LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures is an animated LEGO TV program that premiered on Disney XD starting June 20, 2016. The show centers on the escapades of the Freemakers, a family of scavengers, as they journey across the galaxy. The story unfolds in the timeframe between the films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The first season, comprising thirteen episodes, aired from June 20 until August 29, 2016. On April 3, 2017, the renewal of The Freemaker Adventures was announced, confirming a second season set to debut on Disney XD during the summer of 2017.
The series, delivered with the lightheartedness familiar to LEGO Star Wars fans, features the Freemakers. This family of scavengers makes a living by constructing and selling starships created from the remnants of space battles scattered throughout the galaxy. When the youngest member discovers a connection to the Force via an ancient artifact—the Kyber Saber—his world is upended. He and his family are thrust into an expansive conflict against the Empire, striving to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy. The Freemakers' adventures take them to new planets, introduce them to both new and familiar characters, and reveal the true meaning of family.
LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures was brought to life by Bill Motz and Bob Roth. The genesis of The Freemaker Adventures occurred for the two creators during the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. At a social gathering, Motz and Roth learned that The Walt Disney Company expressed interest in producing a LEGO Star Wars animated program. Motz and Roth had a desire to create a TV show that would include elements from the Star Wars movies.
Motz and Roth developed the concept of a family of scavengers collecting scraps from Clone Wars battles prior to the events of Return of the Jedi during a discussion at the dinner table. The creators made certain to include various iconic Star Wars personalities in their narrative, such as Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine. Metz described Vader and the Emperor as the "out of touch, detached upper management of the galaxy." From the very start, Motz and Roth intended for The Freemaker Adventures to stand apart from previous LEGO Star Wars shows and games, which often used a parody-style approach to the Star Wars saga.
The Freemaker Adventures was a collaborative effort between the LEGO Group, Lucasfilm, Disney, and Wil Film. Torsten Jacobson and Jill Wilfert took on the role of executive producers for the animated series, while Carrie Beck, Jason Cosler, Jake Blais, and John McCormack worked as producers. Several episodes were directed by Michael Hegner, Jens Møller, Martin Skov, Frederik Budolph-Larsen, and Per Risager.
Hegner stated that the production team adjusted the classic Star Wars sets to LEGO by reducing their size to match the LEGO style and scale. Doug Chiang, the illustrator and art director, helped design objects such as the Hutt villain Graballa's starship Rancor's Fist. Erik Varszegi, LEGO's Lead Model Designer, also constructed a scale model of the Freemaker's Garage using LEGO bricks.
Matthew Wood, a veteran sound editor from Lucasfilm who also voiced the character "Roger," was responsible for the show's sound design, including the Freemakers' starship StarScavenger and their garage. To create Roger's voice, Wood used a specialized computer digital processor. During recording, Wood spoke in his natural voice, but the computer program enhanced his voice during post-production. Wood also used this digital process when voicing the battle droids in the Prequels and The Clone Wars animated series. The podracer sequence in the seventh episode, "Race on Tatooine," was inspired by the Boonta Eve Classic from The Phantom Menace.
The musical score for Freemaker Adventures was created by Michael Kramer, who recorded the show's music with a live orchestra. He also included cues from John Williams in the TV show. The main cast consisted of child actor Nicolas Cantu (Rowan), Eugene Byrd (Zander), Vanessa Lengies (Kordi), and Matthew Wood (Roger). Recurring cast members included Grey Griffin (who voiced the antagonist Naare), Dana Snyder (Graballa), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), and Greg Proops (Fode and Beed).
For Season Two, Doug Chiang and his team redesigned the characters' costumes to facilitate a more seamless transition into their LEGO forms. Rowan's costume was also redesigned to resemble Luke Skywalker's attire from The Empire Strikes Back. Chiang also designed the antagonistic hunter droid M-OC, voiced by James Urbaniak, and his starship. The Arrowhead, Rowan Freemaker's starship, was designed by Ryan Church, who had previously worked as a concept artist on the prequel trilogy.
The Freemaker Adventures was initially announced by StarWars.com on February 11, 2016. According to Jill Wilfert, the vice president of licensing & entertainment at LEGO Group, the animated show marked the first joint venture between LEGO and Disney XD. Carrie Beck described the upcoming show as a collaborative project blending the narrative depth of the Star Wars saga with the playful essence of LEGO Star Wars. The announcement was accompanied by a promotional teaser trailer for the series on YouTube.
On April 28, 2016, StarWars.com released a promotional article along with a YouTube video titled "Meet the Freemaker Family," which introduced the main characters and plot of the TV series. The Freemaker Adventures premiered on June 20 on Disney XD, with a new episode airing each day until June 23. Additionally, it was announced that the first episode, "A Hero Discovered," would also be available via Video on Demand and the Disney XD app on tablets, phones, set-top boxes, and computers on June 20. On June 10, StarWars.com released a full original trailer on YouTube, showcasing other characters such as Graballa the Hutt, Maz Kanata, and Princess Leia.
