a Star Wars Sequel That Never Happened

When it comes to George Lucas’s beloved Star Wars space opera, author Alan Dean Foster’s spin-off novel Splinter of the Mind’s Eye predates the blockbuster movie’s actual second installment, The Empire Strikes Back. Published in 1978, Foster’s book imagines a very distinct adventure for Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. Who knows how the stars would have aligned for franchise success if the Star Wars sequel had been based on Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. It should be noted that Lucas regularly credited Foster as the ghostwriter.

Splinter of the Mind’s Eye was part of a two-book deal that included writing the novelization of the original Star Wars. The only restriction placed on Foster was that his follow-up had to be filmable on a low budget. This was a precaution in case Star Wars flopped at the box office. Of course, the movie far from flopped, but the film’s astronomical success encouraged Lucas to dream bigger while Foster kept those restrictions in mind as he conceived the origins of Splinter of the Mind’s Eye.

There Are Cutbacks in This Far, Far Away Galaxy

In Splinter, Foster began developing a story that takes place almost entirely on Mimban, the planet where Luke and Leia crash-landed en route to an assembling of key members of the Rebel Alliance. The book initially opened with an elaborate aerial battle that forced Luke and Leia to crash-land. Unfortunately, complexities would have eaten into the film budget, so Lucas had Foster cut the scene out. Other than that, Foster has been quoted as saying he and Lucas had minimal contact during his writing process, allowing him the freedom he needed.

One noticeably stark change in a Splinter of the Mind’s Eye sequel would have been the absence of the loveable scoundrel Hon Solo. According to Foster, he omitted Han Solo from the book because, at the time of writing, Harrison Ford had not committed to participating in future Star Wars projects. In fact, he was specifically told not to use the character in the book. Therefore, it was only logical to him that if there was no Han, there would be no Chewie either.

Although Splinter never made it into Star Wars movies franchise history, Foster’s writing career flourished, and the novel is still in print. However, among the legions of fans who have seen every Star Wars movie, some have read the book and are confused by the contradictions with the film. Nevertheless, it happens even with books that are adapted to film, and Foster is still proud to have been a creative force in a world filled with Imperial villains.

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