One of the overlooked things about Star Wars is that it’s intentionally over-the-top, so honestly, it’s either fitting or completely ironic that the fandom is as hot and cold about it when it comes to reacting online.
There are more memeable moments in the franchise than there are stars in the galaxy, but in honor of May the fourth, we thought we’d count down a small few of our favorites.
We’ll begin with some honorable mentions.
It’s a Trap!
First uttered by Admiral Ackbar at the battle of Endor in 1983, this one caught on pre-modern social media on forums, but eventually made its way even to TV shows like Robot Chicken and Family Guy because the creators themselves are such huge fans.
Somehow Palpatine Returned
Next, we have “Somehow Palpatine Returned”—widely regarded as one of the laziest moments of writing in the franchise, and used mostly in mockery of that fact.
Wet Kylo Ren
And after that, there’s “Wet Kylo Ren,” first appearing after the release of the final Rise of Skywalker trailer, and giving us the most emo vibes of all the Star Wars memes.
5. Glup Shitto
Star Wars has long been known for its insane character names, and the even more insane level of fandom needed to remember them all, and that’s the point of Glup Shitto.
If you know that the name of the first Jedi to get redshirted at the battle of Geonosis is an anagram of the animation director’s name, or if you’re familiar with the deathstick-dealing “Sleazebaggano,” this one is about you.
In 2020, a Tumblr user whose handle, to be fair, references the just-as-obscure name of the box-of-pain from the Dune franchise, posted the not-wrong take that “every time a new Star Wars movie or show is announced all the fans are like “OMG, Glup Shitto is back.”
During the second season of The Mandalorian, some users joked that it was the actual name of Baby Yoda, and it even warranted its own Urban Dictionary entry.
If you use it with enough confidence in real life, you might even stump the less-online Star Wars nerds in your life.
And speaking of Baby Yoda, up next we have…
4. Baby Yoda
The thing about a sweet creature this cute is that inevitably it seeps into all sorts of meme formats. That could be anything from Woman Yelling at a Cat, to Ok Boomer.
Oftentimes, they’re one-offs, but some recurring fan favorites include everything from the gloomy, “Baby Yoda Drinking Soup”, to the murderous “Take the Shot,” To “Angry Baby Yoda,” to one where Adam Driver’s character from Marriage Story yells at him.
3. Live Slug Reaction
Klaud is a slug-like mechanic who helps our heroes throughout their adventures in The Rise of Skywalker. The year after its release, a subreddit /r/SaltierThanKlaud was created, which was a nod to the previous /r/SaltierThanCrait where users discuss all things Star Wars-related, and which serves as a hub for Klaud memes of all shapes and sizes.
In 2022, an X user tweeted that after The Rise of Skywalker’s first gay kiss, Klaud appears staring blankly. While false, it was enough that other memers latched on. Live Slug reaction is an adaptation of the previous Live Tucker Reaction meme, using the image from that post.
Memers insert live slug reaction into any moment when a huge leery slug being randomly jammed into the scene would prompt some laughs.
2. Hello There
In a lot of ways, Revenge of the Sith was a film that needed to start bridging the gap between the young Obi-Wan that we saw in the previous two films and the iconic Alec Guinness performance from 1977. So one of George Lucas’ ideas was to have Ewan McGregor say Alex Guinness’ first ever Obi-Wan line at the start of a lightsaber fight. It’s a little hamfisted, but certainly very memorable.
Almost 10 years after the prequels finished up, a Tumblr user reblogged a bunch of GIFs of McGregor’s Obi-Wan from Revenge of the Sith—this among them. Eventually, this received upwards of 2,000 notes. So when in 2016, Reddit /r/PrequelMemes launched, Hello There was pretty immediately a recurring trope.
One of the things about /r/PrequelMemes, is that, like the hyperdrive, sometimes they leak—into other Reddit posts that is. And when they do, it’s often because a commenter said “Hello There.”
Today, it’s a scene that’s recreated by countless TikTokers, and it’s jammed into any image macro you can think of.
And as you might expect, it’s a line Ewan McGregor gets in real life constantly. He’s not only aware of it, but often a good sport, leaning in when the moment is right.
And as you might expect, it’s a line Ewan McGregor gets in real life constantly. He’s not only aware of it, but often a good sport, leaning in when the moment is right.
Our final pick revolves around not a guardian of peace and justice, but one of the galaxy’s greatest villains…
1. Darth Jar Jar
It’s no secret that Jar Jar has gotten a lot of hate over the years. But in 2015, a redditor in /r/StarWars took it to a new level by creating a nearly 2,400-word post complete with citations and links to sources in-universe and real-life, in which they came to the conclusion that Jar Jar Binks is in fact Supreme Leader Snoke.
I get it.
Why would someone representing the most vocal opponent of the Military Creation Act suddenly about-face and move to give the Supreme Chancellor emergency powers so that he could unilaterally authorize the creation of a Grand Army of the Republic—unless it was to intentionally set him up to later crown himself Emperor?
Is it because that person is the true villain of the first six movies? Or is it because he’s a doofus?
In either case, the idea of the comic relief for 10-year-olds being a secret mastermind was just too much for /r/PrequelMemes or the internet as a whole to handle. Whether it’s simple image macros or an opportunity for novel fan art, the interpretations of this one are endless.
It was funny and widespread enough that Disney and Lucasfilm thought to canonise it-ish, in both their Lego Star Wars TV special, and The Dark Falcon Lego set.
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
So there’s our top 5, but to be fair, only a Sith deals in absolutes, and this list could have included any number of moments we simply didn’t have time for here.
Thanks so much for taking us with you to a galaxy far, far away, and may the fourth be with you.
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