Star Wars Prequel Eels

2018Text blackout / image macrodead

Also known as: Prequel Eels · r/PrequelMemes Eel Memes

Star Wars Prequel Eels is a micro-trend of text blackout memes and absurdist jokes that swept through r/PrequelMemes in April 2018, replacing words in Star Wars prequel dialogue with "eel" or "eels." The trend kicked off with a single post altering a *Revenge of the Sith* screenshot and snowballed into a multi-day inside joke that briefly overtook the subreddit's usual content.

Overview

Star Wars Prequel Eels took familiar lines of dialogue from the Star Wars prequel trilogy and swapped or blacked out words so they referenced eels. The core format used screenshots from *The Phantom Menace*, *Attack of the Clones*, or *Revenge of the Sith* with text selectively removed to create new eel-themed readings. The humor was entirely nonsensical. There was no deeper joke or commentary. The randomness of inserting a ray-finned fish into dramatic space opera dialogue was the whole point2.

On April 16, 2018, Redditor u/WhatsTomatoWithU posted to r/PrequelMemes with the caption "When your pet eel keeps misbehaving." The image showed a screenshot from *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith* with portions of on-screen text blacked out so the remaining words read "Oh, I have a bad eel"2. The post blew up fast, pulling in more than 43,000 upvotes (86% upvoted) and 200 comments within two days2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (r/PrequelMemes)
Creator
u/WhatsTomatoWithU
Date
2018

On April 16, 2018, Redditor u/WhatsTomatoWithU posted to r/PrequelMemes with the caption "When your pet eel keeps misbehaving." The image showed a screenshot from *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith* with portions of on-screen text blacked out so the remaining words read "Oh, I have a bad eel"2. The post blew up fast, pulling in more than 43,000 upvotes (86% upvoted) and 200 comments within two days2.

How It Spread

The eel craze took hold of r/PrequelMemes almost immediately. On April 17, 2018, u/DoctorLovejuice posted a picture of Anakin Skywalker with the altered quote "...the biggest problem in the universe is no eels," earning over 720 upvotes at a 97% approval rate2.

The trend got big enough that same day for u/DyspySocks to post "What started the whole eel thing in /r/prequelmemes?" on r/OutOfTheLoop, where the question received 115+ upvotes. Confused outsiders trying to figure out why a Star Wars subreddit was suddenly obsessed with aquatic life was itself part of the comedy2.

By April 18, the meme had entered its self-aware phase. u/A-Heroic-Guy posted a Peter Parker's Glasses variation: without glasses, the subreddit reads "PrequelMemes" normally, but with glasses on, it says "eelMemes." That post hit over 17,000 upvotes with 140 comments2. The same day, u/swgamin contributed a SpongeBob SquarePants meme showing SpongeBob and Patrick rolling dice to decide between a regular prequel meme and an eel meme, pulling in 8,700+ upvotes at 96% approval2.

The whole thing burned bright and fast. Within roughly 72 hours, the subreddit had flooded itself with eel content, run through the standard meme lifecycle of creation, peak, meta-commentary, and exhaustion, then moved on.

How to Use This Meme

The standard Prequel Eels format works like this:

1

Take a screenshot from any Star Wars prequel film that includes visible dialogue or subtitles.

2

Black out portions of the text so the remaining visible words form a sentence about eels. The weirder, the better.

3

Add a caption above that sets up the eel-related context, like "When your pet eel keeps misbehaving."

Fun Facts

The entire trend lasted roughly three days from first post to burnout, making it one of r/PrequelMemes' fastest micro-trends.

The original post's 43,000+ upvotes made it one of the top posts on r/PrequelMemes for April 20182.

The meme had zero connection to actual eels, marine biology, or any existing eel-related internet culture. The word was chosen purely for its absurdity.

r/OutOfTheLoop posts about the trend were themselves upvoted into the hundreds, showing how effectively the joke confused people outside the subreddit2.

Derivatives & Variations

Peter Parker's Glasses edit

— A crossover with the Spider-Man glasses meme, showing r/PrequelMemes transforming into "eelMemes" when viewed clearly[2].

SpongeBob dice roll

— A SpongeBob and Patrick board game meme depicting the subreddit's coin-flip between regular prequel content and eel posts[2].

r/OutOfTheLoop confusion posts

— Not a meme format itself, but the confusion from non-subscribers asking what was going on added a meta-humor layer to the whole trend[2].

