For hardcore fans, it’s fun to explore the themes and lore of movies or TV shows by coming up with zany theories that shed different light on these fictional worlds. These are, of course, known as “fan theories,” and as fun as they are, they’re often complete horseshit—but still fun.
Innumerable fan theories about Star Wars are floating around on the Web, and the most interesting of these conspiracies comes courtesy of the cartoon world. When these two things are combined, shit really gets weird. As in, Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob SquarePants is a Sith Lord kind of weird.
As one might imagine, the evidence for this claim offered on sites like Reddit and Tumblr is pretty thin, but there is enough to keep the idea going strong. We can all agree that both Disney and Nickelodeon would be among the first to say this is complete nonsense, but just for shits and giggles, let’s say this theory is absolutely concrete. What would that mean?
It isn’t hard to believe that a crablike creature that walks upright and speaks plain English (or “basic” for you sci-fi nerds out there) could be a thing from the Star Wars universe. Honestly, it kind of looks like he and Darth Maul could be second cousins or something. However, the very first thing that George Lucas established about that universe was that it took place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. It is widely understood that SpongeBob takes place in here on Earth, in our current timeframe.
Nobody actually knows how long “a long time ago” actually was, with estimates ranging wildly from 5 billion years ago to sometime in the 1800s, based on our calendar. Either way, that would mean that Mr. Krabs, or Darth Krab, is super-duper old. But Yoda was something like 800 years old, so again, not totally impossible—though that would really open the door for some absolute craziness in terms of the Star Wars timeline.
In the SpongeBob universe is where things get really interesting. The show has always made Squidward out to be a crotchety though ultimately good guy, but if Mr. Krabs is really a Sith Lord, Squidward is straight-up as bad as Hayden Christensen’s acting in Attack of the Clones. No two ways about it. He would very likely be the apprentice, much like Vader to Palpatine. Let that soak in for a second, then completely reevaluate your childhood.
Squidward was always sort of borderline however, and much like The Phantom Menace, nobody really likes him. The lovable villain Plankton is a totally different story. Assuming Mr. Krabs is a Sith Lord, and evil by definition, that would mean that the “bad guy” Plankton from SpongeBob would most certainly be good. Perhaps not a Jedi, but he definitely would be Krabs’ counterpoint, so a member of the Light Side of the force. Ever wonder why you thought Plankton wasn’t all that bad? It raises more questions than answers in terms of what the Krabby Patty formula actually is. It couldn’t possibly just be a tasty burger recipe if this is all true.