Disney's 'Star Wars' TV series, 'The Mandalorian,' cost $100 million to make - but its Marvel shows cost even more
- On Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the upcoming Disney Plus series, "The Mandalorian," cost around $100 million to make.
- At eight episodes in length, that would put each episode's cost at around $12.5 million.
- It's less than the reported $25 million an episode that Disney is dropping on its Marvel TV shows for the streaming service.
- It's also less than what Apple is spending on some of its shows, such as "See" and "The Morning Show," for its own upcoming service, Apple TV Plus.
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"The Mandalorian," the first live-action "Star Wars" TV series launching on Disney Plus on November 12, had a hefty price tag.
The series cost "around $100 million" to produce, Disney CEO Bob Iger said during the Vanity Fair Summit on Tuesday. At eight episodes, that makes each episode's budget around $12.5 million. The Hollywood Reporter reported last week that the series cost $15 million an episode.
But it's still less expensive than the Disney Plus Marvel shows that are in development. "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "WandaVision," and "Hawkeye" each cost $25 million an episode, according to THR. Variety had previously reported that the shows would be six to eight episodes long, so each series could cost between $150 million and $200 million.
Disney is projecting a 2020 original programming budget "short of $1 billion," according to THR.
The budget for "The Mandalorian" is also less money than what Apple is dropping on some of its TV shows for its own streaming platform, Apple TV Plus, which launches November 1.
Bloomberg first reported in August that "The Morning Show," starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, would cost $300 million for two seasons, or $15 million an episode for 20 episodes. THR reported that "See," starring "Aquaman" actor Jason Momoa, will cost $240 million for two seasons.
This year's final season of HBO's "Game of Thrones" cost $15 million an episode, or $90 million for the six-episode season, according to Variety.