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C-3PO Actor Compares The Star Wars Holiday Special To A Funeral

The Star Wars Holiday Special holds a unique position in the franchise's history, and not just because it saw the first appearance of Boba Fett. Everyone associated with a galaxy far, far away widely acknowledges it as the undoubted low point of the series, and Mark Hamill is still apologizing for it, but the fact that George Lucas never officially made it available has generated a legendary sense of infamy, with longtime fans desperate to track the disaster down no matter how grainy a bootleg copy they end up with.

C-3PO

The Star Wars Holiday Special holds a unique position in the franchise’s history, and not just because it saw the first appearance of Boba Fett. Everyone associated with a galaxy far, far away widely acknowledges it as the undoubted low point of the series, and Mark Hamill is still apologizing for it, but the fact that George Lucas never officially made it available has generated a legendary sense of infamy, with longtime fans desperate to track the disaster down no matter how grainy a bootleg copy they end up with.

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It isn’t in the Disney Plus library, and it isn’t on home video, but million of people have still seen it via some online sleuthing. The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau even admitted that he’d love to make a modern day version, but the LEGO team got in there before he did. Yes, the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special recently debuted on Disney Plus, and the irreverent animation has gone down a storm with subscribers.

In a recent interview, C-3PO star Anthony Daniels illustrated the stark differences by comparing the original shoot to a funeral, which is a far cry from the tongue in cheek enthusiasm of the Holiday Special‘s spiritual successor.

“This thing was meant to be a happy Life Day, then we’re in this giant set draped with black, it was just awful. It was like being at a weird funeral, you have to watch it on YouTube for the full horror. Watch the last ten minutes, and you’ll see why the new show contrasts rather well and is rather fun. Poor Mark, poor Carrie, poor Harrison. You can see it on their faces. They’re gritting their teeth and it shows, they’re like hanging onto each other. I think people learn their lesson, and I think we may be on track to make a regular Life Day holiday special, and why not?.”

Anyone who appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special may as well embrace their association with it, although that didn’t stop Mark Hamill from asking for a presidential pardon for his involvement. The LEGO version, meanwhile, roped in various names from across the breadth of the Star Wars universe to lend their vocal talents, and having been credited in more projects than anyone else by quite some distance, it was both fitting and inevitable that Daniels signed on to try and gain a sense of closure.