# Star Wars Prequel Eels 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. ## Origin 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 days[2]. - **Platform:** Reddit (r/PrequelMemes) - **Creator:** u/WhatsTomatoWithU (original poster) - **Date:** 2018 ## 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 point[2]. ## 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 rate[2]. 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 comedy[2]. 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 comments[2]. 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% approval[2]. 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 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 2018[2]. - 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 subreddit[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Star Wars Prequel Eels? Star Wars Prequel Eels is a series of text blackout memes and altered dialogue jokes from r/PrequelMemes that replaced words in Star Wars prequel quotes with "eel" or "eels" for absurdist humor[2]. ### Where did Star Wars Prequel Eels come from? It started on April 16, 2018, when Redditor u/WhatsTomatoWithU posted a *Revenge of the Sith* screenshot with text blacked out to read "Oh, I have a bad eel" on r/PrequelMemes[2]. ### What does Star Wars Prequel Eels mean? It doesn't mean anything specific. The humor comes from the complete randomness of inserting eel references into dramatic Star Wars dialogue[2]. ### How do you use Star Wars Prequel Eels? Take a Star Wars prequel screenshot with visible text, black out words until the remaining letters spell something about eels, and add a setup caption[2]. ### Is Star Wars Prequel Eels still popular? No. The trend burned through its lifecycle in about three days in April 2018 and is no longer actively produced[2]. ### Who started the eel meme on r/PrequelMemes? Redditor u/WhatsTomatoWithU created the first known Prequel Eels post on April 16, 2018[2]. ### How many upvotes did the original Prequel Eels post get? The original post received over 43,000 upvotes with an 86% approval rate and 200 comments within two days[2]. ## References 1. [The Little Mermaid (2023 film)]() 2. [Star Wars Prequel Eels - Know Your Meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/star-wars-prequel-eels Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library