Summary
Screen Rantwas atSan Diego Comic-Con 2024getting new scoops on exciting projects likeLEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy. Coming in September,LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxyis a four-part miniseries set to upend establishedStar Warscanon with fun new takes that include a beach bum Luke Skywalker, Ewok bounty hunters, and Darth Jar Jar Binks. On top of everything else, the Disney+ miniseries presents twisted versions ofStar Warsicons like X-Wing/TIE Fighter mashups and a dark-side Millennium Falcon.
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxywas written byDan Hernandez and Benji Samit, a writing and production team known for their ability to bring the best out of big-name franchises. Hernandez and Samit’s previous work includesThe Tick,Detective Pikachu, andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,all of which were praised for the way in which they brought new life to well-known properties. Hernandez and Samit are even on board to write theSpaceballssequel in development from Josh Gad and Mel Brooks.
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The upcoming Disney+ miniseries also boasts a strong cast includingSaturday Night LiveandStar Wars Resistancecast member Bobby Moynihan. Moynihan will not be reprising hisStar WarsResistancecharacter, instead playing a newcomer called Jedi Bob. InScreen Rant’s media suite at San Diego Comic-Con floor, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, and Bobby Moynihan spoke about their work bringing the wild world ofLEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxyto life.
Playing Around With Darth Jar Jar And More LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild The Galaxy Variations
Screen Rant: How does it feel to alter everything fans know aboutStar Wars?
Benji Samit: It feels great. It’s just super fun, and it’s a dream come true. We’re playing with LEGO Star Wars for our job. It’s my childhood, but now I do it as my job. It’s crazy, and it still doesn’t feel real.
Essentially, we wanted to recreate the way everyone plays with their LEGO, which is just dumping it all out and matching it up however you see fit.
We finally get Darth Jar Jar, which has been a hilarious fan theory for years. What inspired these new versions of classic characters inStar Wars?
Benji Samit: A lot of it was just fan theories or ideas or alternate paths that you always dream of when you’re just hanging out as nerds. It’s just the stuff you talk about.
Right when we first were coming up with ideas for this, we knew right away, “Well, Darth Jar Jar. This is the perfect opportunity to finally do it.” Or things like Jedi Vader; the Redeemed Vader. It’s just like, “What would that be like?” We finally had this perfect opportunity to explore some of these alternate scenarios.
Dan Hernandez: Because it’s LEGO Star Wars, we could be a little bit more unexpected in what we were allowed to do. To the everlasting credit of Lucasfilm and LEGO, they said, “Go for it.” There were times we’d go, “Is this too crazy?” And they’d go, “No, not at all. This is the 25th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars. Let’s do something special. Let’s really make an impact and give people something they never thought that they’d see.” That’s when they gave us that mission statement. We said, “Okay, you asked for it.”
That’swhere Darth Jar Jar came from. That’s where Beach Luke came from. That’s where the Ewok Bounty hunters came from. All of these pet ideas that were mostly just the two of us sitting around going, “Wouldn’t be really cool if there [was an] Ewok that was like a bounty hunter? But that would never happen. They would probably never do that.” And then we’d go, “Oh, wait a minute. We can do that. We can totally do that. They’ve given us permission, and they can’t take it back.” They probably could take it back, but I feel like now it’s a little late. That’s how we have all this stuff.
Ahmed Best is a Star Wars legend. I love Jar Jar Binks; I’m not a hater. How did you want him to approach Darth Jar Jar to set him apart from the original?
Dan Hernandez: I think that what’s amazing is that we didn’t have to do anything at all because Ahmed came in, and he so thoroughly embodies Jar Jar that you cannot really appreciate the brilliance of his performance and the creation of that character until you see him in person physicalizing it and doing the voice and putting it in his body.
Benji Samit: When he first got to the recording studio, we were like, “Alright, so maybe let’s talk about it. What is Darth Jar Jar’s voice? How’s it going to be a little different?” And he was like, “Oh, I was just thinking this.” He did it, and we’re like, “Yep, that!” We did not need to do anything. He knows this character, and he’s seen all the fan theories and memes over the years. It was fun for him to be able to tap into that side of it.
Dan Hernandez: And he started improv-ing. He started just speaking as Darth Jar Jar, and a lot of what came out of his mind is in the special because it was so brilliant and it was so magical to watch that session.
All About Jedi Bob’s Role In LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild The Galaxy
Bobby, you’ve played various Star Wars characters in the past, and I love you inStar Wars Resistance. This time you get to actually play a Jedi. Talk to me about Jedi Bob.
Bobby Moynihan: I have been vocal about being a Star Wars fan, and I have also been extremely lucky enough to have been involved in a lot of Star Wars projects. This one feels extra special. As a fan, I feel a responsibility. I’m Jedi Bob. I knew about this character before the series came about, so in my mind I was like, “I can’t believe I get to play this character.” I took it very seriously.
It was super fun. It is one of my favorite performances I’ve ever gotten to do. I get to play in this world, and they know this world so well and they write so well. It builds so well. I just saw it, and I loved it so much. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that my kids will get to see this and go like, “Dad isn’t just in a diaper all the time running around.”
How does Jedi Bob stand out amongst other Jedi that we’ve seen in the past?
Bobby Moynihan: I feel like I tried to base Jedi Bob in my mind a little like Qui-Gon Jinn if he hadn’t had his coffee, and he was just like, “Enough Jar Jar!”
Benji Samit: I think he may be the crankiest Jedi you’ve ever seen, but that’s okay. There’s room in the great pantheon of Jedi for there to be a cranky one.
