50 Greatest Star Wars Fan Moments
The organic rebellion
The Source: Grocery Store Wars (2005)
The Moment: The Star Wars saga as told via the items and food found in your local supermarket. Funny AND an advert for using organic produce.
Coolest Detail: The opening scene - a basket being chased by a laser-firing Star Destroyer-esque shopping trolley.
Twerk it, baby
The Source: Stormtrooper Secrets: Hip Hop Twerk 4K (2014)
The Moment: A small gang of stormtroopers get down and dirty in an alleyway in this pseudo music video. Warning: features Imperial body-popping.
Coolest Detail: Ever seen a stormtrooper tweak before? Now's your chance...
R2-D-bags
The Source: Jedi A-holes (2010)
The Moment: What would two douchebag Jedis get up to? This video answers the question, showing scenes of Force-assisted bullying and lightsaber destruction.
Coolest Detail: Using their lightsabers to scorch a crudely-drawn cock and balls on the side of a brick wall. Admit it, you'd do that too.
Inaccurate conception
The Source: Padmé (2008)
The Moment: A shot-for-shot remake of the trailer for Juno , but this time with Padmé Amidala at the centre of an unexpected pregnancy.
Coolest Detail: The lightsaber pregnancy test is a neat touch.
Family reunion
The Source: U.S. Navy Sailor, Dressed As Darth Vader, Surprises His Son (2012)
The Moment: After being separated from his children for three months, a US Navy sailor dresses up as Darth Vader for his son's birthday party and, after a brief lightsaber battle, lets him take his mask off, leading to a reunion that will hit you right in the feels.
Coolest Detail: Not only is his son ecstatic to see him, but his daughter comes running into shot too… dressed as Princess Leia of course.
The ultimate documentary
The Source: Star Wars Begins (2011)
The Moment: Jamie Benning has pulled together an astonishing wealth of material to creat feature length documentaries about each instalment of the old trilogy, including deleted scenes, alternate takes, bloopers and a vast amount of commentary from the cast and crew. Forget the Blu-ray special features, these docs are even more comprehensive.
Coolest Detail: Never-before-seen deleted scenes including Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine and watching Vader's scenes as voiced by actor-in-the-suit David Prowse
Clap along...
The Source: Happy (WE ARE FROM TATOOINE) (2014)
The Moment: Fan club Star Wars Tunisia recreate its own Star Wars flavoured version of Pharrell Williams' Happy music video. So much joy in just three minutes.
Coolest Detail: Darth Vader doesn't quite get in the spirit of things and tries to force choke the camera.
Almost life-sized
The Source: Lego Star Wars Venator Class Star Destroyer (2011)
The Moment: YouTube user Iomedes has constructed an eight-foot, 180lb Venerator Class Star Destroyer, usinging 43,000 Lego pieces in the process. The result is sheer magnificence.
Coolest Detail: We're going to go with the turret guns either side. They look deadly.
Derp Of Fates
The Source: Lightsaber Fightsaber (2012)
The Moment: What's the opposite of 'choreography'? Two guys attempt a lightsaber duel in their front room and, despite all our aspirations of being a super-skilled Jedi Knight, we suspect that in real life we look just as awkward and clumsy as these two.
Coolest Detail: The derpy rendition of John Williams' Duel Of Fates providing the soundtrack to the battle.
Express yourself
The Source: Expressive Star Wars Theme Song (2014)
The Moment: A fully PJ-ed four-year-old boy grins and gurns along to the Star Wars theme over breakfast. Clearly a fanatic in the making.
Coolest Detail: As the YouTube description says: "He even let his hair grow out so he could look more like Luke Skywalker". What a dude.
Orchestral manouevres in the dark side
The Source: Star Wars Flashmob in Cologne (2010)
The Moment: A German symphony orchestra surprises passers-by in Cologne with a pop-up rendition of John Williams' famous theme.
Coolest Detail: The lady that drags her harp along to play. That is some commitment.
