Rebuild the Galaxy on Darth Tico, Enjoying God, and… Corvette Summer season?

Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy is an upcoming four-part miniseries on Disney+ wherein a pair of nerf herders by chance trigger an apocalyptic reformation of the Star Wars universe. Utilizing the identical Lego bricks, the sequence’ planets, automobiles, and know-how are dramatically reshaped into kit-bashed mash-ups of preexisting designs and ideas. Notably, this pole shift extends to the sequence’ acquainted solid of characters, showcasing reimagined takes on villains-as-heroes and heroes-as-villains. We sat down with writers Dan Hernadenz and Benji Samit (Pokémon Detective Pikachu) to debate this courageous new world with such folks in it.

Gordon Jackson, io9: So, did Lucasfilm ever strategy you and say “you completely can’t depict this character on this gentle” at any level?

Benji Samit: We had been ready for that to occur and it actually by no means did. Full credit score to everybody at Lucasfilm and Lego for, from the soar, understanding what we needed to do with this particular. It’s only a playful celebration of all issues Lego Star Wars. And that type of concerned having enjoyable with any and all characters that we may.

Dan Hernandez: I additionally assume that they knew that any of the issues that we needed to alter, any of the mash-ups we needed to do, with out exception, Benji and I attempted to have an in-galaxy purpose that the historical past of this galaxy performed out in a different way for every character, for every planet, for every ship. And the explanation we did that’s in order that it didn’t really feel arbitrary, it didn’t really feel type of tossed off that all the things had intention behind it. Even when you don’t know precisely what that intention is or what that historical past is, it ought to really feel as if there was consideration put behind it as a result of there was. And I feel that that was actually necessary to us. And so I feel due to that, once we’d have these conversations about saying, hey, we wanna change, you realize, Ray into Darth Ray. And people had been simple conversations to have as a result of they knew that we had been approaching it from a spot of story and character.

io9: Darth Rey and Darth Tico, I cherished them each. Did you are feeling like that was missed alternative within the films, that they teased that story—a minimum of in Rey’s case—and by no means went there?

Hernandez: I felt prefer it was one thing that I used to be actually excited to see explored to no matter extent that they did discover within the sequel trilogies, nevertheless it nonetheless felt—and simply type of taking a anecdotal ballot of individuals on-line and other people in Reddit and no matter—that there was an urge for food to know extra about Darth Rey, what that would have seemed like. And as for Rose, I like that character and I like, love, love Kelly Marie Tran and he or she is simply essentially the most unimaginable performer. And I needed to see extra. I needed to see extra nuance. You realize, I assumed to myself, her sister dies in The Final Jedi, proper? Proper at first. And he or she takes the trail of compassion and empathy. However not all people does. And there was no assure that that’s how she would have ended up. And in order that was a extremely fascinating place to start to say: what does a darkish model of this character who has had numerous struggling happen, what path does that set her on? And so once more, it was actually thrilling for us to get to choose a few of these characters that we needed to spend extra time with after which actually form of discover these different iterations.

io9: I assumed one of the hanging mashups was the Sandcrawler with the AT-AT legs. You got here up with a purpose that might really exist?

Samit: I imply, that was considered one of our favourite ones to create; that picture got here into our minds of, like, an iconic mashup. And, you realize, whether or not it was, Jawas on this galaxy or another scavenging creature who needed to construct one thing like that, nevertheless it wanted legs as a result of the treads weren’t chopping it.

Hernandez: I additionally assume that in that specific case, it appeared to talk to… it’s form of janky, it form of doesn’t work amazingly nicely. And it appeared to talk to the place that our model of the Jedi are inhabiting on this galaxy, which is that they’re not the Knights in a type of a revered place. They’re form of in a decrease, fallen-on-hard-times place. And so it felt like they wanted a house base that felt born out of necessity. One thing that like didn’t fairly work, proper? And that’s the place the genesis of that concept got here, which is like, we must always do a mash-up that like is form of awkward as a result of they’re form of awkward on this model of the galaxy.

io9: You stated you had been ready for pushback. Did you have got any remixed characters in thoughts you thought Disney wouldn’t help you depict?

