Why George Lucas Walked Away from the STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL
Few pop culture curiosities spark funny discussions quite like the Star Wars Holiday Special. All these years later, fans still wonder about how responsible was George Lucas for what many consider the strangest and wildest chapter in Star Wars history?
According to director Steve Binder, Lucas’ fingerprints were all over the project early on. His absence came later, after the reaction turned sour.
Binder’s account gives us a much more complicated picture than the long-running myth that Lucas had nothing to do with it.
One of the most persistent misconceptions about the Star Wars Holiday Special is that it was cooked up by television executives with no connection to the creator of Star Wars. Binder says that simply isn’t true.
After agreeing to take over the struggling production, Binder was sent what he describes as a creative guide straight from Lucas. He said:
“So I said yes and they FedExed me a bible, basically, on the Chewbacca family. A pre-life that George Lucas had written.”
Binder describes it as a detailed backstory that explored Chewbacca’s family and home life long before cameras started rolling.
“I think having someone as creative as George writing the life of the Chewbacca family, taking the time to develop his characters and give them a full three-dimensional life before you even get to the beginning of the story in the special; that was fantastic.”
That creative foundation is why the special focuses so heavily on Wookiee domestic life, even when it confused or frustrated viewers.
Binder makes it clear that the overall story and script went through Lucas before production moved forward.
“He came up with the story, and supervised the script by the writers they brought in,” Binder said. “And he approved it.”
What Lucas didn’t do was show up. Binder says he never saw Lucas on set and never even received a phone call during production.
“I never saw him or even received a phone call from him. He was never on set at all.”
That absence left Binder and the production team to execute a concept that had already been approved, while navigating budget issues, technical problems, and a network growing nervous by the day.
When the Star Wars Holiday Special aired and the backlash hit, Lucas’ relationship with the project changed dramatically. Binder noticed the shift and didn’t hide his disappointment.
“I think he distanced himself when he didn't get great reviews. I mean, to sort of disassociate from it when he was the whole force behind the project; that's disappointing.”
The irony wasn’t lost on Binder. The idea that Lucas wanted to erase the special from existence, including reports that he wanted to buy the negative and keep it off the market, clashed with what Binder experienced firsthand.
“Which was kind of ironic because he's the one before I ever entered the picture who wrote the script and gave it the green light from his end.”
From Binder’s perspective, the special didn’t fail because Lucas was absent creatively. It failed because the audience expected something completely different.
Binder circles back to the same point throughout the interview. The Star Wars Holiday Special wasn’t designed to be a cinematic sequel. It was a television variety show built around merchandising and holiday programming.
“This was not Star Wars 2, and I think the public wasn't prepared for what this was.”
That misunderstanding turned creative risks into liabilities and made Lucas’ early involvement feel awkward in hindsight. Once fans reacted negatively, distancing himself became the easiest option.
Binder’s comments don’t absolve anyone, but they do complicate the narrative. Lucas wasn’t a passive bystander as he shaped the concept, approved the script, and helped set the project in motion. His disappearance came later, after the reaction made the special impossible to defend.
According to the director who had to pull the production across the finish line, George Lucas was the force behind it, until it went bad.
Source: /Film