The Simpsons' is often is credited with predicting the future, but it is not the only show with seemingly prescient episodes. In episode sixteen of season four of The Muppet Show, now airing on Disney+, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO all guest star, alongside Luke's "cousin" Mark Hamill, in anticipation of the release of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Throughout the episode, Luke Skywalker and the droids work together to rescue Chewbacca from Dearth Nadir (obviously played by Gonzo). In true Muppet fashion, the Muppets rope the Star Wars crew into participating in the episode's grand finale. The song choice and the imagery from that finale seem to predict Disney's future purchase of both the Muppets and the Star Wars franchise.
The episode begins with Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and R2-D2 crashing through the backstage wall of The Muppet Show theater. The trio is confused, and Luke declares that they must have landed on some "comedy variety-show planet." The Muppets, ever the opportunists, decide to "cancel" the night's planned guest star, Angus McGonagle, the Argyle Gargoyle who gargles Gershwin. Instead, they declare the stars of Star Wars to be their guests for the night. This episode was not the first time that the Star Wars franchise tackled the variety show format, as the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special reveals, but it still took a while for the Star Wars characters to fully participate in the show.
At first, the Star Wars elements are constrained to the backstage segments of the show. After the first skit, C-3PO and R2-D2 reveal to Kermit that Chewbacca has been kidnapped by Dearth Nadir as Luke frantically searches backstage. Kermit tries to convince the trio to participate in the show, but initially only R2-D2 seems excited about the prospect of singing and dancing on stage. The Star Wars cast finally enters the main stage by hijacking the Swinetrek from the "Pigs in Space" segment of the show. Luke states that they are merely borrowing the ship to go find Chewbacca on Koozebane. Miss Piggy dresses herself up as the Princess in a reference to Princess Leia, and she threatens Luke and the droids into going along with her role. On the planet, they confront Dearth Nadir, who has a device that neutralizes blasters. Luke declares that they must instead use the ultimate weapon. Not the Force, but Chewbacca the Wookiee, who has escaped from his confinement. Dearth Nadir has his own secret weapon, Angus McGonagle, whose gargling neutralizes Chewbacca.
The situation seems truly dire, but luckily, in the world of the Muppets, everything can be solved with a song and dance number. Chewbacca and R2-D2 dance, and then C-3PO shows off his surprising tap skills. Luke Skywalker exits the stage to get his "cousin" Mark Hamill, and this is the point where the episode seems to predict the future. Mark Hamill begins to sing "When You Wish Upon a Star," a song that has become a signature of Disney. What is presumably Dearth Nadir's castle rises in the background, and it looks suspiciously like Cinderella's castle, which has become an emblem for the Disney Corporation. It's even accompanied by fireworks, as seen at the beginning of many Disney movies and nightly in front of the actual castle at Disney theme parks around the world. Thus, decades before either franchise was purchased by Disney, they both became connected to the Disney image through this song and dance number.
The Muppet Show did not consciously predict Disney's acquisition of the Muppets and the Star Wars franchise, but this episode of the show does strangely envision the future unification of the two franchises under the Disney umbrella. After fourteen years of negotiations, the Muppets became a Disney property in 2004. Eight years later, Disney purchased Lucasfilm as well. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that under the Disney+ banner, the two franchises might work together again.