Samit: I imply, take a look at Darth Jar Jar. It was one of many first issues we needed to do. And we had been like, “Are they going to allow us to do that?” This has been such a mentioned factor within the fan group. Are they simply going to be like, “it’s been too closely worn”? Like, “let’s not even contact it”? However as a substitute they had been like, “No, like we get it. If there’s ever been a second to have the ability to do it, it’s this.” It was superb.

io9: Who did he apprentice beneath, do you assume?

Hernandez: I feel Darth Jar Jar and our good model of Sheev Palpatine have a protracted and storied historical past collectively. I feel it began again on Naboo. And I feel that most likely he was Sheev’s Padawan at a sure level and broke dangerous. I’ve by no means stated this aloud earlier than, however I’m fairly positive that’s appropriate. And that’s type of how I considered the schism that might happen between these two characters. That’s canon now.

io9: It is a Lego film, nevertheless it additionally raises questions in regards to the morality of taking part in God. How did you encounter that concept, and resolve that story ought to remaking the universe, however not placing it again collectively?

Hernandez: That’s an incredible query. And nobody has requested us that, so I respect it. So the thought was, we knew we needed to rebuild the galaxy into a distinct type, however we additionally felt like it will be not truthful or satisfying to type of hit the reset button like a Nintendo sport and have all the things return regular, as a result of I don’t actually assume that’s how life features. I feel that life throws you curveballs on a regular basis. As I’ve gotten older you discover that to be increasingly more true, the place you end up in a circumstance or a scenario the place you’re, “Effectively, nothing actually ready me for this however I’ve two choices, which is both to maneuver ahead or to be utterly in paralysis about this factor.”

We thought that that was a extremely fascinating message for teenagers, however for everybody actually, and in order that’s why we felt that in that second the place it’s revealed that Jedi Bob has really come from an excellent older model of this galaxy, which I feel additionally spoke to type of the historical past of the Lego Star Wars relationship, it was necessary for him to say, “It’s over, it’s carried out. And now all of us must journey collectively and work out what this rebuilt model of the galaxy is, and we will both sink or swim in it, however that is what we’ve received. We’ve received one another. and we will select to be heroes or villains inside this new context. And all of your experience is form of out the window as a result of we’re in an unprecedented scenario.” And in order that, to us, felt like form of a robust message to everybody to say, “You don’t at all times have management, however you do have some management over the way in which that you just your self react to what life throws at you.”

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

Hernandez: I feel it was comparable. It was type of a associated reply, which is… all of us have moments in our lives wherein we will select to step up and be heroic and act in a manner that’s type of consistent with no matter moral sensibility that all of us possess. And moments the place we don’t reside as much as these issues and we type of let issues go and select a neater path. And so we stated to ourselves, nicely, “What if Luke by no means came upon about his historical past and his household? How would his life unfold?”

Samit: Proper, you realize, within the unique film, you realize, Luke hates this boring desert planet he’s on, however what if on this new model of the galaxy, this planet was not a boring desert, however was really an exquisite oasis seaside planet and the place he was very comfy and he all of a sudden wasn’t dreaming of going off some other place? He was simply comfortable on his dwelling life on the seaside and he by no means received that decision to motion. Like, what would his life seem like? However you then see over the course of the sequence that despite the fact that he’s gone down this totally different path, the identical Luke remains to be in there—the hero, who as soon as he does get that decision to motion, it ignites one thing inside him. And yeah, in order that was actually thrilling for us.

io9: So are there plans for extra after this?

Samit: I imply, we might…

Hernandez: That’s our hope.

Samit: Like to do it…

Hernandez: That’s our hope. We now have numerous concepts for the way the story would proceed. And sure, you’ll be able to think about not the entire issues that we needed to get into it may match into 4 episodes. So it will be superior.

Samit: There’s much more characters that clearly don’t present up on this that we love. And it will be superb to have the ability to maintain doing this.

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

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