The sarlacc, basically a huge, carnivorous pit in the desert with a spiky mouth and a beaked tongue, is one of the more memorable and pivotal characters in 1983’s Star Wars: Episode VI—Return Of The Jedi, and yet it has not inspired a great deal of merchandise or cosplay thus far. There’s not even a Funko bobblehead of the thing yet, and they’ve done bobbleheads of some really obscure, fleeting characters. When Family Guy did its Jedi parody back in 2011, the sarlacc was played by Meg. That’s how unglamorous this role is. What’s the problem here? Maybe what the sarlacc needs is a little more personality and pizzazz. A new mashup from the music and movie parody channel David Unger Music solves that problem neatly. In “Singing Sarlacc Pit,” the role is performed admirably by Audrey II, the all-singing, all-killing plant from Frank Oz’ 1986 musical comedy Little Shop Of Horrors. That means the character’s voice is provided by the late, great Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops. Stubbs is heard here crooning two of his signature numbers from the film: “Feed Me (Git It)” and “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space.”
The scene here progresses pretty much as it did in the original 1983 cut of Jedi. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and their Rebel Alliance cronies have been captured by gangster Jabba The Hutt and are about to be fed to the sarlacc, where they will supposedly be digested over the course of a thousand years. Only this time, the sarlacc has to sing for his supper, Motown style. George Lucas was obviously willing to make sweeping alterations to his Star Wars films, including adding musical numbers, so this isn’t out of the question. The changes are worth it for moments like this:
Incidentally, one of the seemingly random moments in this video has badass bounty hunter Boba Fett blurting out “May the force be with me!” in the voice of an exuberant child. That’s actually actor Daniel Logan, who played Fett as a boy in Attack Of The Clones. The soundbite in question comes from this behind-the-scenes featurette.