Summary

• Family Guy parodied the original Star Wars trilogy in three hour-long specials, titled "Blue Harvest," "Something Something Something Dark Side," and "It's a Trap," which were instant hits with fans and even watched by George Lucas himself.
• The Star Wars parodies on Family Guy were made possible with the blessing of Lucasfilm, which worked closely with the producers and cast, including meetings with George Lucas himself.
• While Family Guy is unlikely to tackle the prequel or sequel trilogies due to difficulties with Disney, the show will continue to reference pop culture, including Star Wars, in its irreverent and boundary-pushing humor.

It's no secret that Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is a bit of a nerd. His series contains endless pop culture references, mostly to various elements of nerd culture, including Monty Python, Back To The Future, Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones. But the fandom most referenced in the animated series has to be Star Wars.

Family Guy began making references to the Star Wars films as early as Season 1, with characters frozen in carbonite, escape pods and Fez-wearing villain Jabba the Hutt, even making an appearance. Finally, in the hour-long Season 6 premiere, Family Guy went all-in with a full parody of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope titled "Blue Harvest" which was a hit for the show in ratings and DVD sales. That eventually led to Family Guy parodying all three original Star Wars films: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Updated February 5, 2024, by Joshua M. Patton: There is no cultural touchstone quite like the original trilogy of Star Wars films, and Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy had included references and parodies of classic moments before. Yet, to fully retell George Lucas's space opera in the show's style with its characters was something new for network television. However, because of how carefully the producers worked to blend the two universes, with the help of Lucasfilm, they became instant classic episodes.

How the Family Guy Star Wars Episodes Came to Be

MacFarlane discussed the Star Wars parodies in Family Guy's Season 11 retrospective "200 Episodes Later." He explained, "We had done several Star Wars gags on the show, and they were so frequent eventually Fox legal said to us, 'If you're going to keep doing these, we have to get clearance from Lucasfilm, because there's just no way we're not going to get sued. We said 'Ah, well, God, that's the end of it,' you know, 'We're not going to be able to do these anymore.' And Lucasfilm surprised us by saying, 'Yeah, no, we like this.'"

With the blessing of Lucasfilm, the twice-canceled and resurrected Family Guy created three hour-long specials: Season 6's "Blue Harvest," a parody of A New Hope; Season 8's "Something Something Something Dark Side," a parody of The Empire Strikes Back; and Season 9's "It's a Trap," a parody of Return of the Jedi. Each episode was a retelling of the movie using Family Guy characters in the Star Wars roles. Much to the delight of fans, they actually did an excellent job of accurately relaying the story.

Robot Chicken Parodied Star Wars First

Family Guy isn't the only show to parody the Star Wars franchise. Long before shows like The Simpsons had their own Star Wars specials, Seth Green -- who voices Chris Griffin on Family Guy -- used his sketch comedy stop-motion show Robot Chicken to poke fun at a galaxy far, far away. The show aired a 22-minute special called Robot Chicken: Star Wars, which made references to all the franchise's films, including Episodes I-III, which weren't parodied on Family Guy.

The playful rivalry between Family Guy and Robot Chicken was referenced throughout MacFarlane's series, but especially in the 2010 direct-to-video special "It's a Trap." In one of the final scenes, Emperor Palpatine (Carter Pewterschmidt) was trying to upset Luke (Chris Griffin) by badmouthing Seth Green. The sequence was entertaining, with Palpatine trying to get a rise out of Luke by claiming Green has never made any popular films, while also referring to "that God-awful puppet show," Robot Chicken.

The end of the episode returned to the Griffin family in their living room. Peter (voiced by MacFarlane) and Chris immediately argued over which Seth was the funnier and more creative one. MacFarlane's characters advocated for himself, while the others voted for Green.

How Lucasfilm Helped Make Family Guy's Parodies

With both the Robot Chicken and Family Guy parodies, Lucasfilm was involved in the production, if only tangentially. The producers and cast visited Skywalker Ranch and had meetings with Lucas himself, who even shot some impromptu sketches with the comedy writers. For the Family Guy parody episodes, MacFarlane thought about doing send-ups of other favorite films, like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but suspected Paramount wouldn't play ball. Since Lucasfilm was still an independent production company, it was easier to get the necessary permission since 20th Century Fox originally released the films.

Lucas was a fan of the series, revealing that he'd recorded every episode on his TiVo, and it was his favorite comfort show, along with (of all things) Jackass. His only stipulation to the Family Guy creators ensure the characters looked like they did in the movies. The parodies not only sent up Star Wars, but like most episodes of Family Guy, included dozens of other references to pop culture.

The Future of Family Guy's Star Wars Episodes

The episodes were an instant hit, not only with fans of Family Guy and Star Wars but also with George Lucas himself. "As a matter of fact, when the first 'Blue Harvest' episode was about to air, we were invited up to his ranch and we sat down and watched it with him," MacFarlane told the Los Angeles Times in 2009. "We were half-expecting him to say, 'You know what? We can’t allow this to air.' But he brought his son, and they were both into it."

However, despite the success of the Star Wars episodes, Family Guy is unlikely to tackle the prequel or sequel trilogies. According to Sulkin, “[Disney] is a little more difficult to deal with," making the chances of another collaboration minuscule. That didn't stop MacFarlane and his creative team from having fun at Star Wars' expense, though. Also in "It's a Trap," Peter remarked that the Family Guy spinoff The Cleveland Show might do Episodes I-III.

While more Star Wars episodes may be off the table, Family Guy will surely continue to reference MacFarlane's favorite films, television shows and moments in pop culture, including a galaxy far, far away.

Family Guy is currently streaming on Hulu, and will return to Fox for its 23rd Season on Wednesdays, starting March 6, 2024.