Even as Disney brings the “Star Wars” franchise back to the world with sequels, spinoffs and even a possible Pixar movie, nothing will erase the infamy of the “Star Wars Holiday Special.”
The November 1978 TV spinoff was a massive miscalculation by George Lucas, a shameless attempt to keep the “Star Wars” buzz going that failed on almost every conceivable level. The story goes that Lucas wanted to destroy all copies of ‘Holiday Special,’ and it has never received an official release, but it’s widely circulated (you can watch it right here). But how do the stars themselves feel about it? Well, Mark Hamill answered the question during a Reddit AMA and he wants out in the world, but not for the reasons you might think:
Oh yeah. I thought it was a mistake from the beginning. It was just unlike anything else in the Star Wars universe. And I initially said that I didn’t want to do it, but George said it would help keep Star Wars in the consciousness and I wanted to be a team player so I did it. And I also said that I didn’t think Luke should sing, so they cut that number. And now, I think we shouldn’t be ashamed of it. They should put on the extra of the DVD’s – it shows how incredibly fallible we are! At that same time, it did introduce Boba Fett in an animated sequence, so it’s significant in that respect. Plus Art Carney was in it, who is one of my favorite comedic actors of all time.
That certainly would make a helluva bonus feature. But while that will probably never happen, “Star Wars: Episode 7” is and while Hamill is heavily rumored to star, he’s not spilling the beans, saying: “The only character I know for sure is returning is my friend R2-D2. He hasn’t stopped beeping about it.” Cheeky.
Much more from Hamill over on Reddit.