We might not have a new Star Wars movie dropping this December, unlike the past few years, but at least Disney Plus is giving us a treat in the form of the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, an animated festive-themed follow-up to both the Sequel Trilogy and 1978’s infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.
The 45-minute adventure is available to stream from today – Tuesday, November 17th – and sees Poe, Chewie, Threepio and the gang on Life Day Eve, preparing to celebrate the occasion. Meanwhile, Rey discovers a mysterious ancient Jedi artifact that sends her backwards through time, crashing her into some of the most notable moments of the Star Wars saga and bringing her face to face with the likes of a young Luke Skywalker, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Darth Vader and her grandpappy Palpatine.
The whole thing’s envisioned as a tongue-in-cheek yet loving celebration of the Skywalker Saga. Though the likes of Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac and Mark Hamill aren’t involved, a few Star Wars icons are on board to bring their roles to life again, including Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian and Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico. Because of these ties, some are even jokingly labelling the special as canon.
For more, here’s the full synopsis:
“Directly following the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey leaves her friends to prepare for Life Day as she sets off on a new adventure with BB-8 to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force. At a mysterious Jedi Temple, she is hurled into a cross-timeline adventure through beloved moments in Star Wars cinematic history, coming into contact with Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan and other iconic heroes and villains from all nine Skywalker saga films. But will she make it back in time for the Life Day feast and learn the true meaning of holiday spirit?”
If you’re wondering why it’s become available this Tuesday instead of Friday, as is usual for new D+ content, that’s because it had to be released on this date. The original Star Wars Holiday Special received its one and only airing on CBS back in ’78 on November 17th and now, 42 years later, you can watch the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, which is thankfully going down a lot better with fans.