Star Wars: Bobby Moynihan Details ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketch Idea About Han Solo’s Death

For the past 40 years, the Star Wars saga has inspired countless parodies and satire, with sketch show Saturday Night Live regularly taking opportunities to poke fun at the galaxy far, far away. Former cast member Bobby Moynihan recently confirmed that he tried to develop one sketch for the series that lampooned the death of Han Solo in The Force Awakens, though the idea was ultimately abandoned, possibly for being too macabre.

“I had an idea that we thankfully didn’t do where me and Taren (Killam) were two Stormtroopers who were just sweeping up and then Han Solo’s body fell and we were just like, ‘We just cleaned,” Moynihan shared with The Star Wars Show. “And we were just looking at this pile of mess and going, ‘Wow, that’s a nice blaster, that’s pretty iconic.’ Just saying lots of stuff like that. We didn’t do that one, thank god.”

This idea may have been abandoned, but Moynihan did help create a now-iconic concept for the show, which depicted Kylo Ren going undercover as a radar technician to find out what members of the First Order really thought about the leader.

“It’s the best,” the actor said of the sketch’s popularity. “We were so excited to have Adam Driver come in that week, he could not have been cooler, it was just the best. Just watching him getting into Kylo Ren. Right before one of the shots, he was like, ‘Can I have a second?’ and started punching himself in the stomach in the corridor and I was like, ‘That is the coolest thing in the world.’”

While this idea may have been received warmly, Moynihan was nervous that another sketch he performed in potentially upset Carrie Fisher.

“When The Force Awakens came out, we did a trailer about how they’re all older and I played Princess Leia. I love Carrie Fisher, she’s meant so much to me in my life, and I was friendly with [The Force Awakens director] J.J. [Abrams] a little bit through SNL and stuff like that,” Moynihan recalled. “And I’m gonna be at Comic-Con, he said, ‘Why don’t you come to The Force Awakens panel?’ So I’m sitting in the panel and Harrison Ford’s there and Carrie and they kiss and I’m just crying like a child and thinking this is the greatest thing in the world.”

He continued, “I walk backstage and I just see Carrie Fisher and she’s coming towards me and I’m just like, ‘Oh no.’ I thought maybe she was mad, but she just came over to me with both hands up and grabbed my beard and said, ‘What a glorious beard.’ I’ll never forget it. It was just this perfect 20 minutes of my life. To hear Mark Hamill say your name…it’s Luke Skywalker, man. That guy…he’s the nicest.”

Moynihan is now an official part of the Star Wars universe, as he voices a character in the upcoming Star Wars Resistance animated series.

What’s your favorite Star Wars parody? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

[H/T YouTube, Star Wars]