LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special: Dumping The Bucket
Yes, the first episode of Mandalorian Season 2 drops on Friday; however, even after that, there’s plenty of Star Wars to come. Perhaps the most anticipated content coming after Mando is the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special.
And, when it comes down to how the folks behind the new show handled Star Wars many characters and era as they chose who include, the answer was easy: They dumped out the bucket.
EW.com’s James Hibberd spoke to executive producer James Waugh:
“The Holiday Special has something you will never see in Star Wars otherwise which is all the characters from across all timelines crashing together,” said Waugh to EW. “Normally story groups are so concerned about maintaining this amazing galaxy so that it feels cohesive, it was liberating to do this in a way that’s charming and fun.
“We started realizing that the way [children] play with them isn’t with canonical separation; it’s not, ‘Let’s put all the classic trilogy sets here, the prequel sets here, new sequel sets here… My son literally just dumps his bucket out.
“We realized that was a play pattern that could actually inform the fun of this show.”
And what a way to set up a Star Wars special, no?
Although the special follows closely on the heels of Rey’s victory over Palpatine, the timeline quickly goes kablooie.
HOW kablooie does it go?
Hibberd explained:
- Like three different era Obi-Wan Kenobis (hello there!).
- Two Han Solos (one old and cranky, one young and just slightly less cranky).
- And Rey meeting pivotal characters from across the Star Wars saga, including a young Luke and a young Kylo Ren – and also fighting Darth Vader.
But, don’t expect a re-telling of the much-maligned Holiday Special. No, this is a new production albeit with some familiar facets.
“What it does is lean into the conceits that were created in that holiday special,” Waugh told EW. “We have Life Day as a fictional thread because of the Holiday Special. You’ve seen that [referenced] in The Mandalorian, we’ve used it in publishing and fans have embraced it – last year fans celebrated Life Day at Galaxy’s Edge in the park… but we’re not doing Lego Bea Arthur singing in a cantina.”
No Bea Arthur (Ackmena) is a tragedy. But I’ll still be watching it on November 17.
How about you?