Star Wars parodies are almost as old as the franchise itself. And so long as Jedi and Sith keeping fighting for control of the universe they’ll keep making them. Especially because the galaxy far, far away offers plenty of places, characters, and stories to draw inspiration from. Now Rick and Morty‘s Justin Roiland has given us his spin on the very start of Luke Skywalker’s big screen story. Just not in the way you’d expect. “Sand Planet” takes aim at Star Wars‘ most important world and the ornery moisture farmer who is very much over the thrill of buying broken down droids.
Roiland’s Uncle Owen puts Rick Sanchez to shame in the cursing department though. So this is definitely NSFW for work. Or small children. And maybe even some adults.
Audiences first met Luke Skywalker when he joined his uncle at a Jawa droid sale. It’s not a scene that feels especially ripe for comedy. But that’s exactly what Justin Roiland and animator Joel Haver found by changing Uncle Owen’s attitude from that of a grizzled old desert dweller to a lazy, robe-wearing denizen of a sand-filled world. This is a Lebowski-looking grump who has zero tolerance for his nephew’s absurd excitement over their miserable, mundane life.
In addition to the dim-witted Luke’s Uncle, Roiland also voices a depressed robot who wants nothing more from existence than to be free of it. As the short (which we first saw at Laughing Squid) goes from bleak to painfully dark. It’s also painfully funny, as the parody finds humor by focusing on the absurdity of voluntarily living such a harsh lifestyle. There’s just so much sand! Anakin was a big baby. But he was right about stupid sand.
We thought Uncle Owen’s life was pretty bad before. He lived on one of the galaxy’s worst worlds. Where he had to raise his step-brother’s whiny kid. All while hoping the Empire and his Sith Lord father never came knocking.
But a fiery death seems like a sweet release for this version of the character. Hopefully when the Stormtroopers come for him they also grant that robot’s wish.
