Skeleton Crew‘s deep cut Star Wars Holiday Special Easter egg has many Star Wars fans eager to see the rest of the sci-fi/fantasy franchise’s most hard-to-find entry. So, where can you watch the Star Wars Holiday Special in all its bizarre glory?
Is the Star Wars Holiday Special on Streaming?
No, the Star Wars Holiday Special isn’t available on streaming. Nor is it available on view-on-demand platforms or physical media. Star Wars creator George Lucas wasn’t a fan of the special and limited access to it while he still controlled the series. And nothing’s changed in the years since Lucas sold Lucasfilm (and with, it Star Wars) to Disney. So, the only way to view the Star Wars Holiday Special in full is via bootleg recordings and YouTube uploads.
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That said, you can watch part of the Star Wars Holiday Special legally. The bumper-sized CBS show’s animated segment, “The Story of the Faithful Wookiee,” is available on Disney+ as part of the streaming service’s collection of legacy Star Wars media. Presumably, the cartoon’s historical significance – it boasts the first appearance of iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett – earned it a reprieve.
Why Does George Lucas Hate the Star Wars Holiday Special?
An oft-cited quote attributed to George Lucas has the filmmaker claim he’d like to smash every copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special with a hammer. He probably didn’t actually say that, however, it’s clear Lucas is a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. Why? He didn’t have much input in the special’s content, and doesn’t feel like its production values and format are a proper reflection of the Star Wars brand.
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“The special from 1978 really didn’t have much to do with us, you know,” Lucas told StaticMultimedia in 2005. “I can’t remember what network it was on, but it was a thing that they did. We kind of let them do it. It was done by… I can’t even remember who the group was, but they were variety TV guys. We let them use the characters and stuff and that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but you learn from those experiences.”
The full Star Wars library (minus the Star Wars Holiday Special) is currently streaming on Disney+.
Published: Dec 9, 2024 07:45 am