Telly of the beast
The Source: Pitching Lucas (2006)
The Moment: Winner of two awards at the Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards 2006, this short film shows four television executives pitching their ideas for a Star Wars TV show, and each meeting their doom thanks to the Star Wars characters and props that Lucas has surrounding him.
Coolest Detail: We actually like one of the ideas: The Sith Million Dollar Man , focusing on Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader.
Sliding doors
The Source: Star Wars Elevator Prank (2013)
The Moment: A simple prank played at Kings College, in which a guy in a hood stands in a lift and pretends to use the force to open the doors while his friend actually presses the button out of sight, proves surprisingly effective.
Coolest Detail: The one bystander who immediately says "The force is strong with you."
Revenge of the nerds
The Source: Alex Vs Nate (2007)
The Moment: Two nerdy looking Star Wars fans engage in an epic lightsaber battle with astonishing effects and lots of cool, inventive moments.
Coolest Detail: Stopping the lightsaber sparks in mid-air and then casually force-throwing them to one side.
The tragic tale of Jar Jar
The Source: Jar Jar Binks: The F True Hollywood Story (2010)
The Moment: Following in the fine tradition of E!'s usual scandalous programming, this mockumentary tells the tale of Jared Herbert Binkelstein's rise to fame, his troubled life post-stardom and subsequent drug addiction.
Coolest Detail: An interview with Jar Jar's girlfriend Bambi Struthers, who only seems to be with him thanks to that huge, long tongue of his.
Matters, nothing really... See, anyone can
The Source: Bohemian Rhapsody: Star Wars Edition (2013)
The Moment: A loving rendition of Queen's most singable tune, with lyrics changed to reflect the Star Wars universe and a video containing a host of willing cosplayers.
Coolest Detail: Emperor Palpatine plays a guitar solo using just his force lightning.
What the huh? (Part two)
The Source: Darth Vader Salsa Trombone Playing And Dancing (2011)
The Moment: A man comes out on stage and plays the Star Wars soundtrack on trombone before switching up for something with more of a Latin flavour
Coolest Detail: The showy posing throughout the salsa music segments. This is a man VERY comfortable with himself.
The future of law enforcement
The Source: Jedi Cops (2013)
The Moment: After Luke has helped to defeat the Emperor and the empire has dissolved, what’s next for Jedi? Well this fan film posits them as regular cops, albeit with force-friendly powers,
Coolest Detail: The Jedi that coughs and uses a small force push so that he can book the supposed arrogant drink driver.
Singing solo
The Source: Star Wars Main Title Theme (A Cappella Cover) (2012)
The Moment: Nick McKaig does a stunning a cappella rendition of the famous John Williams theme by recording himself singing each instrument’s individual part before putting it all together in a cross-section video.
Coolest Detail: Miming each instrument for each individual track.
Feline the force
The Source: Jedi Kittens Strike Back (2011)
The Moment: This follow-up to Jedi Kittens vastly improves on the original thanks to the addition of an airborne X-Wing and TIE Fighter before treating us to more lightsaber-wielding kitty fighting.
Coolest Detail: The Jedi kitten climbing out of its X-Wing wearing an orange vest.
Star Wars Origins: Darth Maul
The Source: Contract Of Evil (2004)
The Moment: A prequel fan film to The Phantom Menace that sheds light on Darth Maul’s past. The film tells the story of two brothers, Wroth and Anarcis, who undergo a trial in order to become Sith Apprentices, but they face Maul, who is trying for the coveted spot himself.
Coolest Detail: The incredible make-up and impressive lightsaber fights make this fan film as good as any of the official releases.
Subway invasion
The Source: Star Wars Subway Car (2010)
The Moment: Improv Everywhere treat unsuspecting commuters to an impromptu recreation of the Princess Leia/Darth Vader confrontation on the subway train, complete with patrolling Stormtroopers.
Coolest Detail: Princess Leia reading Galactic Rebellion For Dummies on her commute.
