“SNL” skewered “Star Wars” and its general lack of black characters Saturday, with Lando Calrissian hosting a summit for all of the galaxy’s black humans, and finding there aren’t many.
Host Donald Glover plays a young Lando — first played by Billy Dee Williams in 1980 in “The Empire Strikes Back” — in the upcoming movie “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” He reprised that role on “Saturday Night Live,” playing host to a summit for all the black characters in the “Star Wars” galaxy. Though Lando and the other organizers expected a big turnout, they soon discovered there were, actually, only four black humans in “Star Wars.”
You can watch the video above.
“Welcome, my brothers and sisters, to the first-ever galactic summit for all black humans,” Glover’s Lando said, addressing the conference. “This started with just one question: Where the hell are all the black people in space? For a while I thought it was me, the only one, but now I see before me all the black humans in the galaxy.”
The sketch cut to an empty ballroom full of tables, with only three other people in attendance.
“I’ll say it: turnout was a little low,” Lando continued. “We were expecting a thousand guests. I held out hope there was a black human planet somewhere, but I guess it’s just us. Lots of lizardmen wearing vests — just four black people though.”
Lando handed the podium over to Saw Gerrara, Forest Whitaker’s character from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” played by Kenan Thompson. Saw’s speech kept referencing the summit’s huge turnout.
“Sorry, I wrote this like a week ago,” Saw apologized.
Saw went on to thank the black humans who came before those who attended the summit.
“I would now like to read a list of all the black humans who lived before us, to honor their memory: Mace Windu. Thank you,” Saw said, referencing Samuel L. Jackson’s Jedi character from the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy.
The sketch ended with Lando providing entertainment for the summit, singing a lounge song.
“This is a little song I wrote about making love in space,” Glover’s Lando said. “It’s called ‘Makin’ Love in Space.’ ”