LEGO and Star Wars are two properties that aren’t exactly strangers to each other. The relationship is so established (and popular) that LEGO Star Wars has practically become its own third franchise.
Yes, there are the toys. And there were the games. And then, like all things LEGO, it exploded out from there. Cartoon Network brought the lighthearted LEGO storytelling style to television with The Padawan Menace, The Empire Strikes Out, and then The Yoda Chronicles. Disney XD jumped in the game last year with the five-part, blink-and-you-missed-it LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales.
Admittedly, all of these attempts had mixed results. However, there was one similarity: they were all non-canon. They were intended to be lighthearted comedic takes on the universe we love. They weren’t telling actual stories that carried repercussions and consequences.
Apparently, that’s about to change. Disney XD and The LEGO Group just announced a new show, set to premiere this summer: LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. The official synopsis is as follows:
The series stars the Freemakers, a family of scavengers who build and sell starships from the scoured debris of space battles strewn throughout the galaxy. When their youngest discovers a natural connection with the Force through an ancient artifact – the Kyber Saber – his world is turned upside down, and he and his family are thrown into an epic struggle against the Empire to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy. Throughout their adventures, the Freemakers explore new worlds, meet new and familiar characters, and learn the true value of what it means to be a family.
The show is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. And when Lucasfilm/Disney officially announces where in the timeline a story is set, that pretty much means it’s canon. So, I guess this makes The Freemaker Adventures the third in-canon animated series.
I’m going to reserve judgment until I actually see the show. But now that we have a LEGO series considered canon, I really don’t see any reason why the 39 finished episodes of Star Wars Detours can’t somehow see the light of day.
Lucasfilm/Disney, please take note: Star Wars Detours deserves an audience. Slap a “Legends” label on it if you want, but please release the show. Seth Green and Brendan Hay worked awfully hard on it, and the fans are curious.
So if it takes place during the timeline of the original trilogy… why is there a battle droid in there?…
My guess? They’re a family of scavengers, so they found and built him, and now he’s part of the family/crew.