Star Wars on the streets
The Source: Star Wars Gangster Rap (2000)
The Moment: Animation lent to a parody song that shows characters from the galaxy far, far away getting all up in each other’s grill. The video was the first winner of the Audience Choice Award in the Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards.
Coolest Detail: Luke’s line: “I got a lay away on a power converter, but now you’re treating me like a scruffy nerf herder”.
Bow before the Lord
The Source: Sariah Gallego Joins The Dark Side (2011)
The Moment: A young girl is brought up on stage at Disneyland to fight Darth Vader but is only too eager to join him and the Dark Side instead. Cue hasty Jedi cover-up.
Coolest Detail: The Stormtrooper who aims is gun at her before realising what she is doing and then lowers his weapon and does a fist pump.
Old fans
The Source: Hardware Wars (1978)
The Moment: The first Star Wars parody fan film? Just one year after Star Wars first came to cinemas, this short film saw a low budget redux of the movie, with torches for lightsabers and household utensils doubling for spacecraft.
Coolest Detail: The Wookiee Monster puppet. So brilliantly fun.
Valley girl
The Source: Pink Five (2002)
The Moment: In a fan film written and directed by Trey Stokes, Amy Earhart stars as Stacey (call sign Pink Five), a quick-talking Valley girl who discusses the action of the Battle of Yavin from the cockpit of her X-Wing. The film has since spawned an entire saga during which Stacey lives through her own Star Wars story.
Coolest Detail: Our favourite moment is Stacey taking off her headgear to complain about helmet hair. It’s a devastating consequence of space fights that has never been explored in films before now.
Terrifying toddler
The Source: Darth Baby’s Lightsaber (2013)
The Moment: Found footage style film about a toddler getting hold of a real-life lightsaber and wreaking havoc with this hugely dangerous weapon.
Coolest Detail: The toddler wandering around in Darth Maul colours, with his hood up. It all lends to the idea that he is a Sith Lord in the making...
Building blocks
The Source: Lego Battle Of Hoth (2011)
The Moment: Danish Lego fan Bo Jensen presented this giant recreation of the Battle of Hoth at the Lego World 2011 competition in Copenhagen.
Coolest Detail: ‘Flying’ vehicles that zip around the scene on specially built tracks.
Hey girl/boy/alien
The Source: Star Wars Speed Dating (2003)
The Moment: Part of YouTube’s Geek Week, a brilliantly funny look at speed dating in the Mos Eisley Cantina, with a whole host of popular characters taking part.
Coolest Detail: It’s not just the suitors that provide all the funnies. There’s plenty of background hilarity going on too to earn this video at least two viewings.
A day in the life
The Source: I.M.P.S. The Relentless (2011)
The Moment: The start of a fake documentary series of a fan films based around Imperial Military Personnel Stories, which supposedly show “the best damn job in the galaxy” – serving on a Star Destroyer as it goes on patrols and missions.
Coolest Detail: The effects are incredible, and the idea is inventive enough but the coolest detail? Narration by Peter Cullen. That’s right – Optimus Prime!
Theyre not even supposed to be here today
The Source: Trooper Clerks (2006)
The Moment: What happens when the world of Kevin Smith’s Clerks clash with the Star Wars universe. The result is a foul-mouthed perfect parody.
Coolest Detail: A brief glimpse of a group of Stormtroopers playing hockey with a small repair droid as a puck.
Take a bow
The Source: Darth Fiddler (2008)
The Moment: A busker who plays violin while dressed as Darth Vader in Victoria, Canada, who has since become a local legend.
Coolest Detail: It’s a homemade costume, but the lightsaber swinging from his belt is a nice touch.
Conspiracy theory
The Source: Luke’s Change: An Inside Job (2013)
The Moment: A spoof of 9/11 conspiracy film Loose Change, which delves into the “questionable events and circumstances leading up to the destruction of the Death Star”.
Coolest Detail: The black-and-white snapshots that dramatise the trench run as if it were a shady secret being exposed.
