10 Failed Star Wars Movies (And Why They Didn't Happen)
7. Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye
The Movie
As is the case with most big movies, the original Star Wars film got its very own novelisation. Ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster and credited to George Lucas, Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker was published in November 1976 - but this wasn't the only Star Wars book Foster was contracted to produce.
Lucas also tasked him with writing a second book, which ultimately became Splinter of the Mind's Eye. This was something of a backup plan on Lucas' part, because the intent was for this story to act as a low-budget sequel to Star Wars - basically, if the film flopped, then Splinter of the Mind's Eye was designed to be a smaller, stripped-back followup, which could be adapted to the screen for a relatively low cost.
The plot of the novel follows Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia as they crash-land on the swamp planet Mimban. Here, the pair seek out the powerful and mysterious Kaiburr crystal (that spelling was later changed to the "Kyber" we use today), while Luke squares off against Darth Vader, and ends up chopping off his arm.
Why It Didn't Happen
Though Lucas wasn't confident that Star Wars would resonate with audiences, it began breaking box-office records almost as soon as it debuted in May 1977.
With this success in mind, there was simply no need for Splinter of the Mind's Eye to be turned into a movie. Lucas was free to produce his preferred, more big-budget Star Wars sequel, which led to The Empire Strikes Back being released in 1980.
That said, Splinter of the Mind's Eye was still published as a novel in 1978, and because the entire world was Star Wars-crazy by this point, it ended up selling like death sticks in a Coruscant nightclub.