Remember when Lizzo and Jack Black showed up in The Mandalorian?
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00:00Whether you absolutely adored red-hot chili peppers clashing with Jedi, or could have done without a Hamilton star surprisingly popping up in the closing stages of the Skywalker saga, one thing is certain, each of these Star Wars appearances were all random as hell.
00:15So I am Gareth here from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 10 of the most random Star Wars appearances.
00:2210. Mercedes-Money Puts On Some Beskar, The Mandalorian
00:26While a professional wrestler suddenly deciding to give this acting stuff a try isn't exactly anything new, that still didn't change the fact that seeing now-former WWE star Sasha Banks slash Mercedes-Money sharing the screen with various Mandalorians during Disney Plus' second season of the hit Star Wars show was about as bizarre as it gets.
00:46Not only was this the first time a wrestler had been involved in the galaxy far, far away, the star's turn as Koska Reeves was actually Mercedes-Money's acting debut too.
00:56And despite the majority of WWE fans around the globe quickly shouting, huh, that's Sasha Banks, at their TVs during her first few minutes of screen time, the boss very quickly settled into life as a badass Mandalorian, even giving the mighty Boba Fett a run for his money during Chapter 16, The Rescue.
01:13Even with the crossover star now very much being part of the Star Wars furniture, after appearing in Season 3 as well though, seeing a former SmackDown and Raw Women's Champion blasting around the galaxy in Beskar will never not be surreal.
01:279. Flea Kidnaps Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi
01:30Unlike the multi-talented Mercedes Venado, Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea had actually shown up in his fair share of other big and small screen projects in his time before randomly stepping into the worlds of Jedi and Stormtroopers.
01:44Along with playing himself on a number of occasions, the typically topless rock star has appeared in everything from Damien Chazelle's Babylon to the Wild Thornberries over the years.
01:54But that still couldn't prepare folks for his creepy appearance in Disney Plus' recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series, with the musician playing a slimy bounty hunter by the name of Vect Nokru for a few episodes.
02:06Nogru would go on to kidnap none other than a young Princess Leia during his brief time in the galaxy far, far away, before getting mercilessly cut down by the Grand Inquisitor.
02:17Very few likely had Flea holding a lightsaber on their Star Wars bingo card heading into 2022.
02:23What a life, eh?
02:23Number 8
02:24A Royal Set of Stormtroopers
02:26Episode 8, The Last Jedi
02:28After deciding one day to stop by the set of The Last Jedi back in 2016, Prince William and Harry secretly filmed cameos for the then-incoming Episode 8, and their scene reportedly boasted the most random collection of Stormtroopers imaginable.
02:43Alongside the Harry and William, The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy and Take That singer Gary Barlow also both donned the iconic white armour for a scene that ultimately didn't make it into the theatrical cut.
02:56However, the no-doubt absurd situation that the likes of John Boyega, Benicio Del Toro and Kelly Marie Tran found themselves in the middle of was eventually released when the film dropped on Blu-ray.
03:07Hardy was the only trooper to utter a few lines in the ridiculous sequence, boasting a distinctly southern accent in the clip.
03:13With the royal lads apparently being stood on either side of Finn during the tense exchange.
03:18You will never find a more random elevator stuffed full of royalty, musicians and British acting talent.
03:25Number 7
03:25James Bond pops up as FN 1824 Episode 7, The Force Awakens
03:31That lot weren't the only well-known British faces who managed to oddly wiggle their way into a sequel trilogy film.
03:37With a guy who knows a thing or two about holding a weapon, also asking if he could make his Star Wars dreams come true when The Force Awakens was in production.
03:46After showing up to Pinewood for a costume fitting one day, 007 actor Daniel Craig simply asked Episode 7 Assistant Director Ben Dixon if he could get a part in J.J. Abrams' movie.
03:57And just like that, he was in.
03:59Smooth, Mr. Bond.
04:01One day later, he was dressed up as a First Order Stormtrooper and being Jedi mind-tricked by Rey.
04:07With the majority of folks not even clocking the fact James Bond himself had just been bizarrely fooled into dropping his weapon before their very eyes when watching the movie for the first time.
04:16Craig would even tell the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he wanted to keep his rather random appearances going.
04:22With the Brit jokingly claiming he asked to be in the next two, but it didn't happen.
04:276. E.T. Phones The Senate
04:30Episode 1 The Phantom Menace
04:32Long before the likes of 007, Bane, and the bloke who sang Never Forget were strangely sneaking into a Star Wars scene,
04:39George Lucas opted to throw a little nod to one of his pals, Steven Spielberg, into The Phantom Menace.
04:45Queen Amidala's decision to cast a vote of no confidence during Episode 1 is eventually followed by the sight of a couple of alien species within the Senate Rotunda reacting to the announcement.
04:56And it's during this moment when a pretty familiar-looking set of beings can be spotted waving their arms around at the news.
05:03The surprising appearance of these members of the extraterrestrial species here was Lucas' way of returning the favor to Spielberg,
05:11after his fellow legendary director had chucked more than a few Star Wars Easter eggs into his movies over the years.
05:17But rather than find a way to make these little guys a proper part of the galaxy far, far away going forward, though,
05:23the fact Lucas and eventually Disney would barely ever allude to their existence in this universe again
05:28only makes these brief E.T. cameos feel even more random.
05:325. Jack Black and Lizzo show up on Plazir 15 – The Mandalorian
05:37Din Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze take a trip to a planet by the name of Plazir 15 during the third season of The Mandalorian,
05:45and it's here where the two bump into a number of unexpected faces.
05:49While the majority of Mando fans would likely agree that seeing the sci-fi legend that is back to the future's Christopher Lloyd
05:56steal a few scenes as the planet's head of security, Hellgate, was a pleasing enough surprise,
06:01For those who weren't made aware of his casting beforehand, the same unfortunately could not be said for another set of cameos.
