The 25 greatest Star Wars parodies
16. Saturday Night Live
The old timers teaser
Who doesn't like a little dig about their age? This snarky teaser from the Saturday Night Live team pokes fun at the return of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford for The Force Awakens, and in particular, how old and knackered they've all become in the thirty years since Jedi. James Franco's Luke dodders about a cave with his lightsaber zimmer, and Bobby Moynihan's Leia struggles to figure out how to use R2-D2's computer system.
15. Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager
Vader to aisle three, clean up on aisle three!
Unlike a majority of parodies, Blame Society takes potshots at the Imperial Sith Darth Vader by relocating to a more mundane setting. A supermarket, to be exact, where he goes by the name Chad and works as the day shift manager. He's easily flummoxed by simple tasks - like delegating responsibility to his staff - and dishing out orders using his typical enigmatic instructions only makes matters worse. Wait 'til you see the one where he's coming back from the dentist...
14. Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny (2006)
Use the Cock
Trapped by security lasers with no means of reaching the off button, JB looks done for until partner-in-rock KG reminds him of the extensive "cock pushups" he's been doing. He urges him to Use the Cock! With a little (verbal) self-encouragement, JB produces a stiffy long enough to hit the switch and deactivate the red beams. Probably not what George Lucas originally had in mind when he conjured up "Use the Force"...
13. Troops
A COPS parody
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Kevin Rubio wrote and directed this parodic riff on COPS that swaps out the grim streets of Earth for the dusty streets of Tatooine, where stormtroopers are the enforcers instead of regular cops. Learn about what drives a Stormtrooper to join the Imperial forces. How he feels in his line of work. And during its brief ten minute run time, discover the truth behind what really happened to Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Hint: it's not in the typical extended canon.
12. Human Traffic (1999)
Drug-dealer theory
Before he became a proper thespian on Eastenders, Danny Dyer stole the best monologue in Human Traffic. His lengthy and considered rant orbits around the idea that most inhabitants of the galaxy are high. He proclaims that Jabba was smoking opium in his big glass pipe, the Emperor financed The Death Star by selling crack to space junkies and Yoda is only 2ft tall because hes been coming down for about 500 years.
11. The Adam and Joe Show
"Star Wars in their Eyes"
Imagine for a moment if the only way Darth Vader can remove his helmet and let his hair down, were through karaoke. In their back catalogue of toy spoofs Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish brought this shuddering thought to life, leading to a full-blown "Stars in Their Eyes" - an old UK TV talent show - hosted by Ma-Chew Kelly. Auditions to become the next big thing in the galaxy are quite the sight to behold...
10. Toy Story 2 (1999)
I Am Your Father (again)
Theres a lot of love for Star Wars coming from (one-time George Lucas-owned) Pixar, especially in the Toy Storymovies. Mentions of Rebels, familiar music cues and the like, but the biggest wink came in Toy Story 2 when Buzz Lightyear finally confronts the Evil Emperor Zurg, he's shocked to hear the iconic line "I am your father" from the mouth of his sworn enemy. Nooooooooo! he cries, falling down the elevator shaft. Most of Zurg's dialogue - including his opening line to Buzz "Come to me, my prey" - is modeled closely after Vader's.
9. Weird Al Yankovic's parody of The Phantom Menace
The Saga Begins
Most people will agree that The Phantom Menace is George Lucas' biggest disgrace to the Star Wars franchise. There's certain things about it that we should be grateful for; and Weird Al Yankovic's parody is one of them. Set to the tune of "American Pie" Weird Al serenades with a tongue-in-cheek riff on the plot while kitted out like a Jedi. "My my, this here Anakin guy, maybe Vader someday later but now he's just a small fry."
8. The Simpsons
Use The Forks
The references fly thick and fast in Season 10 classic Mayored To The Mob. Mark Hamill is saved by Homer from being nearly trampled by rioting convention fans, before starring in a weird version of Guys And Dolls complete with show-stopping spoof number Luke Be A Jedi Tonight sung to the tune of 'Luck, Be A Lady Tonight.' A later attack on Mayor Quimby's life sees Hamill urge Homer to 'use the forks' to stop the attacker.
7. Thumb Wars
The Phantom Cuticle
Released around the same time as The Phantom Menace, Steve Oedekerk and his crew dress up their opposable digits to create a 'handy' homage. "If there were thumbs in space and they got mad at each other there would be... THUMB WARS," reads the opening title, setting the scene for a truly surreal reimagining of the galaxy's biggest gripes. The Empire is renamed the Evil Thumbpire, and the rebels are dubbed Thumbellion Resistance Fighters. How they came up with the name Oobeedoob Beunbi is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.