It's been a pretty long existence, and one that most people still have yet to truly figure out. But luckily, at some point along the way, somebody discovered that adding Weird Al Yankovic to a thing, including Star Wars, is pretty much always a recipe for entertainment. Even if the rest of the project turns out to be a wide flat stinkum, the presence of the parody king is always a treasure in and of itself.
So thanks to some new discoveries regarding Yankovic, that makes it all the more tragic that Star Wars Detours will likely never truly see the light of day, even if fans still hear various teases about it potentially coming to Disney Plus. The animated comedy series from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich may have been canceled before its release a decade ago, but somehow more info about it just randomly seems to keep surfacing. It's like a really lethargic zombie whose return from the grave largely consists of the occasional gas release.
The latest bit of news about this lich of a series comes from none other than future Daniel Radcliffe character Yankovic himself, who revealed on The George Lucas Talk Show (starring not-George Lucas) that he had actually made a number of original musical contributions to Star Wars Detours just before the project was canceled. "We were working on a Star Wars musical, that was a third-season show, we were writing songs, and all of a sudden, it was like, 'This is not gonna happen,'" Yankovic said of his time with the series. "I don't know that I'm allowed [to talk about it]. There were, gosh, at least a half a dozen or more songs as part of the musical and the various characters in the show. We actually recorded them singing their songs, and that was about a week before we found out that the show was not happening."
Not only did Yankovic add his musical talents to the mummified series, but it also turns out that these weren't his typical parodies that fans likely would have expected. "It's been a while," he said when asked, "but I'm pretty sure they were all original compositions." That's one more thing that Star Wars fans have lost in the past decade-ish. Between new original Weird Al songs and the cancelation of that 1313 game, haven't they suffered enough? (Granted, some still complain about Kelly Marie Tran, so maybe a little more suffering is in order).
Some folks may be surprised about the prospect of original Weird Al music. But it's easy to forget that roughly half of his songs from every album tend to be original pieces, albeit still pastiches of existing artists' styles. But considering his focus on comedy, it's easy to forget that Yankovic is a genuinely talented musician, songwriter, and singer even aside from the parodies. Anyone curious should check out his live cover of George Harrison's "What Is Life" and prepare to experience a moderate eyebrow raising.
The potential for hearing lost Weird Al music should be enough to inspire some steam behind the "release Detours, please" movement that isn't really a movement. Even Community star Joel McHale has voiced his support for the release of Star Wars Detours, and that's no small endorsement. Maybe there's still a chance that the series will eventually see the light of day, only to be faced with overly critical reactions that make Disney immediately regret trying something remotely new and creative. It's the Star Wars way, after all.
The Star Wars saga is now available on Disney Plus.