Far Far Away Radio Releases Fan-Made A New Hope Audio Drama

Fan-made adaptations of the Star Wars saga and the universe it created are not uncommon. There are countless fan films made each year that show just how much we love that galaxy far away. However, one group of friends went a slightly different route with their adaptation. Trust me: you've never heard Star Wars quite like this before!

Far Far Away Radio, a Star Wars podcast and friend of TFN, recently released their own audio drama for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The description for the ambitious project reads:

"Get ready to experience Star Wars: A New Hope like you've never heard it before. Far Far Away Radio is proud to release our unofficial audio drama adaption of Episode IV. Listen now, as the full-length audio drama puts a FFAR twist on the classic movie.

The production combines the iconic moments of the 1977 film with the humor and silliness that you've come to expect from the FFAR hosts. With the use of John Williams' legendary score, narration based on the final (and at times strangely descriptive) script by George Lucas, and the fun-loving and never too serious FFAR cast, this will be a version of A New Hope that you won't soon forget."

Austin Blankenship, co-creator of FFAR, gratefully answered a few questions from us regarding the project!

Where did the idea for a re-creation of the audio drama come from?
The idea for the audio drama actually came during a trip to Star Wars Weekends in Orlando this year. I had some friends with me and during the drive down we thought it would be entertaining to read through the script of A New Hope, doing various impressions and using it to pass the eight hour drive. It was a lot of fun, and I realized that it would be a cool idea to record it with the FFAR crew, put our own unique twist on it, and add in music and sound effects.

What was the hardest part in creating it?
The hardest part was definitely editing it all together. We recorded for roughly six hours, and then it was up to myself and our episode editor Danny Pirtle to cut that down to a little over two hours. We also had to align it with the score, which meant cutting out a lot of material that we recorded.

Can we expect a sequel at some point, or maybe an original story?
We are planning to do Episode V next. We will start production in 2016. If people like it, we'll continue to adapt the other films!

A few of the stars of the audio drama also told us what the making of it was like and shared some of their favorite moments!

Chris Carey (Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader): I always dreamed of one day getting the chance to do a recording of a Star Wars film - probably since I first discovered movie commentaries. Finally having the opportunity, and with the best group of co-hosts out there, was honestly like a dream coming true. My attitude has always been to not take things so seriously, so that's why I had a blast making Darth Vader sound like Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Luke whines throughout the entire recording. It was also fun playing pranks! Jonathan recorded his narration so seriously, so I would find ways to mess with the narration in advance to throw him off. The entire ending, where we get an inside look into Leia's anti-droid stance, was written up on the fly as he recorded and led to some of the biggest laughs of the night. I'm really hoping to record the other Star Wars movies now, especially as the synergy between the hosts has never been as strong as it is now!

Jason Hamilton (Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, Chewbacca): Doing the A New Hope commentary was honestly some of the most fun I've ever had at FFAR. It was great to just join in the laughter and find renewed fun in a film that has already provided all of us with so much joy.

Jonathan Baker (Narrator): I wasn't sure what to think when Austin asked me to be the narrator. We've all seen A New Hope a thousand times, so I didn't know how we would be able to make a script reading of our own. Luckily, I got to record with some of my favorite Star Wars fans who are all hilarious in their own right. Most takes I had to take a few seconds to get the laughter out before going back to the narrator voice. (I'm lookin' at you, Macho Man Darth Vader). But my favorite part of the whole experience has been the overwhelmingly positive response from our listeners. It's great to know people appreciate the hours you put into something like this.

Mallory Conlon (Princess Leia Organa, R2-D2): Being part of the A New Hope audio drama was an absolute blast! The recording sessions felt like I was watching A New Hope with all of the FFAR crew, cracking jokes left and right. The final result? A ridiculously awesome combination of all of the jokes we made into two hilarious hours of Star Wars fun. My favorite part was finally hearing how all of our crazy impressions and accents came together. It was a labor of love, and the final result is something I'll love listening to (and cracking up at) forever!

You can listen to FFAR's A New Hope Audio Drama on their website, and be sure to follow them on Twitter @farfarawayradio!

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