Free-running Jedi
The Source: Star Wars Parkour (2013)
The Moment: Free runners Jeremy Carpenter and Sinjin Cooper perform insane running and leaping stunts through a landscape that looks eerily like Tatooine.
Coolest Detail: The occasional use of super slow-mo just to make these moves look EXTRA awesome.
Close enough
The Source: Star Wars According To A 3 Year Old (2008)
The Moment: A father asks his three-year-old daughter to recount the story of Star Wars, resulting in a hilariously simplistic version of events, all told with surprising confidence.
Coolest Detail: The almost-but-not-quite-references to “Obi Kenobi”, “the light-up sword” and “the shiny robot”(C-3P0).
This is a reconstruction
The Source: My Hoth Diorama Slideshow (2013)
The Moment: Creative Star Wars fan Barry Riddle has constructed an amazingly detailed recreation of the battle scene on Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back, as a 140 square foot diorama in his living room.
Coolest Detail: Incredibly realistic explosions frozen in time which are, in actual fact, painted cotton.
Rubbish armour
The Source: The Injured Stormtrooper (2006)
The Moment: A short funny fan film which pokes fun at the fragility of Stormtroopers. In it, one of the soldiers is injured during a blaster fight, but survives, which is an unprecedented situation and leaves the remaining Stormtroopers to puzzle over how to handle it.
Coolest Detail: It all looks so authentic – from the costumes to the stark white set. The scene could be taken directly from A New Hope.
The biggest Star Wars collection ever
The Source: Rancho Obi-Wan Tour (2013)
The Moment: Lucasfilm Fan Relations Adviser Steve Sansweet gives a tour of his giant collection of Star Wars memorabilia, containing 300,000 pieces including everything from action figures, movie props, arcade games and fan art.
Coolest Detail: After already going through an exhaustive collection, he pulls back velvet curtains to reveal Star Wars set stairs, leading to another room containing even more pieces, including a collection of fan-decorated Vader helmets.
I am your brother
The Source: Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager (2006)
The Moment: Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan created this web series that follows Chad Vader, younger brother of Darth and the day-shift manager of a store called Empire Market, where he clashes with colleagues and customers alike, while occasionally lapsing into Star Wars-like dialogue and situations.
Coolest Detail: Chad claims that he is forced to wear the same life support suit and helmet as his brother after he rode his bicycle into a volvano. Tells you all you need to know about the series.
What the huh? (Part one)
The Source: Unicycling Darth Vader Upgrades To Flaming Bagpipes (2013)
The Moment: A man rides a unicycle while wearing a Darth Vader mask and playing a set of fire-spouting bagpipes. What more could you ask for?
Coolest Detail: The fact that ‘ Darth Vader In A Kilt On A Unicycle Playing Bagpipes ’ decided that this wasn’t all he had to offer the world and added flames to the schtick.
Spoiler alert
The Source: Son’s Reaction to ‘Empire Strikes Back’ Reveal!!!! (2011)
The Moment: A father films his four-year-old son watching Empire Strikes Back and hearing the ‘I am your father’ twist for the first time. His reaction is priceless.
Coolest Detail: The zoom in on his son’s screwed-up, wide-eyed face. It’s what good parenting is all about.
The Game Of Thrones mash-up
The Source: Jamie Lannister vs Eddard Stark Lightsaber Battle (2012)
The Moment: YouTube user Joel935M transforms an intense showdown between Lannister and Stark in Game Of Thrones in to a brutal lightsaber duel thanks to the addition of some awesome rotoscoping effects.
Coolest Detail: Just seeing the characters fight with lightsabers attached to huge broadsword handles is very cool.
Alternate version
The Source: Star Wars Retold (2009)
The Moment: Winner of the George Lucas Award at the 2009, Star Wars Fan Film Contest, this film sees someone asking his friend Amanda, who has never seen Star Wars all the way through, to see if she can piece together the entire story from what she knows. The result is a brilliantly inaccurate description of the Star Wars saga, all animated for extra comedy effect.
