The 'Star Wars' sequel that never was: Author shares details of the Han Solo-less alternate plot
May 5, 2023 9:48:59 GMT -5
Post by RichardInTN on May 5, 2023 9:48:59 GMT -5
The 'Star Wars' sequel that never was: Author shares details of the Han Solo-less alternate plot
Ethan Alter · Senior Writer, Yahoo Entertainment
Thu, May 4, 2023 at 11:37 AM EDT
Before there was The Empire Strikes Back, there was Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a spin-off Star Wars novel by Alan Dean Foster that — in another far, far away galaxy — would have been the basis for the second movie in George Lucas's beloved franchise. Published in March 1978, less than a year after the inaugural film set box-office records and changed Hollywood blockbusters forever, Foster's book imagines a very different second adventure for Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker and the regal Leia Organa... one that doesn't make room for Han Solo, Cloud City or Darth Vader's famous paternity confession.
"George wanted more material in case the first film was a success," the author told Yahoo Entertainment in a 2015 interview about the origins of Splinter of the Mind's Eye, which was part of a two-book deal he signed that included penning the novelization of the original Star Wars. (Lucas is credited as the writer on that book, although he's regularly acknowledged Foster as the ghostwriter.) "The only restriction put on me was that the the follow-up had to filmable on a low budget, the idea being that if the first film wasn’t wildly successful, he could still make a second film cheaply using as many of the same props and costumes as possible."
With that restriction in mind, Foster conceived of a story that takes place almost entirely on the fog-shrouded planet of Mimban, where Luke and Leia crash-land en route to a gathering of key members of the Rebel Alliance. "The book originally opened with a fairly complex space battle that forces Luke and Leia down on this planet," the author reveals. Unfortunately, all that aerial combat fell victim to Lucas's budget-conscious ways. "George had me cut that out because it would have been expensive to film. There was nothing wrong it with form a story or standpoint, but he was thinking ahead."
...
www.yahoo.com/entertainment/star-wars-sequel-empire-strikes-back-splinter-minds-eye-han-solo-120030626.html
Ethan Alter · Senior Writer, Yahoo Entertainment
Thu, May 4, 2023 at 11:37 AM EDT
Before there was The Empire Strikes Back, there was Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a spin-off Star Wars novel by Alan Dean Foster that — in another far, far away galaxy — would have been the basis for the second movie in George Lucas's beloved franchise. Published in March 1978, less than a year after the inaugural film set box-office records and changed Hollywood blockbusters forever, Foster's book imagines a very different second adventure for Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker and the regal Leia Organa... one that doesn't make room for Han Solo, Cloud City or Darth Vader's famous paternity confession.
"George wanted more material in case the first film was a success," the author told Yahoo Entertainment in a 2015 interview about the origins of Splinter of the Mind's Eye, which was part of a two-book deal he signed that included penning the novelization of the original Star Wars. (Lucas is credited as the writer on that book, although he's regularly acknowledged Foster as the ghostwriter.) "The only restriction put on me was that the the follow-up had to filmable on a low budget, the idea being that if the first film wasn’t wildly successful, he could still make a second film cheaply using as many of the same props and costumes as possible."
With that restriction in mind, Foster conceived of a story that takes place almost entirely on the fog-shrouded planet of Mimban, where Luke and Leia crash-land en route to a gathering of key members of the Rebel Alliance. "The book originally opened with a fairly complex space battle that forces Luke and Leia down on this planet," the author reveals. Unfortunately, all that aerial combat fell victim to Lucas's budget-conscious ways. "George had me cut that out because it would have been expensive to film. There was nothing wrong it with form a story or standpoint, but he was thinking ahead."
...
www.yahoo.com/entertainment/star-wars-sequel-empire-strikes-back-splinter-minds-eye-han-solo-120030626.html