Star Wars shows on Disney+ are no stranger to references and Easter Eggs. However, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew features a nod to an aspect of Star Wars history that the franchise used to want fans to forget. Here’s how Skeleton Crew references the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Holiday Special Easter Egg Explained
In the premiere episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – which is streaming now – fans were quick to spot a familiar set of performers on a Hologram. In this first episode, there’s a very brief scene where some children are watching a set of circus performers on a hologram projected onto a table. As YouTuber EcksClips was quick to point out, the dancers and their accompanying music are both throwbacks to the Star Wars Holiday Special.
The Star Wars Holiday Special is one of the oddest pieces of Star Wars history. This maligned TV special released in 1978 to keep the franchise fresh in fans minds before the next installment. It features the return of Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill. The story centers around Han and Chewbacca heading to the Wookiee homeworld to celebrate a holiday called “Life Day”. The special also houses several variety show-esque performances, including the aforementioned circus folk.
John Watts Shares Behind the Scenes Secrets on Star War: Skeleton Crew’s Holiday Special Easter Egg
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew creator John Watts (also known for the MCU Spider-Man Trilogy) spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the easter eggs and references in Skeleton Crew’s premiere episodes. In the article, Watts revealed the secret behind that scene.
While Watts had initially wanted to reuse the footage of the original performance from the Star Wars Holiday Special, this simply wasn’t possible. Since the Holiday Special is from a 1978 TV broadcast, the image quality of any footage is extremely low resolution. As such, a new scene was created based on the original wardrobe and music. Watts revealed that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s “stunt coordinator also happened to be a former Cirque du Soleil performer, so he plays the main dancing guy, and he choreographed a whole new routine based on what is in the Holiday Special“.