When Disney bought Star Wars in 2012, the reaction was mixed. On one hand, some were sad to see the beloved franchise become just another IP owned by The Walt Disney Corporation, while others were happy to see it out of George Lucas’ hands. After the disappointing Prequel Trilogy, many had come to view him as a poor steward of the galaxy he’d created and there was one show they’d hold up as the perfect example of how he’d lost his way: Star Wars: Detours.
This was to be a CGI parody of the franchise from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. Produced by Lucas himself, the show was unveiled in mid-2012 with a jaw-droppingly terrible trailer. The reception was shocked disbelief, as nobody wanted to see Darth Vader making creaky old hip-hop jokes or the Emperor talking about his success on a singles cruise. Then there was the outright ugly art style that looked like it’d been rendered on a PlayStation 2.
Despite 39 episodes being finished, it was canned by Disney at the first opportunity (though some short leaks did eventually make their way online), with the reasoning being that a comedy show featuring extensive in-jokes would get in the way of opening Star Wars up to new fans with the Sequel Trilogy.
But now, almost a decade on from it being shoved in a dark cupboard at Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Detours may be crawling back into the light. It’s being reported that the show is set for release on Disney Plus on May 4th, 2021 (Star Wars Day). If Detours looked dated in 2012, I dread to think how badly it’s aged now, but I do have a morbid curiosity for disasters so would definitely check it out if it were to arrive on the platform.
More on Star Wars: Detours as we hear it. Fingers… crossed?
