Seth Green Explains the Key Reason Fans Won’t Ever See Star Wars Detours

For about half a century, the Star Wars franchise has seeped into various aspects of popular culture, inviting numerous parodies due to its extensive influence. Shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, as well as movies such as Spaceballs and Fanboys, have made light of the series. However, Lucasfilm endorsed an animated series called Star Wars Detours from Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, creators of Robot Chicken, to provide their comedic perspective on the saga. At present, the series is indefinitely delayed by Lucasfilm, with Seth Green explaining that a potential release seems increasingly uncertain due to the significant time and resources required to update the original episodes to meet the standards of modern streaming platforms.

According to Green, “Detours” would need editing, upgrading, and new work in order to stream it. He doesn’t believe they are prepared to invest the necessary funds to update and release it if they can’t foresee a significant advantage from doing so.

Initially, “Detours” was introduced at Star Wars Celebration back in 2012, mere months prior to the news of Lucasfilm getting acquired by The Walt Disney Company. Although a trailer for the series was shown at this occasion, no further official sneak peeks into the project have been disclosed. However, Green had earlier shared that around 40 episodes were already finished.

The placement of our show in Star Wars history was quite unique. At the time, George Lucas hadn’t sold his company yet, and there weren’t definite plans for new Star Wars films. Lucasfilm primarily functioned as a licensing entity separate from its film productions and unrealized projects. George envisioned creating something similar to ‘The Simpsons’ but in the Star Wars universe, which was our goal. I believe he simply wanted to have some fun, and that’s why he hired us. They were working on the final seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and planning what would become Star Wars Rebels, while we were creating our show independently.

He went on to say, “After placing Kathleen Kennedy in charge, her objective wasn’t to create Star Wars within the next two or three years; instead, she aimed to ingrain Star Wars into the mainstream culture for the following 30 years. The key point she made was, ‘We’re going to produce new movies, and since kids haven’t experienced any fresh Star Wars content aside from the animated series, Clone Wars, this could be a whole new generation’s initial encounter with Star Wars.’ She added, ‘It’s more beneficial for us to focus everything on the movies.’ This means that content like Vader wearing his Life Day sweater and hosting a Life Day for imprisoned Wookiees on Detours, which I agreed might be an alternative introduction to these iconic characters, could potentially conflict with this strategy.

Even though longtime followers of the series feel disheartened as it appears that Detours is no longer an option, Green maintains a hopeful perspective about the turn of events.

The creator reflected on a remarkable and improbable encounter with one of their significant inspirations. It’s disheartening to consider the numerous projects that never come to fruition, and the many creations that remain unnoticed in this line of work. However, I now appreciate the lessons I’ve learned from having these experiences – they’ve provided me with valuable insights about various aspects of life. Having Kathleen Kennedy as a mentor during this time was an immense privilege.

You can now stream all existing seasons of “Robot Chicken” by Green on Max, and a 20th-anniversary special is set to air this summer.

2025-02-21 22:42

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