Undercover Boss Starkiller Base: The Best SNL Star Wars Skits

In 2016, Adam Driver hosted SNL and gave the world the first Kylo Ren/Undercover Boss Sketch. A few weeks ago, the world was treated to the Undercover Boss/Kylo Ren sequel when Driver again hosted the program.

While this is a highly rated, and the most recent, Star Wars sketch to premiere on the show, Star Wars has been used for laughs almost since the first movie premiered in 1977. Bill Murray made the first and one of the longest-lasting jokes in 1978. Adam Driver brought humor most recently. But, here is a list of the best Star Wars related sketches SNL has offered its audience over the last forty-plus years.

10 Nick Winters

It was the original, and it still ranks as one of the best. Billy Murray, as lounge singer Nick Winters, opens his performance by putting some lyrics to the much-beloved Star Wars theme music. He begins singing, “Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars, give me those Star Wars, don’t let them end,” and the words stick in your head forever. The black jumpsuit Murray is wearing doesn’t hurt the performance either. The song, like the sketch and Murray himself, is iconic and has obviously stood the test of time, just like the original trilogy itself.

9 Beach Blanket Bimbo

Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher, made quite the mark lampooning her own movie and character when she appeared on SNL as host in also in 1978. Fisher, dressed as Leia, appears in the middle of a beach party, letting all in attendance know that she’s from another galaxy and another movie. “Gee, I sure hope you guys speak English,” she says. Princess Leia draws a lot of attention from the boys before admitting that the word “kiss” leaves her lost, as she’s never heard the term before. Again, Bill Murray is the star of the sketch.

8 Shopping at Home Network

Another Star Wars star makes for a memorable sketch when Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, appeared in 1997. Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan host a quote-unquote “special,” offering all sorts of Star Wars merchandise for sale to shopping viewers. The real laugh comes when they bring out Mark Hamill and offer him as “the ultimate Star Wars collectible” for purchase.

But when they bring him out, it’s clear Hamill is a kidnap victim, with a bag over his head and handcuffs. Both Ferrell and others keep having Hamill recite lines from the Star Wars films, only they are never actually Luke’s lines. For Star Wars fans, the whole sketch is a shoutout.

7 Episode I

Like Bill Murray before him, Jimmy Fallon made quite the impression as he sang about Star Wars, this time the prequel series. “Star Wars is back again,” he sings. He talks about Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu, as well as Yoda (to the Tune of Living La Vida Loca). It’s funny, an excellent throwback to the excitement that encompassed the globe in 1999 before The Phantom Menace hit screens, and before disappointment set in for much of the fan base. Jimmy’s lyrics and enthusiasm still hold up today.

6 Star Wars First Look

After The Phantom Menace premiered, fans were less ecstatic (like Jimmy Fallon) and more skeptical about what the sequel, Attack of the Clones, might look like. Darrell Hammond donned a wig and beard to play George Lucas, and try to calm fan fears while discussing the upcoming movie with HBO. Some of the rumors the “director” addresses include the idea that 90s boy band N’Sync might be appearing in the movie and that there would be some background cameos from the likes of Harry Potter, Monica Lewinsky, and Cartman from South Park.

5 Overdressed

When the third prequel film hit theaters, Lindsey Lohan hosted SNL for the second time and joined Seth Meyers in full costumed glory, she as Padme Amidala, and he as C3PO. The only problem with their outfits? They lost their tickets to Revenge of the Sith and ended up having to sit through Monster-in-Law instead. There are still very few places it’s generally deemed appropriate to get all decked out in character in public, but a mediocre Jennifer Lopez comedy was certainly not one of them.

4 The Force Awakens

When the sequel trilogy was ready to hit theaters SNL prepared a different sort of satire for the series. No longer were they focused on the cameos and the technology, but, rather, the time between the original trilogy and the actors that would be returning to their original roles. In an original trailer for the new film, SNL offered viewers a glimpse at heroes with hearing loss and problems getting around and using new technology. It’s a little heavy-handed, but not too far off some of the questions a few fans were asking at the time.

3 Auditions

Also in reference to the new sequel trilogy, SNL brought in JJ Abrams to introduce some never before seen audition tapes from The Force Awakens. Along with Daisy Ridley herself, fans get to see versions of Sofia Vergara, Shaq, Javier Bardem, John Mayer, Emma Stone, and Maggie Smith.

George Lucas even sneaks onto the set—because of course he does. The tapes go on to show auditions for BB-8 and Chewbacca, along with other unnamed characters.

2 Undercover Boss (The Original)

One of the newest, and still one of the best, Star Wars sketches, was the original Undercover Boss on Starkiller Base, starring Adam Driver as Kylo Ren/Matt, the Radar Technician.

The anonymous Stormtroopers and Admirals on Starkiller base have some of the same problems as anyone in a dead-end job. Ren is not as good an actor as Driver, and thus it doesn’t take long for many of the minions on-base guess at the real identity of the new Radar Technician amongst their ranks. Driver has never been funnier.

1 Lando’s Summit

Donald Glover, the Lando Calrissian of the Solo film, hosted a galactic summit for all black humans, at the Naboo Beachfront Hotel. Obviously the summit is not very well attended, as, especially before Finn, Lando was really one of the only black humans in the entire Star Wars galaxy. The sketch is funny and on point. Lando’s discussion of alien girls also adds to the joke. Glover’s delivery is spot on, and the sketch ranks as one of the best Star Wars SNL moments ever.

About The Author