A Disturbance in the Force: The Untold Story of the Star Wars Holiday Special

You either hate it or you’ve never seen it. Either way, you have asked how and why the Star Wars Holiday Special came to be. 

That question can be answered at South by Southwest FIlm Festival this year, according to ComicBook, where a documentary is premiering that goes behind the scenes of the elusive special. 

This will be the world premiere of A Disturbance in the Force, which will offer sought-after insight into the production of the cringiest installment  in a galaxy far, far away. It is unknown if the documentary will be widely released after the festival. 

The special has never been officially released since its airing, but thanks to bootleg VHS tapes and eventually the internet, it continues to be seen and keep its infamous reputation among Star Wars fans.

The description of the documentary reads, "In 1977, Star Wars became a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized a stagnant film industry, and forever changed how films were sold, made, and marketed. Movies would never be the same again. A year later, neither would television. In 1978, CBS aired the two-hour Star Wars Holiday Special during the week of Thanksgiving and was watched by 13 million people. It never re-aired. While some fans of the franchise are aware of this dark secret, this bizarre two hours of television still remains relatively unknown among the general public. Simply put, we will answer how and why did the Holiday Special get made."

According to ComicBook, the star-studded documentary includes Seth Green, Weird Al Yankovic, Taran Killam, Gilbert Gottfried, Bonnie Burton, Paul Scheer, Bruce Vilanch, Lenny Ripps, Donny Osmond and Miki Herman. The film is directed by Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak. The two also produce the movie along with Adam F. Goldberg and Kyle Newman.

The festival begins on March 10. You can watch the trailer for the documentary below. 

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