No one asked for this: The ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ is getting remade?
Ask any Star Wars fan about the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, and you will hear a sad tale. A made-for-TV movie in the 1970s featuring the original cast, it was an infamously bizarre, badly-written waste of air time. Depending on who you ask, it can be so bad, it’s good.
Since Disney owns the Star Wars franchise now, they’re milking it for all it’s worth. This includes new TV shows, spinoff movies, and now, they’re bringing the Holiday Special back. Why else, besides getting new butts on the couch in front of a Disney+ subscription, would Disney want to resurrect this from the trash heap? Let’s take a look.
What made the Star Wars Holiday Special so awful?
For those of us who’ve seen it, the script is a convoluted mess. Han Solo and Chewbacca are trying to get to Kashyyk, the Wookie’s planet, to celebrate Life Day, the Star Wars version of Christmas. Do we ride around the Millennium Falcon seeing what Han and Chewie are doing? Nope. We’re stuck with Chewy’s Wookie family.
This means we’re treated to half an hour of Wookie roars until Chewy and Han Solo come in to save the day. Not only that, but viewers are also treated to concepts that make us want to bleach our eyeballs. We’re only going to say three words: implied Wookie porn. That’s all you need to know. The film was so bad, Lucasfilms kept it out of circulation.
The only saving grace of the Star Wars Holiday Special was the animated sequence, for one reason. It was the first appearance of Boba Fett on screen. For some fans, the Bea Arthur musical number isn’t bad, either.
How is Disney going to bring back the Star Wars Holiday Special?
With Legos, of course! The new Star Wars Holiday Special will be a Lego Star Wars movie. It will be out on November 17, just in time for the Holiday Season. The new Star Wars Holiday Special will also take place during the Sequel trilogy, as Rey will make an appearance.
They already have a plotline. Rey is on a quest with Finn and Poe to gain a deeper understanding of The Force. After conversing with Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and other franchise faves, Rey and her friends have to get to Kashyyk, Chewbacca’s home planet, to celebrate Life Day with him.
The producers of the film decided to go with the Lego version so they wouldn’t take themselves too seriously. They claim there are a lot of “winks & nods” to the original, with the possibility of seeing a bunch of characters interacting with each other, including younger versions of themselves. Ugh, why?
Why are they reaching this low?
Considering Disney’s economic situation post-COVID, it’s not too surprising. Disney lost a lot of revenue after they had to close their parks for months. They nearly made it back in Disney+ subscriptions, since everyone is staying at home. They’re trying to squeeze as much money out of it as they can, creating premium content for families to buy.
Last week, they released their live-action remake of Mulan to Disney+ for an extra fee of $30. Some say it was to recuperate the financial loss the film suffered thanks to coronavirus. Others speculate that it’s a test run to see if Disney needs theatrical releases anymore.
It’s unclear whether the Lego remake of the Star Wars Holiday Special will be free with Disney’s streaming service or add an extra cost. Since it’s not a theatrical release, and it’s based off the bottom of the barrel of Star Wars material, we think you’ll be able to watch it with the subscription alone. Also, who would pay extra to see this?