06:08Though many were quick to point out how they loved both comedy sensation Jack Black and music superstar Lizzo,
06:14there were viewers that felt their jarring appearances as the eccentric Captain Bombardier and the Duchess of Plazir 15,
06:21respectively, were a bit too distracting during Chapter 22, Guns for Hire, and a piece of stunt casting gone wrong.
06:29Both stars did at least seem to be having a blast sharing a few scenes with the Mandalorians and Grogu,
06:34but their very much random arrivals definitely divided the folks in this galaxy not so far away.
06:39Number 4, Justin Theroux Becomes a Punchline, Episode 8, The Last Jedi
06:44In the lead-up to the release of Episode 8, it was reported that Justin Theroux had been cast in a small but rather important role
06:52in Rian Johnson's movie, with the Mulholland Drive actor playing an expert slicer who would boast a pivotal moment in the tale.
06:59And sure enough, as Finn and Rose search for the codebreaker the resistance so desperately need in the 2017 flick,
07:06they find Theroux's slicer in Canto Bites' casino.
07:10But instead of ultimately working with this particular codebreaker,
07:13the pair end up being thrown out of the establishment before teaming up with Benicio Del Toro's DJ,
07:18and Theroux's master codebreaker was never seen again.
07:21This wasn't always the plan, though.
07:23According to Theroux himself a little later down the road,
07:26his character was reduced over the course of finalising the story,
07:30with Johnson eventually telling him a few years after initially calling the actor to talk about the role
07:34that this part was essentially a cameo and sort of a punchline now.
07:39Theroux was still happy to play in the Star Wars sandbox, though,
07:42even if his eventual white-suited presence in the picture ended up feeling incredibly random when all was said and done.
07:49Number 3, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Late Cameo, Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker
07:53Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda actually managed to make his presence felt in the galaxy far, far away
08:00a few years before his somewhat random appearance towards the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
08:05Back when J.J. Abrams was creating The Force Awakens,
08:08the masterful songwriter wrote the tune heard in Maz Kanata's castle,
08:12and he also ended up creating some new music for Episode 9, too.
08:15So it's not actually that hard to see why Abrams decided to throw a little Miranda cameo into his Skywalker saga ending picture in the end.
08:24What makes the brief appearance feel a bit strange, though,
08:27is the fact that Miranda's very much visible for a few moments resistance pilot, according to Wookieepedia,
08:32was never seen in any other scene involving said resistance outside of the victory celebration in Episode 9.
08:39Maybe he was just one of the random soldiers who showed up to aid the good guys in their Exegol fight for the galaxy.
08:45Either way, there's no denying that seeing the unmistakable talent briefly on screen here was pretty surprising,
08:52especially for Miranda himself.
08:54With the Tony Award winning star admitting on X before the film released that his time on set was
08:59one of the best days of my life to watch the magic happen, but I'm pretty sure I'm not in it.
09:05It was nice of Abrams to not throw away his shot.
09:08Number 2. Ahmed Bess Unexpected Return The Mandalorian
09:12Seeing a well-known celebrity oddly show up in a Star Wars project out of nowhere is one thing,
09:18but witnessing a star who has actually appeared in the galaxy before randomly returning in a massively unexpected role
09:25is enough to leave your mind well and truly blown.
09:28Recently, none other than the star who once helped bring one of the most groundbreaking
09:32and very much divisive characters in movie history to screens,
09:36Ahmed Bess shockingly made his epic Star Wars comeback in the third season of The Mandalorian.
09:41Reprising his Jedi Temple challenge role of Master Keller and Beck,
09:45it was sensationally revealed that Bess Jedi was actually responsible for saving Grogu at the Jedi Temple during Order 66.
09:52Not a person alive had Beck on their radar,
09:56as the person who helped this child escape the incoming clone troopers during this dark time in Jedi history.
10:02But after being on the receiving end of a ton of hate for his work as the bumbling Gungan Jar Jar Binks over the years,
10:08watching the prequel star be sent some long overdue love for this unanticipated cameo was a joy to behold.
10:14Number one, Andy Serkis surprisingly returns and steals the show, Andor.
10:21Another talented thespian who first appeared in this galaxy far, far away as a digitally created being,
10:26the mesmerizing Andy Serkis famously played the formidable and abruptly chopped in half Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy.
10:34So it was safe to assume this iconic Gollum, King Kong and Caesar Star's days of appearing in the Star Wars universe were probably over,
10:42even if Serkis himself seemed open to the idea of returning as the Force-sensitive Palpatine Strancast.
10:48Then, in a move that caught just about every Star Wars lover on the planet off guard,
10:52Serkis only went and suddenly stole the whole damn Andor show last year,
10:57playing the part of Kino Loy in the Narkina 5, Nobody's Listening and One Way Out episodes.
11:03Serkis was actually a little unsure about the idea of randomly popping back up as a different Star Wars character though,
11:09telling THR how his time as Snoke left him worrying that some fans may flip out
11:14and wonder what the hell is going on and assume there's some sort of link there.
11:18But after that initial shock of seeing the great actor back on their screens as an entirely different Star Wars face had worn off,
11:25fans happily sat back and watched the world-class performer produce arguably one of the strongest and most compelling performances in Star Wars history.
11:34And that's our list, know of any other seriously random Star Wars appearances that we've missed?
11:38Well, let us know all about them in the comments section right down below
11:41and don't forget to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're down there.
11:44Also, if you like this sort of thing, then please head on over to WhatCulture.com
11:47and find some more fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching right now is based on.
11:52I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, may the force be with you as always.
11:56Thank you very much for watching today and hopefully we'll see you soon.
11:59Bye bye!