It’s a story known by many fans the world over. In November 1978,The Star Wars Holiday Specialhit the airwaves for 98 glorious minutes of ’70s variety show goofiness with just enoughStar Warsthrown into the mix that it would satisfy the audience transported to the Galaxy Far, Far Away for the first time one year prior. Audience response was…mixed, to put it lightly, and the special never re-aired. Though it only ever had the one broadcast, however, the infamy of the special lives on to this day. But how well-remembered is it, really?
The upcoming documentary,A Disturbance in The Force, aims to answer that question and explore how the special as a whole came to be. The first trailer, released ahead of the film’s March 11 premiere at SXSW, shows a host of celebrity panelists, includingSeth Green, Weird Al Yankovic,andTaran Killam, reflecting back on the quirky chapter in the grand history ofStar Wars.
While the trailer doesn’t include any footage of the Special itself — which the Darth Vader-esque narrator tells us was on request from the Emperor himself — it does contain clips featuringDonnieandMarie Osmonddressed as Luke and Leia during an episode of their variety show, which much like theHoliday Special, seems to be an exercise in ’70s camp.
RELATED:‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ Documentary ‘A Disturbance in the Force’ to Premiere at SXSW
While theHoliday Specialis often the butt of very easy jokes, its ongoing legacy cannot be overlooked. The film marked the first ever appearance of Boba Fett, in the animated segmentThe Faithful Wookie,which is available to watch now on Disney+. It also gave rise to the Wookiee holiday of “Life Day,” which appears acrossStar Warsmedia, including the 2020LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special.
A Disturbance in the Forcepremieres March 11 at SXSW. Check out the trailer and official synopsis below:
In 1977, “Star Wars” became a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized a stagnant film industry, and forever changed how films were sold, made, and marketed. Movies would never be the same again.A year later, neither would television.In 1978, CBS aired the two-hour “Star Wars Holiday Special” during the week of Thanksgiving and was watched by 13 million people. It never re-aired.While some fans of the franchise are aware of this dark secret, this bizarre two hours of television still remains relatively unknown among the general public. Simply put, we will answer how and why did the “Holiday Special” get made.
