There are few pop culture pairings as beloved, or enjoyable as the one between Star Wars and LEGO. With the popular Danish building blocks first wading into that very famous galaxy, far, far away, back in the 1990s, fans have since been treated to a treasure trove of speciality kits, video games and animated specials intent on blending the two worlds together.
Now, Lucasfilm and the folks at LEGO have truly outdone themselves, in putting together a new four-part animated series dubbed LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy. Swapping out the stranger streets of Hawkins, Indiana for the Nerf laden fields of Fenessa is Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo, who voices an entirely new kind of young hero.
Gifted with the power of Force Building, Matarazzo’s Sig Greebling can summon the building blocks of the universe and rearrange them at will. Yet when he stumbles across a mysterious artifact known as the Cornerstone, the entire Star Wars universe as we know it is torn apart and put back together in unexpectedly hilarious ways.
Stranded in a mixed-up universe inhabited by Clone Trooper versions of Admiral Ackbar, deadly Ewok bounty hunters, and some major role reversals between the franchise’s best-known heroes and villains, this new Star Wars universe is unlike anything audiences have encountered before. Yet among all the benign Jedi versions of Palpatine and TIE-fighters endowed with classic X-Wing foils, lay a plethora of franchise jokes, nods to beloved fan theories, and even a few cheeky digs at The Last Jedi and the other sequel films.
Best of all, however, is the decision to bring back so many original Star Wars cast members to voice alternate versions of their live-action characters. Not only are sequel trilogy stars Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) and Naomi Ackie (Jannah) back, but they’re also joined by franchise veterans Billy Dee Williams, November Supa-Star guest Anthony Daniels, and Mark Hamill himself. Even Ahmed Best is back as everyone’s favourite Gungan, finally bringing long-running whispers of the dreaded Darth Jar Jar to life.
Also starring Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Tony Revolori as Sig’s big brother Dev, and SNL comedian Bobby Moynihan as Jedi Bob (a tongue-in-cheek nod to a fan nickname once given to an unnamed Jedi minifig featured in the Attack of the Clones LEGO set), Rebuild the Galaxy is a delightful reworking of the world’s best known science fiction property. Never afraid to poke fun at its colourful history and enduring place in pop culture, this new LEGO Star Wars outing boasts more witty callbacks than the number of pieces in the LEGO Death Star playset.
Truly, the only vaguely disappointing thing about LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy is that the four episodes go by so quickly, that you’ll be left scrambling to find if there are any more pieces left in the box.
All four episodes of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy are streaming now exclusively on Disney+.
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