Back in 2013, Lucasfilm canceled the release of an animated Star Wars show despite having completed 39 episodes in one of the franchise’s most confusing decisions. Star Wars TV shows have had quite a storied history. From lows like Ewoks to highs like Andor, the galaxy far, far away is capable of producing a huge range of serialized stories. Star Wars takes big swings on its shows, but not all of them get a chance.
As with the Star Wars movies, there have been several Star Wars shows that were announced only to later be canceled. George Lucas’ Star Wars Underworld is a prime example, while more recent shows like Lando and Rangers of the New Republic have also been scrapped before fans could watch them. In 2013, however, Star Wars shelved a show it had already started producing: Star Wars Detours.
39 Episodes Of Star Wars Detours Were Made But Never Released
At Star Wars Celebration VI in 2012, Lucasfilm released footage of Star Wars Detours, an animated comedy series set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Detours would have taken most of the iconic characters from the original trilogy, like Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Emperor Palpatine, and set them in a spoof-like story. Characters from the prequels, like Dexter and Jar-Jar Binks, also would have appeared.
In 2015, Seth Green, one of the show’s voice actors, confirmed that Star Wars Detours had finished development of 39 episodes in total with another 62 scripts already written. Despite that fact, Lucasfilm paused production of Detours in 2013, and the series is still technically in limbo. While production hasn’t resumed, the series hasn’t been officially canceled by Lucasfilm or Disney.
Despite its cancellation, several clips, a trailer, and a leaked episode of Star Wars Detours are available online, and they show how good the show could have been. From Han Solo and Chewbacca in a lover’s quarrel to Darth Vader recording recruitment propaganda for the Empire, Detours seemed absolutely hilarious. It also would have marked the first time Star Wars has ever gone for a purely comedic angle, which would have made the show unique.
Why Star Wars Detours Was Put On Hold In 2013
The obvious question that comes up whenever discussing Star Wars Detours is why Lucasfilm put it on hold. Detours was hilarious; the available clips show that it had a very sardonic sense of humor akin to Robot Chicken. It also poked fun at the original trilogy in such a loving way, like having stormtroopers fall onto the matte paintings used as the bottomless pits of the Death Star.
Despite the potential Detours had, it was initially put on hold in 2013 because Lucasfilm decided to begin production on the sequel trilogy (via Star Wars). The justification was that Lucasfilm didn’t believe a purely comedic show spoofing the history of the franchise was a wise decision while also trying to draw in new viewers and build hype for the sequel trilogy. The comedy element of Detours would have undercut promotion for the sequels.
Detours was conceived and produced before we decided to move forward with the new Star Wars trilogy, and in the wake of that decision, Lucasfilm has reconsidered whether launching an animated comedy prior to the launch of Episode VII makes sense. As a result, we’ve decided to postpone the release of Detours until a later date.
Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in October 2012 likely factored into the decision to shelve Detours as well. Star Wars Detours entered production sometime before May 2012, when it was screened at Star Wars Celebration. Thus, it seems likely that the change in leadership resulted in Detours being put on the backburner indefinitely.
Seth Green also gave another update about Detours in 2021 (via EW). In that interview, Green mentioned that executives at Disney and Lucasfilm didn’t want to put Detours on Disney+ because they don’t want to invest in the necessary work to update the show after 10 years of being in production limbo. There are likely some jokes that need to be reworded or cut and animation that needs to be updated, and Disney doesn’t believe Detours is worth that.
The Voice Cast For Star Wars Detours Is Still Impressive Over A Decade Later
The pain of Star Wars Detours never being released only becomes more acute when you learn how impressive the show’s vocal cast was. Detours managed to get several Star Wars veterans to reprise their roles, such as Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, and Ahmed Best as Jar-Jar Binks. That was just the start of Detours‘ impressive cast, though.
Several high-profile voice actors, like Seth Green (Robot Chicken), Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Dee Bradley Baker (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Grey DeLisle (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and Catherine Taber (The Clone Wars), also lent their voices to Detours. In addition to those series regulars, Detours had a few high-profile guest stars, like Andy Richter as Zuckuss, Weird Al Yankovic as 4-LOM. Other celebrities like Zachary Levi and Joel McHale also voiced characters.
If any other animated series had a vocal cast with such a mix of generational talent and big name live-action celebrities, it would have been a massive hit. To get so many talented voice actors and celebrities together for a show only to not release it truly makes no sense. Even Lucasfilm’s reluctance to double down on comedy and Disney’s insistence on updating the show doesn’t justify shelving such a star-powered series.
Why Disney+ Should Consider Releasing Star Wars Detours
Though it has been 13 years since Star Wars Detours was put on hold, Disney should still consider releasing it on Disney+. What little fans have been allowed to see of Detours has held up remarkably well after 13 years. The show is still genuinely funny, and clips of it have gone viral on social media in the past. Detours clearly still has some appeal for Star Wars fans and, more importantly, younger viewers.
It completely blows my mind that 60 episodes of a live-action Star Wars show from the George Lucas era have been written…and yet remain unused.
Detours would also be the perfect experiment for a streaming service like Disney+. Already, Star Wars has branched out significantly thanks to the streaming age. Shows like Star Wars Visions, which isn’t canon, would have never been made for broadcast. Streaming gives Star Wars a new niche to try out new genres, styles, and more, which makes it the perfect home for a comedy spoof show like Detours.
Disney+ would also benefit a lot from having Detours in its catalog. Detours is a show made by and for Star Wars fans. It pokes fun at the prequels and original trilogy in a loving way. So many Star Wars fans love to do the same, which can be seen in the myriad of memes made about the same movies. There’s never been a better time for Star Wars to revisit Detours.
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- TV Show(s)
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The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Movie(s)
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Character(s)
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Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
