A New ‘Star Wars’ Holiday Special Is Coming To Disney+ In Animated LEGO Form This Fall
The Star Wars Holiday Specialis a stain on the legacy of the sci-fi saga, but it’s also beloved by fans for being such a weird piece of the franchise’s history. Now a newStar Warsholiday special will be coming to Disney+ this fall, but this time it will be in the style of LEGO animation.The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Specialwill take place after the events ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerand follow Rey and BB-8 as they head off on a quest to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force. But something goes terribly wrong, leaving them stuck spiraling through time and space and putting them in danger of missing their Life Day celebration with Chewbacca back on his homeworld of Kashyyk. Yes, Life Day is back!USA Todayhas news onThe LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, which will be coming to Disney+ onNovember 17. Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron are all getting back together to celebrate Life Day with Chewbacca, and some of theStar Warsfranchise actors are returning to voice the characters they played in the movies, though it wasn’t specifically revealed who was returning for the special.
The primary inspiration forThe LEGO Star Wars Holiday Specialappears to beA Christmas Carol. While Rey and BB-8 are exploring a mysterious Jedi Temple to learn more about the Force, they somehow end up revisiting some of the franchise’s most beloved moments involving Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and more. There will even be some kind of hilarious gathering of Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, and Kylo Ren, which will certainly be something to behold, especially if LEGO Kylo Ren has his shirt off. Executive producer Josh Rimes explained:
“It’s a celebration of the saga. A lot of characters will be interacting with different characters and perhaps even different versions of themselves at different ages.”
As you can see above, characters from all nine chapters fo the Skywalker saga have come together in a scene above, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, half of Darth Maul, Greedo, several versions of Anazkin Skywalker, and plenty of different Stormtroopers and Clone Troopers.Even the background is filled with different vehicles from the movies, including podracers, a Snowspeeder and a TIE Fighter.
But for the most part, Rey will be spending a lot of time with the younger version of Luke that she never knew. Rimes added, “It becomes a much different take on a teacher and apprentice with the more seasoned Rey and a younger Luke.”
The special will also take cues from other holiday classics such asIt’s a Wonderful Life,National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and some classicBurl Ivesholiday musical festiveness. And of course there will be winks and nods to the originalStar Wars Holiday Special. Perhaps we’ll run into Chewbacca’s wifeMallatobuck and son Lumpawaroo (aka Lumpy) again.
Not too long ago,The Mandaloriancreator Jon Favreau earnestlytalked about his desireto make a newStar Warsholiday special. But I’m not sure there’s a good way to pull that off with the right tone in live-action form. That’s what makes a LEGO animated version of aStar Warsholiday special a little more appealing, and maybe it will become a new staple thatStar Warsfans watch every year. And maybe Rose Tico will actually have something to do this time.
The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is directed by Ken Cunningham and written by David Shayne, who is also co-executive producer. James Waugh, Josh Rimes, Jason Cosler, Jacqui Lopez, Jill Wilfert, and Keith Malone are executive producers.
