The Original Star Wars Sequel If The First Movie Failed
Star Wars is obviously one of the most massive blockbusters of all time, but when it was first released, they had no idea what a juggernaut the film would become. Which is why when author Alan Dean Foster was contracted to ghostwrite a novelization of Star Wars, they also asked him to write a novel that could be adapted into a low-budget sequel in case the first film didn’t work out. That novel was titled Splinter of the Mind’s Eye.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, of course, never got adapted. By the time the book was actually published, Star Wars had already become a massive box-office smash, and a low-budget sequel was no longer needed. George Lucas would make Empire Strikes Back instead, and Foster’s novel remains a piece of interesting franchise history.
Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye was originally meant to be a low budget sequel in case the first Star Wars movie didn’t succeed at the box office.
Notably, this would also make Foster’s book the first true addition to the Expanded Universe, which Disney eventually rebranded as Legends when redefining the canon.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye is an interesting book because, although they gave Foster a lot of freedom in the story he created, there were some strange stipulations he had to work around since the book might have been adapted to the screen.
One requirement was that he would need to incorporate props from the previous film that could be reused in the sequel’s production. Thus, Foster set the book in a misty jungle planet called Mimban, so they could reduce the background and set costs.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye follows Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia after they crash land on the planet Mimban, where they must work with the locals to battle the Galactic Empire and the Sith lord Darth Vader.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye also left out Han and Chewie since Harrison Ford hadn’t signed on to make any sequels when Foster was writing the novel. George Lucas would even have Foster leave out a dogfight scene because it would have been too expensive to film. The book did end up becoming a bestseller because of the movie’s popularity, but it was never adapted to the screen.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye follows Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia after they crash land on the planet Mimban, where they must work with the locals to battle the Galactic Empire and the Sith lord Darth Vader. Interestingly, the book would focus heavily on Kaiburr crystals (now spelled as kyber crystals in the official canon).
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye has plenty of other plot points that differ wildly from Empire Strikes Back, such as Leia fighting Vader with Luke’s lightsaber and Luke cutting off Vader’s arm.
While the objects are more of a Macguffin in this book, they would eventually be officially named and introduced in the Clone Wars animated series as the objects Jedis use to construct their lightsabers.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye has plenty of other plot points that differ wildly from Empire Strikes Back, such as Leia fighting Vader with Luke’s lightsaber and Luke cutting off Vader’s arm (that sort of made it into the movie, with the roles reversed and Vader cutting a little further down the appendage).
Of course, famous scenes like Vader revealing that he is Luke’s father also weren’t in the novel. Still, if you’re a Star Wars fan and want to see the beginning of the now-defunct Expanded Universe, then this book is interesting and well worth the read (and make sure you don’t miss that beautiful Ralph McQuarrie cover art).
