Fandoms often use memes to lovingly poke fun at their favorite franchises, and Screen Rant is highlighting the best memes of the week. Running the gamut of popular franchises from The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, and everything in between, memes have almost become a second language for members of fandoms. They can serve a host of purposes from poking fun at aspects of movies, shows, and books that don’t make sense, to simply referencing moments that have become beloved or infamous. Regardless of their ultimate goal, memes are a helpful way for fans to show their appreciation for their favorite properties.
Usually steeped heavily in the lore of whatever piece of media is being referenced, memes can often range from deep jokes with rich meaning, to silly puns, and even a gag that is only funny because of how absurd it is. Though the entire point of a meme is for it to be as accessible as possible to the masses, the use of referential humor makes them special for the fans of whatever franchise is being spoofed. In the end, memes help make a movie or TV show even more beloved because they further connect the audiences that care about them. Here are the best memes of the week.
10 Mandalorian Tries To Lift The Darksaber
Star Wars was cast adrift following the release of The Rise of Skywalker, but the arrival of the extremely popular series The Mandalorian gave the franchise a brand-new direction on the small screen. This meme references the show and specifically the mysterious Darksaber that is wielded by Din Djarin. The meme is all the funnier for those who know why the Darksaber gets heavier in combat and references the fact that the immense popularity of The Mandalorian has not only given the franchise new life but has also been single-handedly carrying Star Wars‘ success on its shoulders in recent years.
9 Yoda Tells Luke He’s The Last Jedi
When the original Star Wars trilogy ended with the release of Return of the Jedi, Yoda’s prophetic dying words that Luke Skywalker was the last of the Jedi seemed to have come true. However, as the franchise continued to push the Star Wars timeline further and further, it was obvious that the Jedi Master had been a bit short-sighted with his prophecy. As shown in one of the week’s funniest memes, characters like Ahsoka Tano, Ezra Bridger, Grogu, and even Cal Kestis proved that statement to be incorrect when they all became powerful force users in their own rights.
8 Neville Longbottom Uses The Remembrall
Like the books that spawned them, the Harry Potter series of films is filled with countless magical items that help to flesh out the world that the characters live in. Though the Remembrall is a somewhat useless gadget in hindsight, it was nevertheless used as a perfect symbol to describe the character of Neville Longbottom. Lovable but somewhat ill-fated, Neville is recontextualized as a character with this hilarious meme that shows him act in a way that is totally opposite of his friendly personality.
7 Palpatine and Rey On Different Sleep Cycles
Though arguments could be made that Rey was never a Palpatine at all, the revelation of her parentage in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still a memorable twist that divided the fanbase. Reflecting more on what was on the inside than what was on the outside, this meme seems to compare early birds with the young and fresh-faced Rey, and people pulling all-nighters with the grizzled visage of Emperor Palpatine. All in good fun, the meme lowers the stature of the menacing villain by making him the butt of a joke.
6 Pedro Pascal As A Single Father
Rising to the top of the Hollywood upper echelon in recent years, Pedro Pascal’s impressive multi-decade career has nevertheless reflected a few patterns. Besides playing a host of handsome hunks and action heroes, Pascal’s easy likability has also made him perfect for father figures, and he has played his fair share in movies and TV shows. Whether it’s as Din Djarin on The Mandalorian or as Joel on The Last of Us, Pascal has been typecast as the gruff father figure who protects a young and innocent character.
5 The Face Of Sauron
Due to the vague descriptions in the books, the Lord of the Rings movies often took liberties when crafting some of the more noteworthy characters that appeared on the screen. Sauron’s full identity was explained in various forms of Lord of the Rings media, but the film trilogy only gave fans the creepy mouth of Sauron and his blazing all-seeing eye. When combined as shown in this hilarious meme of the week, Sauron’s entire visage is something more goofy than menacing.
4 The Beards Of Pedro Pascal & Ewan McGregor
Unfortunately for the more follically challenged of the world, many movie and TV characters set a somewhat unrealistic standard when it comes to facial hair. This meme contrasts the looks of Ewan McGregor and Pedro Pascal in their roles in the Star Wars franchise, with the star of The Mandalorian being a more accurate representation of the kinds of beards that some can grow. Showing that heroes, and their beards, can come in all shapes and sizes, Din Djarin gets by without luscious facial hair.
3 Jawas Stole The Mars Rover
Though what Jawas look like under their hoods is a franchise mystery, Star Wars‘ resident scavengers are well-known to fans for their love of scrap and salvage. When the Opportunity Mars Rover went offline in 2019, it had completed an impressive multi-year mission that expanded knowledge of the barren planet. This brilliant meme offers an idea about what could have possibly happened to the lost piece of hardware: the Jawas stole it. This is exactly what the characters would have done had they gotten the chance.
2 Jane Foster Was Loki The Whole Time
- Credit: u/EntertainmentHot6700
Loki is best remembered as the ultimate trickster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his schemes know no bounds; his deviousness is perhaps his strongest trait. Loki has long made his brother’s life a nightmare, and he truly lived up to his “trickster god” label when constantly vexing Thor. This meme of the week considers a scene between the two that perfectly embodies the sort of depraved sense of humor that Loki is infamous for, and reflects the many times that Loki tricked Thor in the MCU.
1 All Three Spider-Men Can’t Save MJ
Spider-Man’s inability to save Gwen Stacy from her untimely death is a pivotal moment in the character’s history that forever changed his worldview. This meme takes what is one of the darkest moments in the Marvel Universe and makes it silly when combined with a still from Spider-Man: No Way Home. Though Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man had its supporters and detractors, the meme seems to suggest that even with the combined power of his alternate universe selves, he still can’t save the girl.
