wars: Underworld never came to be was that it reportedly had an enormous production budget.

McCallum estimated that each episode would cost at least $40 million, a budget that was unprecedented for television at that time.

Had the series gone ahead with its intended 100 episodes, the overall cost would have been more than $4 billion, making it the most costly television production ever.

The cost, coupled with the technological requirements of realizing such a sophisticated world, was too great to overcome.

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Connection to other projects

Star Wars: Underworld was also associated with another scrapped project, the video game Star Wars 1313.

Developed by LucasArts, the game was to delve into related topics, looking at Boba Fett's escapades in Coruscant's underworld.

The cancellation of the game followed in quick succession behind the cancellation of Underworld, speaking to the interrelatedness of Lucasfilm's projects during the period.