Although Star Wars is not necessarily a comedic franchise, there are innumerable funny moments throughout Star Wars movies and TV shows. From intentionally funny lines like Princess Leia calling Han Solo a "scruffy-looking nerf herder" in The Empire Strikes Back and Han telling Finn, "That's not how the Force works" in Star Wars: The Force Awakens to unintentionally funny lines like Anakin Skywalker's speech about hating sand in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars is full of laugh lines.
However, these movies and shows are full of much subtler funny details, as well. In fact, some of the funniest aspects of Star Wars are easily missed because they aren't nearly as obvious as Obi-Wan Kenobi sending a man home from the bar to rethink his life. Of those subtler funny details, the below 10 are among the best.
When C-3PO Says "Thank The Maker," He Means Anakin
Throughout Star Wars movies and shows, C-3PO declares, "Thank the Maker" when something good happens. Initially, this sounds like an almost spiritual declaration, the same way that someone in real life might thank God when expressing relief. However, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace revealed that little Anakin Skywalker himself had built C-3PO. This means that, whenever Threepio says this, the 'maker' he is thanking is, in fact, Anakin.
What makes this especially funny is that more often than not, especially in the original trilogy, Anakin/Darth Vader was actually the source of C-3PO, Luke, Han, R2-D2, and Leia's stress and fear. Of course, Threepio doesn't know that, as no one knew Darth Vader's true identity initially, and even when that revelation occurred, C-3PO's mind had already been wiped. Even so, it's hilarious to know that, throughout Star Wars, C-3PO is thanking Anakin.
The Lightsaber Rey Uses Throughout The Sequels Is The One That Killed Younglings
Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber has been an iconic part of Star Wars since A New Hope, when it was wielded by Luke Skywalker—also making it the first lightsaber shown on screen in the franchise. It has gone on to play a prominent role in all three Star Wars trilogies. In the prequels, it was, of course, the weapon of Anakin Skywalker himself, at least until he lost it during his battle against Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar. In the sequels, it becomes Rey's first lightsaber, before she finally makes her own yellow saber in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
This timeline unfortunately means that the weapon Rey is wielding throughout most of the sequels (and Luke Skywalker is throughout most of the original trilogy) is actually the very same one that killed the Tusken Raiders and the younglings during Order 66. Now, while there's nothing funny about the slaughter of the Tuskens or the gruesome event that was Order 66, it does put a whole new perspective on this lightsaber being treated as a heroic, legendary weapon when it has committed so many horrible acts.
Han Must Have Eventually Followed Up About Luke And Leia's Kiss
One of the most well-known moments in Star Wars is the kiss between Leia and Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, specifically because it ultimately became so unsettling. While, at first, this seemed like a kiss between potential love interests (even if it was already clear that Leia was kissing Luke just to make Han jealous), Return of the Jedi revealed that Luke and Leia were actually twins, retroactively making this kiss an incestuous one.
Audiences weren't the only ones who ultimately came to this realization, though. In The Empire Strikes Back, especially because this was in an effort to make him jealous, Han was standing right there, and he witnessed the entire thing. Then, in Return of the Jedi, Leia confirms to Han that she and Luke are siblings. Although it never happened on screen, this means that, at some point, Han and Leia must have had a conversation addressing the fact that Leia kissed her brother, which is as funny as it is uncomfortable to imagine.
The Dark Side Could Not Drop The Death Star Plan No Matter How Many Times It Blew Up
When it was introduced in A New Hope, the Death Star was absolutely terrifying. Audiences watched as, with little more than a press of a button, the weapon was able to obliterate an entire planet and everyone on it. It seemed, early in that movie, that the Death Star would be almost impossible to defeat, although by the end of A New Hope, that had been proven wrong. Evidently, the Empire was absolutely determined to make that dream a reality, though, as the original trilogy saw the inclusion of yet another Death Star.
The second Death Star was one thing, but the sequel trilogy proved that the dark siders really could not let this idea go. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the First Order may not have had a literal Death Star, but their major weapon, Starkiller Based, is a thinly veiled Death Star copy as well—even the name Starkiller, in fact, feels like only a slight variation on Death Star. Clearly, no matter how many times it literally blew up in their faces, the enemy just couldn't let this go.
Luke Definitely Agreed With "Mourn Them Do Not Miss Them Do Not"
One of Master Yoda's more controversial lines came in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith when Anakin had gone to him for guidance about his nightmares. Rather than truly working through those issues with Anakin, Yoda tells him to learn to let go of what he fears to lose, saying that when others die, "Mourn them, do not; miss them, do not." This could not be further from how Anakin responds to loss, be it the death of his mother or even Ahsoka Tano leaving the Jedi Order.
