Mark Hamill, who famously plays the character Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, has taken to social media to deliver one of the hottest takes about the sci-fi franchise yet. Replying to a prompt asking for “unpopular” opinions about the popular franchise in general, Hamill shared his appreciation for the elusive spin-off – the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Retweeting a wide call-out asking for fans’ unpopular opinions from the account Star Wars Stuff on social media, Hamill wrote: “The Star Wars Holiday Special was underappreciated.” It is unclear if Hamill’s Tweet was a joke that is just listing an unpopular opinion in general, or if he is actually a firm fan of the first, and critically panned, Star Wars spin-off film.
Released in 1978, the Star Wars Holiday Special is a spin-off that takes place between the first science fiction movie, and The Empire Strikes Back. Currently holding only 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, many would prefer to let the film fade into obscurity. However, Hamill has a history of using the flick as a punchline.
You can view Hamill’s original Tweet below:
The Star Wars Holiday Special was under appreciated. https://t.co/krf6DAnh96
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) April 6, 2022
In the past, Hamill has asked for a presidential pardon for the film, and has teased that children should only watch the special when their parents are punishing them. But, even if the jokes are at the movie’s expense, Hamill’s insistent reminder of its existence does show that there is some level of fondness there.
Despite the massive negative reception to the holiday special, it has managed to sneak into the Star Wars canon. The animated sequence introducing the bounty hunter Boba Fett was released on Disney Plus in 2021, and Life Day – the holiday that the film introduces – has been featured in multiple Star Wars stories since.
However, there has been no word on if we can expect to see the Star Wars Holiday Special hit Disney Plus anytime soon. We will let you know if Mark Hamill’s Twitter campaign makes any headway. In the meantime, here is our list of the best alien movies of all time.