The Writers of Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy on Darth Tico, Playing God, and… Corvette Summer?

Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy is an upcoming four-part miniseries connected Disney+ successful which a brace of nerf herders accidentally origin an apocalyptic reformation of the Star Wars universe. Using the aforesaid Lego bricks, the series’ planets, vehicles, and exertion are dramatically reshaped into kit-bashed mash-ups of preexisting designs and concepts. Notably, this rod displacement extends to the series’ acquainted formed of characters, showcasing reimagined takes connected villains-as-heroes and heroes-as-villains. We sat down with writers Dan Hernadenz and Benji Samit (Pokémon Detective Pikachu) to sermon this brave caller satellite with specified radical successful it.

Gordon Jackson, io9: So, did Lucasfilm ever attack you and accidental “you perfectly cannot picture this quality successful this light” astatine immoderate point?

Benji Samit: We were prepared for that to hap and it truly ne'er did. Full recognition to everyone astatine Lucasfilm and Lego for, from the jump, knowing what we wanted to bash with this special. It’s conscionable a playful solemnisation of each things Lego Star Wars. And that benignant of progressive having amusive with immoderate and each characters that we could.

Dan Hernandez: I besides deliberation that they knew that immoderate of the things that we wanted to change, immoderate of the mash-ups we wanted to do, without exception, Benji and I tried to person an in-galaxy crushed that the past of this postulation played retired otherwise for each character, for each planet, for each ship. And the crushed we did that is truthful that it didn’t consciousness arbitrary, it didn’t consciousness benignant of tossed disconnected that everything had volition down it. Even if you don’t cognize precisely what that volition is oregon what that past is, it should consciousness arsenic though determination was information enactment down it due to the fact that determination was. And I deliberation that that was truly important to us. And truthful I deliberation due to the fact that of that, erstwhile we’d person these conversations astir saying, hey, we wanna change, you know, Ray into Darth Ray. And those were casual conversations to person due to the fact that they knew that we were approaching it from a spot of communicative and character.

io9: Darth Rey and Darth Tico, I loved them both. Did you consciousness similar that was missed accidental successful the movies, that they teased that story—at slightest successful Rey’s case—and ne'er went there?

Hernandez: I felt similar it was thing that I was truly excited to spot explored to immoderate grade that they did research successful the sequel trilogies, but it inactive felt—and conscionable benignant of taking a anecdotal canvass of radical online and radical successful Reddit and whatever—that determination was an appetite to cognize much astir Darth Rey, what that could person looked like. And arsenic for Rose, I emotion that quality and I love, love, emotion Kelly Marie Tran and she is conscionable the astir unthinkable performer. And I wanted to spot more. I wanted to spot much nuance. You know, I thought to myself, her sister dies successful The Last Jedi, right? Right astatine the beginning. And she takes the way of compassion and empathy. But not everybody does. And determination was nary warrant that that’s however she would person ended up. And truthful that was a truly absorbing spot to statesman to say: what does a acheronian mentation of this quality who has had a batch of suffering occur, what way does that acceptable her on? And truthful again, it was truly breathtaking for america to get to prime immoderate of these characters that we wanted to walk much clip with and past truly benignant of research these different iterations.

io9: I thought 1 of the astir striking mashups was the Sandcrawler with the AT-AT legs. You came up with a crushed that would really exist?

Samit: I mean, that was 1 of our favourite ones to create; that representation came into our minds of, like, an iconic mashup. And, you know, whether it was, Jawas successful this postulation oregon immoderate different scavenging carnal who had to physique thing similar that, but it needed legs due to the fact that the treads weren’t cutting it.

Hernandez: I besides deliberation that successful that peculiar case, it seemed to talk to… it’s benignant of janky, it benignant of doesn’t enactment amazingly well. And it seemed to talk to the spot that our mentation of the Jedi are inhabiting successful this galaxy, which is that they’re not the Knights successful a benignant of a revered position. They’re benignant of successful a lower, fallen-on-hard-times place. And truthful it felt similar they needed a location basal that felt calved retired of necessity. Something that similar didn’t rather work, right? And that’s wherever the genesis of that thought came, which is like, we should bash a mash-up that similar is benignant of awkward due to the fact that they’re benignant of awkward successful this mentation of the galaxy.

io9: You said you were prepared for pushback. Did you person immoderate remixed characters successful caput you thought Disney wouldn’t let you to depict?

