LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales aims to retell franchise from droids’ perspective, LEGO style

By Rick Marshall March 2, 2015

lego star wars droid tales animated series — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The relationship between LEGO and Star Wars has grown over the last decade or so, and with the success of The LEGO Movie and various animated LEGO features, it was only a matter of time before we got an officially sanctioned, cinematic retelling of the Star Wars story in LEGO form — and that time is now. (Actually, it’s later this year, but you get the idea.)

The LEGO Group announced this week that LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales will air on Disney XD at some point between now and the premiere of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens in December. The original, animated series will unfold over five 22-minute episodes and take audiences through the events of Star Wars: Episode I-VI, retelling the entire narrative of the six films in the franchise so far.

But there’s a twist.

The story of the Star Wars franchise will be chronicled from the perspectives of android franchise stars C-3PO and R2-D2, as they reminisce with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker , and the rest of the Rebel Alliance after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi. What unfolds is reportedly a fresh view on the beloved franchise and the universe that developed around it over the course of six films spanning just shy of 30 years.

“Since we introduced our first LEGO Star Wars set in 1999, we have seen and heard from countless Star Wars fans who have used LEGO bricks to tell their own version of this timeless story, re-enacting favorite scenes and imagining new story lines,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president of licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales gives us an opportunity to share highlights of the Star Wars story with a sense of humor and excitement that can only be conveyed through the LEGO brick, and will be a fun resource for families as they gear up for the next movie.”

There’s no word on the project’s premiere date, writers, director, or voice cast yet, but with Disney XD also the home of the hit animated series Star Wars Rebels, there’s a good chance some of those characters might be making their LEGO debut, too.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Entertainment

Why Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Cal Kestis needs his own Disney+ show

Cal wielding his blue lightsaber and walking with BD-1 in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor key art.

As Lucasfilm finally seems to be getting the ball rolling again for Star Wars on the theatrical front, the video game space has been showing the franchise's continued narrative strength. The latest example is Respawn Entertainment's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The sequel to 2019's successful Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order fleshes out the journey of Cal Kestis (voiced by Gotham and Shameless actor Cameron Monaghan), with his story feeling every bit as worthy of a live-action series.

Shows like Dave Filoni's Ahsoka look promising given Rosario Dawson's pitch-perfect performance in season 2 of The Mandalorian and Filoni's passion for the franchise. Should Lucasfilm want more Jedi-centric storytelling on Disney+, the Star Wars Jedi games have rich characters (all hail Turgle!) and intriguing storylines that could be an ideal fit for the episodic format that made Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor so compelling.

Entertainment

James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi movie can save Star Wars

Cover art for the Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi comic book series by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema.

This year's Star Wars Celebration brought exciting new looks into upcoming projects ranging from TV to movies, as well as the announcement that James Mangold (Logan, Ford v Ferrari) will helm an origin story of sorts set during the Dawn of the Jedi. And while this film will be looking back to the past, being set a whopping 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin depicted in Star Wars: Episode IV -- New Hope, it is already poised to be one of the boldest theatrical premises for the franchise.

Star Wars has always been a universe characterized by great potential that's gone surprisingly untapped, with virtually endless storytelling possibilities in the distant past and far future. To address the elephant in the room, Lucasfilm also has a shoddy track record of late in axing or shelving announced and reported projects more than actually developing others, but Mangold's deft direction could break tired conventions and pave the way for the exciting Old Republic era on the big and small screens.
Breaking away from the Skywalker formula

Entertainment

A new Star Wars quest begins in the first trailer for Ahsoka

Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in Ahsoka.

Today at Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm unveiled trailers for three of its upcoming Star Wars series. Unfortunately, the only trailer that the fans at home will get to see is for Ahsoka, a new original show featuring Rosario Dawson as the fan-favorite heroine from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. As revealed during her guest appearance on The Mandalorian, Ahsoka is seeking out an old enemy, Grand Admiral Thrawn, a popular character from the Star Wars novels. And his return as "the heir to the Empire" is something that has Ahsoka deeply concerned.

Ahsoka | Teaser Trailer | Disney+