While it seems impossible to imagine now, there was a time whenStar Warswasn’t one of the biggest franchises in entertainment. The ballooning budget, complex special effects, and fears that it was nothing more than a silly kid’s film caused 20th Century Fox to worry that the original film, directed by a New Hollywood maverick namedGeorge Lucas, would flop. Instead, the studio put most of its energy behindThe Other Side of Midnight, even going as far as to demand that all theaters that wanted it also had to orderStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, known then simply asStar Wars,in an attempt to lessen any potential losses.
But hindsight is a fascinating thing, and it’s funny to reflect on 20th Century Fox putting all its eggs in the wrong basket.Star Warsopened on August 07, 2025, in just 32 cinemas. The movie immediately broke box office records and, after a quick expansion into a wide release, became the highest-grossing film of all time. Work promptly began on a sequel, withLucas crafting a story of considerably more scope than the original. The result was the 1980’sStar Wars: Episode V -The Empire Strikes Back, widely considered the best film in the series and the entry that solidified Star Wars as a pop-culture phenomenon with no equal. And the rest, as they say, is history.
But that history could have turned out very differently. While the original film was still in production, concerns regarding its viability at the box office led Lucas to hireAlan Dean Fostertopen a novel that could form the basis for a low-budget sequel shouldStar Warsnot be successful enough to warrant a bigger, more expensive follow-up. Foster,who had already ghost-written the novelization of the first filmand was under contract for a second book anyway, was given a large amount of creative control for the story, assuming he kept to the mantra that it could be made for a fraction of the original’s budget.
The novel becameSplinter of the Mind’s Eye, but by the time it hit shelves in March 1978,any plans for an adaptation had long been abandoned, leading it to become just a fun distraction to tide fans over between films. The book became the first in a long line of Star Wars novels that formedthe now discarded Expanded Universe, and its origins as the potential second film is now nothing more than a piece of amusing trivia. But what were Foster’s plans for the sequel, and how would it have changed the franchise ifSplinter of the Mind’s Eyehad been made rather thanThe Empire Strikes Back? It’s one of the biggest “what if?” questions in the series, and one that would have not only changed Star Wars as we know it, but cinema in general.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
After the Rebels are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye’ Would’ve Sent Star Wars in a New Direction
The plot ofSplinter of the Mind’s Eyeis, as to be expected, is much smaller than the previous escapade into this universe. Two years after the events of the original film,Luke Skywalkerand Princess Leia are en route to meet a potential ally for the Rebel Alliance when they crash-land on the mysterious planet of Mimban. Their escape is halted by the presence of the Empire, concentrated around a mine that is said tohold the Kaiburr crystal, an object of unknown origin that strengthens the Force abilities of anyone who wields it. Following an altercation in a bar that results in our heroes being briefly imprisoned in an Imperial jail,Luke and Leia begin a journey across the swampy wilderness of Mimban in search of the crystal.
Along the way, they encounter various predicaments, such as bumping into a particularly aggressive Wandrella (a worm-like creature that grows up to 15 meters in length) and a brief detour into the planet’s cave system where they must improvise their way across an underground lake. Eventually, they arrive at the Temple of Pomojema, but their victory is cut short bythe arrival of Darth Vaderand a group of stormtroopers. A battle erupts,culminating in Luke slicing off Vader’s arm. (Vader also falls into a pit, leaving his fate unknown.) With the crystal in hand, Luke and Leia recover from their injuries and then escape into the mists of Mimban. Supporting characters include Halla, a native of Mimban with great knowledge of the Kaiburr crystal, along with returning favoritesR2-D2 and C-3PO, resuming their comic relief roles from the film.
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed the absence of one of the franchise’s leading characters: Han Solo. This was not an artistic choice on the part of Foster, however, but rather one imposed on him by necessity. WhileMark HamillandCarrie Fisherhad both signed contracts for three additional films while makingStar Wars,Harrison Fordhad not. As Lucas was unsure if he would return for a sequel (and even if he did, whether the budget would be able to afford him),he asked Foster not to include him inSplinter of the Mind’s Eye.
As a result, the core dynamic between our heroes feels hollow, missing a vital piece whose significance is only made clear when it is no longer there. Han was the “every man,” the character who didn’t rely on the Force or Jedi tricks but instead on his own skills and ingenuity. He was the classic smuggler with a heart of gold, whose cynical personality contrasted perfectly with the unflinching optimism of Luke and Leia that made every moment between them captivating. Without the wisecracking charm Han brought to the film (or the banterbetween him and Chewbacca, who also sits out the novel),the story lacks the joyfulness that madeStar Warssuch a hit with audiences, and the attempts to recapture that lightning in a bottle (such as an awkwardly written play fight between Luke and Leia) just come across as more childish than anything else.
‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye’ Is More of a Detour Than a Sequel
This necessity to remove core elements of the original film to keep costs down for a potential adaptation affected more than just the main characters, but the narrative as a whole. IfStar Warswas a galaxy-spanning epic that set the stage for a decades-long franchise,Splinter of the Mind’s Eyefeels like nothing more than a detour that exists solely to fill time between films. Gone are the huge variety of locals to highlight just how expansive this universe is, replaced by a single planet so shrouded in mist it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at.
While it does give Mimban a creepy atmosphere where danger lurks behind every corner, it’s hard to shake the feeling that it was a decision made primarily because a production team could just turn up the smoke machine and avoid having to build complex sets.The action also takes a reduced approach, favoring one-on-one battles against the monstrous beingsthat inhabit Mimban, a far cry from the climactic space battle inStar Warsthat showcased some of the greatest special effects ever put to a film. Interestingly, Foster had intended a similar sequence to open the novel to explain why Luke and Leia crash-land on Mimban, butLucas requested its removalover budget concerns.
Michael Jackson Wanted To Play Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars
But it wouldn’t have been the first collaboration between Jackson and Star Wars creator George Lucas.
Characterization also suffers. While Luke had a complete arc in the original film, starting as a simple farmeron the primitive desert world of Tatooineand ending as a major figure in the Rebel Alliance, here he seems entirely stationary, just going through the motions without developing in any significant way. Even Vader’s final scene echoes his ending in the original film (where his TIE fighter is knocked into space with no concrete answer given regarding his status), a moment that encapsulates the central problem with the novel. It feels like exactly what many spin-off novels to larger franchises feel like: a fun excursion into a universe the reader already loves, populated bycharacters who can’t undergo any significant development lest the series start alienating everyone but the hardcore fans.
Not that such stories are inherently bad, of course. Shows likeThe X-FilesandStar Trekhave proven that monster-of-the-week episodes can work perfectly fine in the right context, giving writers an excuse to play around with the possibilities of the universe without the requirement of tying everything back to the same ongoing narrative. And while this approach works fine when examiningSplinter of the Mind’s Eyeas a novel, as the second film in a franchise it would have failed to propel the series forward in a meaningful way, andit’s unlikely the series would have captivated generations in the way it ultimately has.
‘Empire Strikes Back’ Left a Much Larger Cultural Imprint
Compare this toThe Empire Strikes Back, which rejected the childlike fun of the original film fora more complex and mature narrative that challenged the notions that people are entirely good or bad, while also pulling off a shockingly dark ending withone of the most iconic plot twists in cinema. It’s an ending that stunned the world, and it set the precedent for sequels taking a darker tone with cliffhanger endings that continues to this day. A more complex narrative also allowed for greater characterization than its predecessor, moving its core characters well beyond where the previous film left them. Luke evolves from a trainee to a master Jedi whilst also learning a terrible secret about his past that fundamentally changes who he is as a character, while Han and Leia finally confess their love for each other moments before Han is frozen in carbonite, closing one arc that started in the previous film whilst also starting a new one that carries over toReturn of the Jedi.
New characters such as Yoda and Lando Calrissian are introduced, each adding their own unique dynamic to the proceedings that stops it from feeling like a rerun. Compare them to Halla, whose role as an elderly, Force-sensitive guidesmacks too close to Obi-Wan Kenobi from the previous film, or the pair of friendly Yuzzems called Hin and Kee who just feel like Chewbacca with another name. (Star Wars lore even states that Yuzzems and Wookiees are believed to share a common ancestor because they look so similar).The Empire Strikes Backis not only the best film in the franchise’s 45-year history, it is one of the most ground-breaking films in history. And while it’s impossible to know what a live-action version ofSplinter of the Mind’s Eyewould have looked like, the basis Foster provided was unlikely to come within a hundred miles ofEmpire. The simplicity when compared toStar Wars, while fine in the context of a spin-off novel,would not have translated well to the big screen.
Star Warsis at its best when it’sexploring the vast glaxy Lucas createdwhere the only limits are a writer’s imagination, not a story on just one planet so cloaked in fog it just feels like a low-budget imitation. And without any standout action sequences where Industrial Light & Magic could demonstrate their talents as the special-effects masters of Hollywood, or a twist akin toEmpire’sthat would solidify its place among the annuls of film history, it’s likelySplinter of the Mind’s Eyewould have brought the series to an abrupt end if it had becomeStar Wars 2. For fans of the series, it makes for an enjoyable if predictable read, butit is probably for the best that it never made it beyond the page.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Backis available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
