Bricking It

The Star Wars Holiday Special is back – but not as you know it!

WHEREVER YOU LAND ON THE STAR WARS scale of love or hate, there’s at least one thing just about everyone can agree on: the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special remains the worst in-canon production of the franchise. A cheesy one-hour special meant to bridge Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, the 20th Century Fox Television-produced tie-in boasted the entire original cast, plus actresses Bea Arthur and Diahann Carroll for some weird reason.

Even with that star power, it was bad beyond belief, so much so that actor Anthony Daniels referred to it as a “turd” in his autobiography I Am C-3PO. Although never broadcast again, bootlegs have still made it legendary in pop culture history.

Forty-three years later, Lucasfilm clearly hopes there’s been time enough for the stink to fade, as it starts anew with the animated Lego Star Wars Holiday Special on Disney+ this month. An in-canon continuation of the sequel trilogy’s narrative, this special takes place right after the end of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, with a celebration looming for Rey Skywalker and her Resistance pals: Finn, Poe, Chewie, Rose, and their various droid companions.