Given that you can’t so much as change a lightsaber’s color without sparking canonical debates that rival the European wars of religion, it’s remarkable how willing Lucasfilm was to just toss ideas out there to see what would prove entertaining (and profitable) in the wake of the original trilogy’s unexpected success. While the Star Wars Holiday Special is the most infamous product of this period, a forgotten TV movie released less than a year after Return of the Jedi made it clear that no one knew quite what the future of Star Wars was, or if it even had one.
You may be surprised to learn that a TV movie called Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure exists, although you won’t be surprised to learn that a TV movie called Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure is pretty lousy. Featuring Warwick Davis, Burl Ives, and a whole lot of nobodies, what makes it fascinating to revisit on the 40th anniversary of its debut is that it’s so far removed from modern Star Wars it feels like that it spawned from a different franchise.