However, the apple apparently does fall pretty far from the tree in this case, as Luke had no issue applying that logic in A New Hope. Specifically, early in the movie, Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen are brutally killed by the stormtroopers, and horrifyingly, Luke even returns home to find their burnt corpses strewn across the farm. Despite that being such a horrible thing for Luke to witness, he barely openly grieves—in fact, he expresses considerably more grief over the loss of Obi-Wan, who he knew far less.
Obi-Wan Shipped Padmé And Anakin
Anakin and Padmé's relationship is a complicated one, to say the least. In Attack of the Clones, it's clear that even the two of them know this romance is doomed to fail and bring them down with it. Little did they know, though, that it would bring down countless others as well, as it played a key role in Palpatine's plans to wipe out the Jedi and the Republic. While that isn't all that funny, the fact that Obi-Wan bewilderingly kind of shipped Anakin and Padmé certainly is.
Specifically, early in Attack of the Clones, when Anakin is upset that he had thought about Padmé nonstop for a decade, and she didn't even recognize him, Obi-Wan tells Anakin that "she was pleased to see" the two of them—completely defying the Jedi's rule against attachments and the way he should have responded. Moreover, and much worse, Obi-Wan effectively cosigns the two of them going away together to a beautiful planet (Naboo), despite his complete awareness of Anakin's feelings.
Someone In The Jedi Temple Is Responsible For Basic Childcare
The Jedi practice of taking children from their parents when they are young, albeit with their parents' permission, has been the topic of conversation for decades. In fact, as Star Wars movies and shows have grown, this practice has only been called further and further into question. During the prequel trilogy, it simply seemed like a fact of the Order. In the time since, though, shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi, which revealed Obi-Wan's complex feelings about not knowing his brother, and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, which showed Ahsoka's home life, have made that a bit more complicated.
Those heavier considerations aside, though, the increasing depictions of just how young children are when they arrive at the Jedi Temple has made one hilarious thing clear: Someone in the Temple must be in charge of basic childcare. Yes, audiences have seen Jedi training younglings, but based on how young Jedi Initiates are at first, someone was also somewhere within the Temple dealing with sleep schedules and potty training.
Kylo Definitely Didn't Have To Carry Rey Bridal Style
Although the romance between Kylo Ren and Rey has been highly debated, with some in the fanbase believing they are among Star Wars' best couples and others saying that there was nothing romantic between them at all, there's no denying that there were several moments between them throughout the sequel trilogy that hinted at something else going on between them, at least from Kylo Ren's perspective.
While the first situation that comes to mind might be the scene in which Kylo Ren is shirtless, that's arguably not the one that makes the romantic undertones between them clear first. Rather, that comes shockingly early, when Kylo Ren knocks Rey out and decides to carry her bridal style onto his ship—a far cry from how he had Poe Dameron dragged onto his ship at the start of the movie. No, that's not a recipe for a healthy relationship, but it is a funny sign that Kylo was already feeling differently about Rey.
Kylo Was Assuring Darth Vader He Would Finish What He Started, But Anakin Didn't Want That
One of the most significant aspects of Kylo Ren's Star Wars story is his loyalty to and obsession with his grandfather, Darth Vader. In fact, at one point, he's all but praying to Darth Vader's helmet, promising to finish what he'd started with the Empire. However, ironically, this isn't at all what Anakin would have wanted. Sure, when Darth Vader was at the height of his power, that would have been his goal, but he had been redeemed when he died.
It's therefore quite funny to imagine that, somewhere out there, Anakin's Force Ghost was hearing Kylo Ren promise to rebuild the Empire and take power once again—the very thing Anakin had died to prevent—and getting frustrated with his wayward grandson. Of course, this also raises actual questions about why Anakin's Force Ghost didn't appear and clear that up.
Palpatine Just Had To One-Up Kylo Ren
Finally, Palpatine always had to have the final say, as The Rise of Skywalker made clear, but there is one particularly petty way that Palpatine made it clear that he will always try to come out on top. In The Force Awakens, the reborn Empire is referred to as "the First Order." Clearly, Palpatine didn't appreciate having his Empire rebranded in this way, so when he made his controversial return, he said he was bringing about "the Final Order."
This is therefore a hilarious, almost childish way for Palpatine to one-up Kylo Ren, taking the name of the regime Kylo was currently ruling and making it that much better. Unfortunately for Palpatine, his so-called Final Order lasted an incredibly short time, but this is nevertheless one of the funniest easily overlooked details in Star Wars.