Previously, Sulkin had written numerous Star Wars jokes in other "Family Guy" episodes, including a bit where Luke annoys another Rebel in a meeting about how to blow up the Death Star. "I always thought Luke was showing up that guy during the Rebel Alliance briefing," Sulkin says. "This guy says it's impossible to hit that target and Luke's like 'No, I can do it!'"
"Because everyone knows what a lightsaber sounds like, or that the helmet is Vader's, or the music reminds them of a particular scene in the film, it's just easier to write jokes about something everyone knows," Sulkin explains. "And because of that, you can write something a little bit different and it's funny. Star Wars is all about life and death decisions, so to have these mundane moments makes it seem funny. And the world of Star Wars takes itself very seriously -- you're learning about the Force, and you have to duel your father -- so to have previous jokes about lightsaber eye surgery, or Darth Vader as a Meter Maid, that's hilarious."
As Sulkin was tasked to write the first draft of "Blue Harvest," he quickly found that a short little special was turning into an epic love letter to the saga. "It was originally supposed to be a half an hour," Sulkin says. "We get two weeks to write our first draft, which are usually around 45-50 pages for a half hour. But when I finished my draft it was more around 85 pages. So I emailed our executive producer and said this might be an hour long show. What followed was a very comical sequence of him saying, 'Nope, absolutely not!' And then Seth said after he read it, 'Ya know, I think we might have an hour-long show here.' And the executive producer completely changed his tune and said, 'Exactly, great idea!'"
"We're so immersed in the Star Wars world that changing it in any kind of way makes it instantly hilarious just because you know it so well and it's funny to hear it in a different kind of way," Sulkin explains. "Seth had it in his mind which 'Family Guy' characters would play certain Star Wars characters. And now watching it, those decisions make perfect sense. Originally, I actually thought Stewie would be Yoda!"
Of the entire special, Sulkin has a few moments that he marks as his favorites. "In addition to seeing 'Written By' and then my name, my favorite scene in 'Blue Harvest' is when Han and Chewie (Peter and Brian) steal a couch from the trash compactor and bring it with them on the Millennium Falcon so they could be more comfy shooting stuff," Sulkin laughs. "Seeing them try to wedge a couch through the door really made me laugh. And that scene wasn't actually in my first draft. We came up with that in the room. Different writers came up with so many cool jokes for this along the way -- people were very passionate about it."
Even thought the show spans an hour, Sulkin says some gags had to be sadly cut from the story line. "I had a side story about particular Rebel who at the beginning gets hassled by the other Rebels," Sulkin says. "We'd follow that guy throughout the whole story of him being the annoying Rebel that nobody really liked. He'd sign in as Red 5, and just be a complete pain over the intercom."
"There was so much to choose from that there was an embarrassment of riches," Sulkin adds. "All the writers and animators were dying to work on it, and everyone was trying a lot harder because they knew how important it was."
Now that the show is complete, and the "Family Guy" staff is in fact eager to get started on the next two tributes for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Sulkin can't help but show his appreciation and love for the saga as a whole.
"There's a line in the original draft where Chris turns his lightsaber on and it makes that noise and he looks at it for a second and says, 'Wow, this is the kind of thing that could make an okay movie awesome!'" Sulkin says. "There's so many things in Star Wars that make it awesome. It was so different at the time. Lucas has a classic story that is timeless like a Western, or Shakespeare, and he put it in this world with the coolest stuff imaginable. To think of lightsabers with its look and sound, it's so alluring and sleek. Every little transmission from ship to ship, or the alien languages, may not be explained, but you still understood what was going on. You can tell by watching it the care and detail George Lucas put into this universe he created. And all the fans appreciate that because we notice everything and love it all. I can't wait to meet him and shake his hand."
