Star Wars References in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Explained

Pop culture references abound in the cult TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” but the franchise that gets the most references is “Star Wars.” Sure, the heroes call themselves the Scooby Gang in reference to the old “Scooby Doo” cartoons, but you’re more likely to hear a character cite Yoda than Velma or Shaggy. The vast majority of references come from either Xander (Nicholas Brendon) — who was clearly a self-insert of sorts for show creator Joss Whedon — or the Trio, a triple threat of turbo-nerds who challenge the Scooby Gang in their efforts to become real-life supervillains. However, there’s always a plot “Star Wars” Easter eggs for a series about a high school student who fights the undead.

In an interview with “Star Wars Insider,” the show’s writers all revealed the reasons behind the many “Star Wars” bits scattered throughout “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and it all comes down to the fact that while they’ve become great TV writers, they haven’t lost their geeky fandom tendencies.

Writer Drew Greenburg was the most candid when speaking to “Star Wars Insider” about the plethora of “Star Wars” references in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” saying:

“…we’re just a bunch of geeks and we love Star Wars. It’s the most powerful feeling in the world to be able to say, ‘You know what? I love Star Wars and now you’re all going to have to listen to my Star Wars references.'”

While it’s not as impressive as Patton Oswalt’s legendary buccaneer on “Parks and Recreation,” the idea of ​​putting the things you love into the show you’re writing is pretty understandable. Greenburg is more intentional than fellow writers David Fury and Drew Goddard, who have both said that the lines come naturally when writing certain characters, like the Trio or Xander. Writer-director Doug Petrie has joked that they’re all “just a bunch of rabid geeks,” which begs the question: Who better to write rabid geeks than a bunch of rabid geeks?

When it came to “Star Wars,” sometimes all the group needed was to listen to what was going on around the office for inspiration. Fury jokes that whenever he needed something to say to the trio, he would step outside his office and “listen to what Doug and Drew were arguing about.” All that passion helped bring the trio and Xander to life and make them feel like real people and not just two-dimensional TV characters.

Unfortunately, “Star Wars” fans aren’t represented in a particularly positive light in “Buffy,” as the trio are all goofy villains who desperately want to be bad, and Xander is pretty hard to like, as Brendon has had some trouble with the law, including domestic violence charges, and Whedon has his own problematic history. The “Star Wars” fandom as a whole is extremely diverse, with a lot of different people from different backgrounds, but there is a small contingent that is pretty well represented by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” geeks. Thankfully, they’re only a small contingent, but they’re definitely loud. Liking “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its “Star Wars” Easter eggs may be a little trickier these days, but there’s still a lot to love.