It might just be time to revisit one of the most fascinating and maligned parts of Star Wars history, as Jon Favreau wants to make a new Star Wars: Holiday Special. The executive producer of The Mandalorian, the first ever live-action TV series set within a galaxy far, far away, recently made his desire to do just such a thing known. But could this really happen? He’s asking fans to speak up to make it a reality.
Jon Favreau, director of movies such as Iron Man and The Jungle Book, recently attended the Saturn Awards. During an interview, the subject of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special came up. At that point, Favreau expressed his desire to make a new version of the famously disastrous event for the Disney+ streaming service. Here’s what the filmmaker had to say about it.
“I would love to do a Holiday Special. If you want to see a Holiday Special, let Disney+ know.”
For those who may not be familiar, the Star Wars Holiday Special was cooked up in the wake of the success of George Lucas’ original 1977 sci-fi classic. Box office records were being shattered. Action figures were flying off the shelves. Star Wars mania was at critical mass. So, the idea of doing a Christmas special with the cast of the movie was floated and Lucas went with it. The results were nothing shy of spectacularly bad. The whole thing centers on Life Day, a holiday on Chewie’s home planet, Kashyyyk. We meet his family, which includes his son, Lumpy. The first 15 minutes of the special are entirely in Wookiee with no subtitles, and that’s just one example of how ridiculous and wacky the whole thing is.
It aired just once on CBS in 1978 and George Lucas tried to have its existence scrubbed from history. Yet, bootleg copies are regularly available at comic book conventions and online, as it’s now something of a touchstone for Star Wars die-hards. One important aspect of the special is that it introduced Boba Fett via an animated short. Jon Favreau expressed his love for that specific element of the special.
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“I love The Holiday Special, certain sequences more than others. I love the introduction of Boba Fett and that rifle that he had. That animated piece still holds up. It’s pretty cool. I draw inspiration from that.”
Indeed, The Mandalorian features Boba Fett’s rifle from that animated short. Could a new Star Wars Holiday Special work? It would have to walk a fine line of acknowledging the cheese of the original, while remaining watchable for modern audiences. But Disney loves Jon Favreau and with the movies taking a big break after The Rise of Skywalker this year, who knows? If fans make enough noise, anything is possible. Disney+ is set to launch on November 12, with The Mandalorian available on day one. This news comes to us via Entertainment Tonight.