Samit: I mean, look astatine Darth Jar Jar. It was 1 of the archetypal things we wanted to do. And we were like, “Are they going to fto america bash this?” This has been specified a discussed happening successful the instrumentality community. Are they conscionable going to beryllium like, “it’s been excessively heavy worn”? Like, “let’s not adjacent interaction it”? But alternatively they were like, “No, similar we get it. If there’s ever been a infinitesimal to beryllium capable to bash it, it’s this.” It was amazing.

io9: Who did helium apprentice under, bash you think?

Hernandez: I deliberation Darth Jar Jar and our bully mentation of Sheev Palpatine person a agelong and storied past together. I deliberation it started backmost connected Naboo. And I deliberation that astir apt helium was Sheev’s Padawan astatine a definite constituent and broke bad. I’ve ne'er said this aloud before, but I’m beauteous definite that’s correct. And that’s benignant of however I viewed the schism that would hap betwixt those 2 characters. That’s canon now.

io9: This is simply a Lego movie, but it besides raises questions astir the morality of playing God. How did you travel upon that idea, and determine that communicative should remaking the universe, but not putting it backmost together?

Hernandez: That’s a large question. And nary 1 has asked america that, truthful I admit it. So the thought was, we knew we wanted to rebuild the postulation into a antithetic form, but we besides felt similar it would beryllium not truthful oregon satisfying to benignant of deed the reset fastener similar a Nintendo crippled and person everything spell backmost normal, due to the fact that I don’t truly deliberation that’s however beingness functions. I deliberation that beingness throws you curveballs each the time. As I’ve gotten older you find that to beryllium much and much true, wherever you find yourself successful a condition oregon a concern wherever you’re, “Well, thing truly prepared maine for this but I person 2 options, which is either to determination guardant oregon to beryllium wholly successful paralysis astir this thing.”

We thought that that was a truly absorbing connection for kids, but for everyone really, and truthful that’s wherefore we felt that successful that infinitesimal wherever it’s revealed that Jedi Bob has really travel from an adjacent older mentation of this galaxy, which I deliberation besides spoke to benignant of the past of the Lego Star Wars relationship, it was important for him to say, “It’s over, it’s done. And present we each person to question unneurotic and fig retired what this rebuilt mentation of the postulation is, and we tin either descend oregon aquatics successful it, but this is what we’ve got. We’ve got each other. and we tin take to beryllium heroes oregon villains wrong this caller context. And each your expertise is benignant of retired the model due to the fact that we’re successful an unprecedented situation.” And truthful that, to us, felt similar benignant of a almighty connection to everyone to say, “You don’t ever person control, but you bash person immoderate power implicit the mode that you yourself respond to what beingness throws astatine you.”

io9: What was the inspiration for Surfer Luke? Corvette Summer?

Hernandez: I deliberation it was similar. It was benignant of a related answer, which is… we each person moments successful our lives successful which we tin take to measurement up and beryllium heroic and enactment successful a mode that’s benignant of successful keeping with immoderate ethical sensibility that we each possess. And moments wherever we don’t unrecorded up to those things and we benignant of fto things spell and take an easier path. And truthful we said to ourselves, well, “What if Luke ne'er recovered retired astir his past and his family? How would his beingness unfold?”

Samit: Right, you know, successful the archetypal movie, you know, Luke hates this boring godforsaken satellite he’s on, but what if successful this caller mentation of the galaxy, this satellite was not a boring desert, but was really a beauteous oasis formation satellite and wherever helium was precise comfy and helium abruptly wasn’t dreaming of going disconnected determination else? He was conscionable comfy connected his surviving beingness connected the formation and helium ne'er got that telephone to action. Like, what would his beingness look like? But past you spot implicit the people of the bid that adjacent though he’s gone down this antithetic path, the aforesaid Luke is inactive successful there—the hero, who erstwhile helium does get that telephone to action, it ignites thing wrong him. And yeah, truthful that was truly breathtaking for us.

io9: So are determination plans for much aft this?

Samit: I mean, we would…

Hernandez: That’s our hope.

Samit: Love to bash it…

Hernandez: That’s our hope. We person a batch of ideas for however the communicative would continue. And yes, you tin ideate not each of the things that we wanted to get into it could acceptable into 4 episodes. So it would beryllium awesome.

Samit: There’s a batch much characters that evidently don’t amusement up successful this that we love. And it would beryllium astonishing to beryllium capable to support doing this.

Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy arrives September 13 connected Disney+.

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