Frequently Asked Questions

Star Wars Prequel Eels

2018Text blackout / image macrodead

Also known as: Prequel Eels · r/PrequelMemes Eel Memes

Star Wars Prequel Eels is a micro-trend of text blackout memes and absurdist jokes that swept through r/PrequelMemes in April 2018, replacing words in Star Wars prequel dialogue with "eel" or "eels." The trend kicked off with a single post altering a *Revenge of the Sith* screenshot and snowballed into a multi-day inside joke that briefly overtook the subreddit's usual content.

Overview

Star Wars Prequel Eels took familiar lines of dialogue from the Star Wars prequel trilogy and swapped or blacked out words so they referenced eels. The core format used screenshots from *The Phantom Menace*, *Attack of the Clones*, or *Revenge of the Sith* with text selectively removed to create new eel-themed readings. The humor was entirely nonsensical. There was no deeper joke or commentary. The randomness of inserting a ray-finned fish into dramatic space opera dialogue was the whole point2.

On April 16, 2018, Redditor u/WhatsTomatoWithU posted to r/PrequelMemes with the caption "When your pet eel keeps misbehaving." The image showed a screenshot from *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith* with portions of on-screen text blacked out so the remaining words read "Oh, I have a bad eel"2. The post blew up fast, pulling in more than 43,000 upvotes (86% upvoted) and 200 comments within two days2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (r/PrequelMemes)
Creator
u/WhatsTomatoWithU
Date
2018

On April 16, 2018, Redditor u/WhatsTomatoWithU posted to r/PrequelMemes with the caption "When your pet eel keeps misbehaving." The image showed a screenshot from *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith* with portions of on-screen text blacked out so the remaining words read "Oh, I have a bad eel"2. The post blew up fast, pulling in more than 43,000 upvotes (86% upvoted) and 200 comments within two days2.

How It Spread

The eel craze took hold of r/PrequelMemes almost immediately. On April 17, 2018, u/DoctorLovejuice posted a picture of Anakin Skywalker with the altered quote "...the biggest problem in the universe is no eels," earning over 720 upvotes at a 97% approval rate2.

The trend got big enough that same day for u/DyspySocks to post "What started the whole eel thing in /r/prequelmemes?" on r/OutOfTheLoop, where the question received 115+ upvotes. Confused outsiders trying to figure out why a Star Wars subreddit was suddenly obsessed with aquatic life was itself part of the comedy2.

By April 18, the meme had entered its self-aware phase. u/A-Heroic-Guy posted a Peter Parker's Glasses variation: without glasses, the subreddit reads "PrequelMemes" normally, but with glasses on, it says "eelMemes." That post hit over 17,000 upvotes with 140 comments2. The same day, u/swgamin contributed a SpongeBob SquarePants meme showing SpongeBob and Patrick rolling dice to decide between a regular prequel meme and an eel meme, pulling in 8,700+ upvotes at 96% approval2.

The whole thing burned bright and fast. Within roughly 72 hours, the subreddit had flooded itself with eel content, run through the standard meme lifecycle of creation, peak, meta-commentary, and exhaustion, then moved on.

How to Use This Meme

The standard Prequel Eels format works like this:

1

Take a screenshot from any Star Wars prequel film that includes visible dialogue or subtitles.

2

Black out portions of the text so the remaining visible words form a sentence about eels. The weirder, the better.

3

Add a caption above that sets up the eel-related context, like "When your pet eel keeps misbehaving."

Fun Facts

The entire trend lasted roughly three days from first post to burnout, making it one of r/PrequelMemes' fastest micro-trends.

The original post's 43,000+ upvotes made it one of the top posts on r/PrequelMemes for April 20182.

The meme had zero connection to actual eels, marine biology, or any existing eel-related internet culture. The word was chosen purely for its absurdity.

r/OutOfTheLoop posts about the trend were themselves upvoted into the hundreds, showing how effectively the joke confused people outside the subreddit2.

Derivatives & Variations

Peter Parker's Glasses edit

— A crossover with the Spider-Man glasses meme, showing r/PrequelMemes transforming into "eelMemes" when viewed clearly[2].

SpongeBob dice roll

— A SpongeBob and Patrick board game meme depicting the subreddit's coin-flip between regular prequel content and eel posts[2].

r/OutOfTheLoop confusion posts

— Not a meme format itself, but the confusion from non-subscribers asking what was going on added a meta-humor layer to the whole trend[2].

Frequently Asked Questions