Disney+ releases first official footage of the Star Wars Holiday Special in high definition. The infamous 1978 Holiday Special served as the first ever spin-off for the Star Wars franchise. Set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the Star Wars special stars the main cast of the original movie, as well as introduces the iconic character Boba Fett, who goes on to appear in later movies.
The Star Wars Holiday Special storyline involves Chewbacca and Han Solo attempting to visit the Wookiee planet of Kashyyk in order to celebrate "Life Day." Along the way, the pair are pursued by the Galatic Empire, who are in the midst of searching the planet for Rebel Alliance members. At one point in the special, viewers are introduced to Chewbacca's family, consisting of his wife Malla, his son Lumpy, and his father Itchy. Throughout the special, other classic Star Wars characters make an appearance, including Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2. While the Star Wars special is notorious for its extremely negative reception from fans and critics, it's become a cult legend due to its "underground" quality. Now, Disney is upgrading the special and offering easier access to it.
Star Wars Visual Comparisons posts a tweet sharing official footage from the Star Wars Holiday Special Disney+ plans to release in high definition. The footage features Chewbacca's son, Lumpy, wearing headphones and taking a video call from Darth Vader. The footage also briefly shows Boba Fett in animated form holding his iconic Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster. Both sets of footage are interspersed with George Lucas reflecting on the special, saying, "they were doing this Holiday Special, and there wasn't much of our involvement." View the HD footage of the Star Wars Holiday Special below:
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Despite Lucas' insistence that his team "wasn't much" involved in the project, the famed director originally wrote a six-page treatment for the special. Most likely owing to its poor reception, Lucas has never released the special from his vault to home video. While it does have its flaws, the special is an important piece of Star Wars fiction from a historical perspective. As mentioned before, the special marks the first appearance of the fan-favorite character, Bob Fett, in an animated cutaway sequence that serves as the franchise's first ever Star Wars cartoon. Disney+ later isolated that cartoon sequence and released it to the streaming platform in 2021.
While once described as the "worst two hours of television ever," the Star Wars Holiday Special is still worth watching by fans of the franchise. Ever since its original release, the special has been locked away in the Lucas vault with only bootleg copies making their way to the hands of fans. Now, not only is Disney+ releasing the special and making it easier to watch, but it appears they're upgrading it to HD quality. All in all, the special is a disaster of bad comedy, but fans can still find something to take away from it.
Source: Star Wars Visual Comparisons