Bobby Moynihan: I love it. I love that he is self-proclaimed, like, “Look, I’m not the best Jedi.”
Dan Hernandez: He’s very open about the fact that… Lightsabers? Eh, he’s fine.
Benji Samit: That was not his class at the academy.
Bobby Moynihan: He can’t be great at everything.
Dan Hernandez: But as with all heroes who find themselves thrust into circumstances that they never expected to be in, he rises to the occasion and actually is a real hero. He really embodies something true about the Jedi, even though it’s a LEGO special. There’s a lot of funny stuff and a lot of jokes, but I think one of the things that’s surprising about the special is that at a certain point you realize, “I’m just in a great Star Wars story.”
Bobby Moynihan: I agree that 100%. Gaten Matarazzo’s performance as the new Luke proxy is absolutely fantastic. And getting to hear it play out with? I’m so happy to be a part of this. It’s insane.
Can you talk about collaborating with Dan and Benji to flesh out the character? I’m assuming that you got to improv in the booth when you were doing the character.
Bobby Moynihan: Well, I didn’t have to! I mean, I love to improv, but I didn’t have to. I also love good Star Wars writing, and I never improvised something crazy. There wasn’t a lot of improvising for me because they had already done all the work perfectly.
But I got to do some stuff very naturally that just came about. It never felt like we were working on it. It felt like, “Well, what do you want to do? Let’s just try it.” And then all of a sudden we were doing it, and it was fun. There are people who are voiceover artists; I think I’m someone who is lucky to get to do voiceover every once in a while. The second time we came back to do the second episode, it was like, “Oh yeah, we got Jedi Bob now.” And that’s hard for me. It felt like you guys made that very easy.
Dan Hernandez: I think Bobby is being extremely modest because, first of all, he’s one of the great improvisers alive - and voiceover artists.
But what Bobby said is really true. Benji and I both come from a performance background. I had to retire from performance, but being in the booth is really the one place that I get to actually do some performance. And because of that, we do like to work in a collaborative fashion where I say maybe my idea of this is not what ultimately it ought to be.
When I heard Bobby do what he had prepared for the first time, I said, “Of course, that’s Jedi Bob. Of course!” Any of my preconceived notions about what this person might sound like are completely wrong because he’s right here in front of me. We really tried to keep that spirit for all of the performers.
Benji Samit: There’s no greater thrill as a showrunner than when an actor or an animator or any of the artists involved suddenly come to work and do it instantly better than you ever imagined it in your head. It makes your job easy.
Bobby Moynihan: My favorite part is the look of all the people on the Zoom’s faces when we start becoming nerds and improvise some Star Wars lore. I think I improvised something about how Jedi Bob at one point was in the Max Rebo Band, but got kicked out for stealing. I think I said I was in Max Rebo Band when I was younger in my padawan years and just watching a Zoom full of people going, “Well, got to figure out if that’s even possible.” Flipping through the Star Wars Bible like, “Just don’t say that. You were not.”
Dan Hernandez: Leland Chee, who’s one of the Lucasfilm experts, gets very frustrated with us. He’s the best, but we do put him to work. Bobby put him to work, for sure.
Mark Hamill Appearing In LEGO Star Wars Fulfilled Benji Samit & Dan Hernandez’s Childhood Dreams
Do you have a favorite change that you made withLEGO Star Wars: Rebuild The Galaxy?
Benji Samit: I think some have seen this in the LEGO sets that have come out, so I can say it here. In our rebuilt galaxy, the Clone Troopers are clones of Admiral Ackbar. The Ackbar troopers, as we like to call them, are probably my favorite.
Dan Hernandez: I would say my favorite thing is Beach Luke Skywalker. I think to have Mark come back as Luke Skywalker was something that the three of us could not in our wildest fantasies have imagined growing up. That we’d actually get to write for Mark as Luke?
Bobby Moynihan: It’s so cool, and he’s so funny. He knows that character so well. It’s absolutely incredible.
I know you guys are bigStar Warsfans. Did you ever have a pinch-me moment about having Mark Hamill back? Can you talk about your experience working with Mark on this?
Bobby Moynihan: I got to see the episode recently, and the first scene that I have with Mark Hamill, I cried in my bathroom watching it. Mostly because I was sick. [Laughs] No, I just couldn’t believe it. I was like, “I just watched a scene with me and Mark Hamill.
Benji Samit: I still cannot believe that [happened]. We were sitting there doing a recording session with him, and I still don’t believe that it’s real.
Dan Hernandez: Mark, of course, is a legend. He’s Luke Skywalker, but he’s alsoone of the greatest voice actors alive. And so combining those two things, you’re sitting there going, “I can’t believe he’s saying the words that we wrote.
By the way, Mark is really funny, and he knows Luke Skywalker. He is Luke Skywalker. And so he would say, “Can I try it like this? I’m going to try it.” And every time we were like, “Yeah, that’s way better. That’s great.” It was a collaborative process.
I think he had a lot of fun doing a version of this character that was different than what he had done before, and to be able to really see a new side of Luke was fun. Not only for us, but for him. There was an energy in that recording session where I think everyone felt it, and everyone has expressed, “I can’t believe I have lines with Luke Skywalker. This is insane!”
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxywill begin streaming September 13 on Disney+.
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy
Cast
In a galaxy far, far away, familiar heroes and villains return in LEGO form to embark on a thrilling adventure to restore balance to the universe. As the remnants of the Empire threaten the fragile peace, a group of courageous rebels, including iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo, join forces with new allies to rebuild what was lost. Utilizing their wit, bravery, and the unique humor of the LEGO universe, they face off against formidable foes, uncover hidden secrets, and forge unexpected alliances.