Coolest Detail: Towards the end, Amanda is made to repeat Han Solo’s name over and over again because it turns out that she thinks he is called ‘Hans’.
Patton Oswalts Filibuster
The Source: Parks And Recreation (2013)
The Moment: Patton Oswalt’s guest appearance on Parks And Recreation led to him improvising a nine-minute, rapid-fire speech about what he wants to see in Star Wars Episode VII . The amazing story, incorporating Marvel characters too, was released in full in the run up to the episode, and now J.J. Abrams has even higher expectations to meet.
Coolest Detail: “As [Luke] is training the Padawans, we pan outside of the control window to a nearby asteroid where we see Thanos, who was the villain tease at the end of the first Avengers movie. Now Thanos, as you know, owns the Infinity Gauntlet which has the Time Gem, the Mind Gem, the Power Gem, the Space Gem and the Reality Gem. If he holds the Reality Gem, that means he can jump from different realities. This will be our link from – to the Marvel Universe from the Star Wars Universe...” Incredible idea.
The COPS parody
The Source: Troops (1997)
The Moment: A mockumentary by Kevin Rubio that serves as a direct parody of COPS , following the Black Sheep Squadron of Imperial Stormtroopers as they patrol Tatooine and run into familiar characters from the film.
Coolest Detail: A reinterpretation of Unle Owen’s and Aunt Beru’s death, which posits their demise as the result of a domestic dispute that went to far.
The lightsaber choreography
The Source: Ryan vs. Dorkman (2003)
The Moment: The first in a series of films produced for entry into TheForce.net’s lightsaber choreography competition. The film sees friendly forum rivals Ryan and Michael (a.k.a. Ryan_W and DorkmanScott) try to determine once and for all who is the better skilled with a lightsaber.
Coolest Detail: The incredible fight choreography at one point sees the pair swinging lightsabers at each other while rolling around on the floor, and somehow it still looks cool.
Dog days
The Source: Wampug (2011)
The Moment: Chubbs the pug adorns a wonderful Wampa costume and runs playfully towards the camera. Far cuter than any Ewok.
Coolest Detail: That look towards at the camera, both tongue and horns out. A dog has never looked so comfortable in a costume.
Finding inspiration
The Source: George Lucas In Love (1999)
The Moment: A Shakespeare In Love parody featuring Star Wars ’ very own creator, made by Joe Nussbaum as a Hollywood calling card. The film sees Lucas as a college student suffering from writer’s block who is surrounded by people who resemble the characters of his eventual space opus.
Coolest Detail: A post-credits scene in which Lucas meets a duck named Howard.
Lone lightsaber practice
The Source: Star Wars Kid (2002)
The Moment: 15-year-old high school student Ghyslain Raza grabs a golf ball retriever and films himself practising his lightsaber twirling in the style of Darth Maul. Sadly, his fellow students got hold of the tape and leaked it online, causing it to become one of the very first viral videos and leading to a decade of cyber-torment for poor Raza. And yet, it almost tops the list for being a display of sheer Star Wars enthusiasm that we have all at one point indulged in ourselves, whether we have admitted it or not.
Coolest Detail: The stumble on the sheet on the floor. It just shows Raza’s over-excitement as he gets lost in an imaginary world of Jedi-duelling.
The ultimate fan film
The Source: Star Wars Uncut (2010)
The Moment: Sci-fi geeks are always at their best when they come together for a greater good. This painstaking recreation of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope , masterminded by web developer Casey Pugh, consists of 473 fifteen-second clips recreating segments from the film in a host of different live-action and animated styles, all submitted by fans and voted for via Pugh’s website.
Coolest Detail: The whole film is a collection of cool details. Between Lego stop-motion, claymation and hilariously low-budget live-action, as well as parodies of genres like film noir and German expressionism, this is an entire galaxy’s worth of awesome fan moments.