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sliver of the judgment ’s Eye , the originalStar Warssequel planned instead ofThe Empire Strikes Back , would have been the closing of the franchise . With the benefit of hindsight , 1977 - the yearGeorge Lucas’Star Warshit cinemas- was a originative moment in the history of skill - fiction . It launched a enfranchisement that still continue to this day , and has reel off into everything from critically acclaimed animated series to New York Times bestselling novels .
Of course , back in the later 1970s , nobody had any idea how bigStar Warswould become - not even George Lucas . And so he approached sci - fi and fantasy author Alan Dean Foster to pen a low - budget subsequence , something of a fallback design in caseStar Warshadn’t been a big success . Ironically , this became the novelSplinter of the nous ’s Eye , the first everStar Warsspin - off . It ’s a fascinating read , not least because it sits uncomfortably with other elements of the original trilogy ; there ’s a pot ofangst between Luke Skywalker and Leiathat feels extremely uncomfortable when show in lightheaded ofReturn of the Jedi .
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as luck would have it , Star Warsperformed intimately than even George Lucas could have dreamed . Although the narrative was put out in 1978 , Lucas fundamentally ignored it . It ’s a well job he did , too ; as a continuation , it simply would n’t have worked .
The Original Star Wars Sequel, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, Explained
The plot ofSplinter of the judgment ’s Eyeis in reality quite a simple one ; Luke and Leia collapse - earth upon a mist - hide hobo camp humans named Mimban . There , they discover a orphic Imperial project to uncover the long lose Temple of Pomojema , which curb a rarified item called the Kaiburr Crystal . This possesses the power to amplify a someone ’s inborn ability in the Force , and is covet by none other than Darth Vader himself . The book end with a dramatic opposition between Luke and Vader , with Luke triumphing when Vader falls into a inscrutable routine . It ’s a fair unassailable narrative , and quite an entertaining tarradiddle , introducing a number of new persona and even a handful of Force ability .
It also has one affair escape : Harrison Ford ’s Han Solo . Ford had n’t ab initio sign on for the continuation , mean Foster was expect to compose a script in which Han was entirely absent . To be fair , that was n’t all too difficult ; Han may have been awarded a medal by the Rebellion , but there was no material intellect to seize he stick around after the Battle of Yavin 4 .
Why Splinter of the Mind’s Eye Would’ve Ended Star Wars
Alan Dean Foster is a gifted author , and he ’s been associated withStar Warsfrom the start ; he was actually ghostwriter of the originalStar Warsnovelization . For all that ’s the case , though , there can be small dubiousness aSplinter of the Mind ’s Eyemovie would have been the end of the franchise . ThebestStar Warsstories traverse the extragalactic nebula , giving a good sense of its infinite breadth and multifariousness , but this is centered upon individual , mist - shrouded world . Worse still , the plot moves at a very slow tread , and it is sometimes disrupted rather than help by the role arcs . At one pointedness , for example , Luke and Leia infiltrate an purple outpost and bury all demand for nuance , blockade to have a play - fight in the clay . It ’s intend to demonstrate the intimate tension between the two , but instead it simply feel like an indulgence on Foster ’s part , interrupting the tale and pop the impulse .
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The handsome job , of trend , is that the dynamic between Luke and Leia just does n’t feel ended withoutHan Solo . Foster ’s novel inadvertently demonstrates just how important Harrison Ford was to the winner ofStar Wars , because the tarradiddle feels belittle by Han ’s absence seizure . This particularly affects the treatment of the Force , which is handle in far too serious a mode . It ’s well-situated to forget now , but Han served an important role in the originalStar Warsmovies ; he was the everyman , the non - Force - user , the skeptic who had to be persuaded what a Jedi can do . Without Han , there is nobody to express mental rejection or wonderment , and Foster introduces new Force ability without even seeming to realize they are remarkable . The most interesting is a " restrained energy sphere " rally by Darth Vader , referred to as kinetite , which is handle in a astonishingly matter - of - fact manner .
Splinter of the idea ’s EyeisStar Wars , but it is missing so much life , joy , and marvel . The satellite Mimban serves as an unplanned metaphor for that , with its beauty and diversity concealed in rolling mists . All of these tale choice were made , of grade , because Foster was compose a potential script that would have only needed a fraction of the original cinema ’s budget . But it most certainly would n’t have been a success .
Why Empire Strikes Back Was Made Instead
luckily , Star Warswas a collision , and Lucas did n’t postulate to go down a low - budget route for the subsequence . Curiously enough , it does face as though Foster ’s novel had a endure - albeit subtle - event on the dealership . After all , inThe Empire Strikes Back , Luke heads to a mist - shrouded swampland - world - apparently based on conception art for Mimban . What ’s more , inSplinter of the Mind ’s Eye , Luke met a wizened old lady named Halla who was strong in the Force , and her eccentricity are spookily evocative of Master Yoda ’s . Even the awkwardLuke - Leia romancebecame part ofThe Empire Strikes Back , although reframed as part of a sexual love trigon that Lucas probably regret doing given he later retconned Leia as Luke ’s baby .
Far from killing theStar Warsfranchise , The Empire Strikes Backis generally seen as the best of the intact saga . Its showdown between Vader and Luke is endlessly superscript to the one see inSplinter of the Mind ’s Eye , elevated bythe shocking reveal Vader is Luke ’s father . The success of the firstStar Warsfilm allowed Lucas to be a great deal bolder , and it is n’t the villain who light to their near - end at the remainder ofThe Empire Strikes Back .
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Splinter of the Mind’s Eye Isn’t Canon - But Disney Still Honors It
Splinter of the psyche ’s Eyewas considered canon under the rules of the one-time Expanded Universe , but was dropped from persistence after Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 . Still , Disney has demonstrate a keen deal of regard to the novel , carefully incorporating elements of it into the canyon . Mimbanitself made its coming into court on the self-aggrandising screen inSolo : A Star Wars Story , with Han defecting from the Stormtroopers after he was forced to enter in a campaign there . The so - call " Minemoon of Mimban " even returned in Charles Soule ’s recent miniseriesThe Rise of Kylo Ren , with the Knights of Ren pursuing the so - called " Mindsplinter , " clearly the Disney era version of the Kaiburr Crystal . It ’s nice to seeStar Warsacknowledge its debt to the past .
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