Movie studios attempt to jump-start franchises all the time, coming hot out of the gate with big ideas for a trilogy (or more) and sometimes greenlighting sequels before the first entry even hits theaters. When the first movie doesn't catch on with audiences, those studios are usually forced to tuck their tail between their legs and cancel plans for continuing the franchise (see The Golden Compass as an example). Usually, that's the last we hear about a property, and the studio moves on to something else.

What if George Lucas's original Star Wars had tanked? We never would have seen The Empire Strikes Back, but Lucas planned a story called Splinter of The Mind's Eye as a much lower-budget sequel, and a novelization of that script was commissioned.

Some fans have already read Alan Dean Foster's novel and know all about it, but for those who haven't taken a deep dive into the former extended universe, Mr. Sunday Movies has a video in which he breaks it down: