Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. News

A Disturbance in the Force trailer shines light on infamous Star Wars Holiday Special

Dan Girolamo
By

In 1978, CBS aired the Star Wars Holiday Special, a two-hour spin-off film 18 months after the success of A New Hope. The special never aired again. A new documentary, A Disturbance in the Force, attempts to figure out what went wrong with the most reviled Star Wars adventure in franchise history.

A Disturbance in the Force Teaser Trailer - SXSW 2023

In the first trailer for the documentary ahead of its premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW), A Disturbance in the Force takes viewers back in time to search for answers about how and why the special was made. The special starred the Star Wars’ marquee cast, including Harrison Ford (Shrinking) as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher (The Empire Strikes Back), and Mark Hamill (Return of the Jedi) as Luke Skywalker. The plot involved Han Solo and Chewbacca (The Force Awakens’ Peter Mayhew) traveling to Kashyyyk, the Wookie home planet, to celebrate “Life Day.”

Recommended Videos

Star Wars Holiday Special aired during Thanksgiving week on November 17, 1978. 13 million people tuned in for the special that “Weird Al” Yankovic (Weird) calls the “Holy Grail.” The bizarre special was destroyed and ridiculed by critics and fans. Even George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars who had minimal involvement in the special’s development, did not enjoy the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Related

The documentary is directed by Jeremy Coon (Napoleon Dynamite) and Steve Kozak (Whose Line Is It Anyway?). The doc features interviews with celebrity fans and two of the special’s writers, Bruce Vilanch (Hollywood Squares) and Steve Binder (Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special).

A Disturbance in the Force premieres at SXSW on March 11.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Dan Girolamo
Dan Girolamo
Entertainment Writer
Dan is a passionate and multitalented content creator with experience in pop culture, entertainment, and sports. Throughout…
The Book of Boba Fett trailer dives into the Star Wars underworld
A scene from The Book of Boba Fett featuring the titular bounty hunter.

Boba Fett instantly captured the imaginations of Star Wars fans when he made his first appearance on the big screen in The Empire Strikes Back. Now, Boba Fett will finally headline his own series at the end of this year when Disney+ and Lucasfilm unleash The Book of Boba Fett.

The Mandalorian season 2 reintroduced Boba Fett nearly four decades after his infamous death in Return of the Jedi. The show quickly reminded fans why they loved Boba Fett, as he lived up to his legend and teamed up with the Mandalorian to rescue Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) from the Imperial Remnant. In the post-credits scene from season 2, Boba and his new associate, Fennec Shand, invaded Jabba's palace and forcefully took over his criminal empire. That's where things begin in The Book of Boba Fett's first trailer. Boba and Fennec have a new approach to ruling the underworld: Where Jabba led with fear, they want to lead with respect. Unfortunately, not everyone is receptive to their proposals.

Read more
Disney+ embraces the Dark Side in Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales trailer
The Emperor goes spooky in LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales.

There is no Halloween in the Star Wars universe. But that doesn't mean there aren't scary stories suitable for the Halloween season. Next month, Lucasfilm and Disney+ are releasing a new special, Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales. And as the name implies, these stories are going to embrace the Dark Side of the Force.

Regardless, the Lego Star Wars brand also means that it's all in good comedic fun. The first trailer from the special has already been released, and it sets the tone for everything to come.

Read more
How to watch the Star Wars movies in order
Kylo and Rey fighting in Rise of the Skywalker

Are you a Star Wars fan considering options for a movie marathon? Are you trying to get a friend or a significant other into the franchise, but you aren't sure in which order to introduce the stories? We get it. When the original trilogy concluded in 1983, the order was pretty simple, and the home-viewing options were fairly limited. Today, the number of live-action Star Wars films has increased to the double digits, and almost half of those movies are prequels.

To help you decide, we've considered the three most popular options: Release order, chronological order, and the so-called machete order. We'll give you the pros and cons of all three options and tell you which one we ultimately think is the best choice.

Read more