Star Wars: Mark Hamill Shares His "Unpopular" Opinion About the Holiday Special

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Fans of any franchise are known to ask fellow members of their community to share seemingly unpopular opinions about the franchise they love, with even Mark Hamill getting in on the action when a prompt asked for unpopular Star Wars thoughts, as the actor claimed that The Star Wars Holiday Special was "under appreciated." It's unclear if Hamill himself actually had that opinion or if he was taking the prompt at face value and shared an opinion that would be considered unpopular, with the actor clearly just having some fun with his fans, regardless of how he really feels about the Special.

"The Star Wars Holiday Special was under appreciated," Hamill tweeted along with the original prompt.

While most of those involved with the Star Wars Holiday Special would surely rather let it fade into obscurity, Hamill is often quick to use it as a punchline on social media. Whether it be asking for a presidential pardon for the event or warning parents to only make their kids watch it as punishment, Hamill is always happy to reflect on the forgotten piece of lore from the galaxy far, far away.

For decades, the Holiday Special languished in relative obscurity, as it only aired once and existed solely as a bootleg VHS that would circulate. The Internet, however, doesn't forget things quite as easily, with the special being made available to more people, seeing it earn a resurgence, even if Lucasfilm had previously hoped it would be forgotten forever.

Despite the studio repeatedly confirming they wouldn't ever release the Holiday Special in any official capacity, various elements from it have started making their way into the official canon. Life Day, the nondenominational holiday being celebrated in the Special, has fully been incorporated into Star Wars lore and is chronicled in a variety of stories within the official canon. Additionally, the animated sequence from the Holiday Special, which marks Boba Fett's first official appearance in the entire franchise, is available to stream on Disney+, at least confirming that these few minutes have been given the HD treatment. 

At this rate, it seems as though the only way to get fans to stop talking about the Star Wars Holiday Special would be to release it in all its campy glory, which some fans are surely still holding out hope for.

What do you think of the Holiday Special? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

0comments
Start the Conversation

of