Holiday specials were, and still are for many network shows, a staple of the television schedule. Regardless of what the occasion was, standalone episodes dedicated to a particular day in the calendar above all others can almost always be relied on to increase ratings.
Now that the entertainment landscape has shifted significantly thanks to the advent of streaming, it would be easy for the humble Holiday Special to simply fade away from the public consciousness. Instead, it looks to be making a resurgence on one platform in particular, as Disney Plus leads the charge.
We’ve known for a while that the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is being filmed during production on Vol. 3, and it’ll be official Marvel Cinematic Universe canon as well. Just the other day the news broke that a Marvel Halloween special could be in the works for D+, which is heavily rumored to focus on Werewolf by Night, and we’re now hearing another major property could be in line for the same treatment.
According to our sources – the same ones who told us Hayden Christensen was returning as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi long before it was confirmed – a spooky Star Wars special could be in the works, although it would be safe to assume that it wouldn’t arrive until next year at the earliest given that we’re almost into September.
Of course, LEGO Star Wars is getting there first when Terrifying Tales comes to Disney Plus on October 1st, while the minifig franchise also resurrected the Holiday Special to great effect last year, so perhaps the positive reception has encouraged Lucasfilm to take a punt on a live-action rejuvenation.