The first four episodes, "A Hero Discovered," "The Mines of Graballa," "Zander's Joyride," and "The Lost Treasure of Cloud City," aired between June 20 and 23. After the fifth episode, "Peril on Kashyyyk," premiered on June 27, the series went on a two-week break until the release of "Crossing Paths" on July 11. The series then continued until the premiere of its thirteenth episode, "Return of the Kyber Saber," on August 29, 2016.
To promote the series, Bill Motz, Bob Roth, Michael Hegner, and Matthew Wood hosted a live blog panel at Celebration Europe 2016. In addition to discussing the series' conceptualization and development, they also showed a podracer clip from the seventh episode, "Race on Tatooine," which drew inspiration from The Phantom Menace. During the hour-long session, the creative team also addressed questions regarding the Canonicity of the series. LEGO produced two toy sets based on the starships StarScavenger and Eclipse Fighter to promote the series. Furthermore, a Freemaker-themed expansion pack was added to the LEGO computer game LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
On September 9, 2016, StarWars.com announced that the first season, consisting of thirteen episodes, would be released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 6, 2016. This two-disc set, titled LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – Complete Season One, includes special bonus features such as promotional clips, the one-minute Freemaker Salvage and Repair video, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with cast members.
On April 3, 2017, StarWars.com announced the renewal of the series for a second season. The press release included a YouTube trailer featuring several Star Wars characters, including Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, General Hera Syndulla, and Quarrie. It was also announced that five new short clips would be released on May 4 to bridge the gap between the first and second seasons. A sneak peek of the season was presented at Celebration Orlando.
Season Two debuted in the summer of 2017, continuing the Freemakers' adventures with the Rebel Alliance as they confront the Empire, Hutt crime lords, Sith Lords, and the Emperor's new hunter droid M-OC. Rowan also constructs a new starship called the Arrowhead to aid the Rebellion. To promote Season Two, Bill Motz and Bob Roth, Story Group member Leland Chee, Michael Kramer, Matthew Wood, and host Amy Ratcliffe hosted a panel at Celebration Orlando on April 16, 2017. During the panel, Roth confirmed that Season Two would focus on the Freemakers' involvement in the Rebel Alliance, with the main story arc centered on Rowan discovering his purpose. Roth also confirmed that Rebel Alliance characters, including Princess Leia Organa and Hera Syndulla, would appear as supporting characters. During the Celebration Orlando panel, Motz and Roth also displayed two LEGO models of MOC and Rowan's new ship, Arrowhead. As a bonus for audience members, the season premiere was also screened.
On June 7, The Star Wars Show hosts Anthony Carboni and Andi Gutierrez confirmed that Season Two's first episode, "Trouble on Tibalt," would air on June 17. The series then resumed on July 31, with new episodes airing Monday through Thursday until August 16. The Star Wars Show also featured cast member Eugene Byrd and show producers Motz and Roth as guests. Bryd confirmed that Rowan Freemaker was a Force Builder and also showed Doug Chiang's drawings of Zander, Kordi, and Rowan.
On January 27, 2018, it was announced that Season Two would be released on DVD on March 13, 2018.
The series was previously accessible on the Disney+ streaming platform, which was launched on November 12, 2019. On January 1, 2022 the series was removed from Disney+ globally.
On March 23, 2017, it was reported that the first season of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures received four Emmy nominations: Best Children's Animated Program, Best Casting for an Animated Series or Special, Best Animation Sound Editing, and Best Music Direction and Composition.
On December 5, 2017, it was announced that the Freemaker Adventures Season Two episode "Trouble on Tibalt" was nominated for the Annie Award's Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production.
While The Freemaker Adventures is not considered part of the official canon, the creators Motz and Roth, along with director Hegner, consulted with Lucasfilm Story Group members Leland Chee and Carrie Beck to ensure the show did not contradict the official Canon storyline. However, the Story Group allowed the show's production team to "take liberties for the comedy of situations." During a live blog panel at Celebration Europe in London on July 16 2016, the creators described The Freemaker Adventures as "canon-adjacent" but suggested that their adherence to the Story Group's guidelines meant that "this [the TV series] could be." When asked if the crew of the Ghost, the main characters of the Canon animated TV series Star Wars Rebels, could appear in the series, the creators clarified that this would not happen in Season One but hinted that they might appear later. During Celebration Orlando in April 2017, Roth confirmed that General Hera Syndulla would indeed appear.
In an interview with IGN journalist Max Nicholson, Roth described LEGO Star Wars as "its own unique universe" that followed the Star Wars continuity but was "reenacted by a kid playing with his own toys." Motz characterized the animated series as "Canon Paraphrase." The creators also regularly pitched ideas to Beck to ensure that their plot elements did not conflict with other projects like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.
Furthermore, the character of R0-GR was officially integrated into canon with the release of Star Wars: Droidography. Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group confirmed that this only canonized R0-GR and elements from Freemaker included in the book, rather than making the entire series canon. Chee stated that there is always a possibility for Freemaker characters to be fully canonized like R0-GR and others mentioned in Droidography, but they would need to be a suitable fit for the content they appear in, as R0-GR was for Droidography.