“No insane cameos” okay then @starwars explain this#SkeletonCrew pic.twitter.com/uBWGlD96UB

— 3-PiCO Illustration || Inquisitorius SB (@Quizzy_sin_bin) December 3, 2024

According to Watts in an interview with EW, production wasn’t able to use the original footage from the Holiday Special as the resolution and quality was too low because it was a TV special. Ford also added that the footage as-is “was limiting because we would have to have used the same angle [for filming]. We needed to shoot it from multiple angles.”

In order to recreate this scene-within-a-scene, the pair went deep into the archives of Lucasfilm, digging out all of the original wardrobe designs and sketches from the show. “Our stunt coordinator also happened to be a former Cirque du Soleil performer,” Watts said, “so he plays the main dancing guy, and he choreographed a whole new routine based on what is in the Holiday Special.”

The series’ composer also had to recreate and re-record the music from scratch, as there was no record of it anywhere other than in videos posted to YouTube, and no one knew what instruments were used for the original. Watts admits that a lot of time and effort was put into creating “one little visual gag,” but to him it was worth it. “It makes me really happy,” he told EW, “and it makes me wonder what that circus troop is up to.”

Even though this might not be the exact circus hologram that Lumpy was watching in the Holiday Special, it’s proof that this space circus troupe does or did exist somewhere in the galaxy. And as far as we’re concerned, that’s one step closer to making the Star Wars Holiday Special canon.