Matt the Radar Technician Has Become Star Wars Canon!
Since Disney’s soft-reboot of Star Wars back in 2014, we have been introduced to all-new canon, with all previous content that comprised the Expanded Universe being rebranded “Legends.” So far most of the new stories have been pretty good but one thing that stood out was a Saturday Night Live skit titled Undercover Ren, a parody of the hit reality TV series Undercover Boss set in the Star Wars universe. After the jump we go undercover ourselves to reveal an exciting new revelation concerning Matt the Radar Technician and his future within the Star Wars universe.
During SNL’s Undercover Ren skit The Force Awakens‘ new villian, Kylo Ren, goes undercover to gain a better understanding of his employees at Starkiller Base. Ren aims to learn new ways to improve staff morale and see what work life is life for your average First Order rank and file. So, in typical Undercover Boss fashion, Ren conceals his identity by wearing a disguise that no one in a million light years would ever confuse for the leader of the Knights of Ren. The hilarious getup consisted of a blonde wig, fake oversized glasses, Union-approved workman fatigues, and a day-glo neon utility vest.
Thus Matt was born – a new radar technician trainee aboard the enormous base. Between being yelled at for not knowing how to remove a calcinator, showing off “his boss’s” lightsaber, getting a card for a lieutenant’s son that he killed, and being called a “punk b***h,” the skit is filled with to the gills with laughs.
Like most things, however, after the SNL laughs were had, things got way more interesting for Matt the Radar Technician. Our chief social media analyst here at FakingStarWars.net spotted a tweet from a high ranking member of the Lucasfilm Story Group stating that this skit is 100% canon. That’s right, Kylo Ren’s stint as Matt the Radar Technician is canon within the Star Wars universe.
#UndercoverRen is #canon. It happened 2 weeks prior to #TheForceAwakens.
— Hablo Pidalgo (@HabloPidalgo) January 18, 2016
We reached out to Lucasfilm Story Group lead Hablo Pidalgo to clarify his statement and were informed via Basic Spanglish that since the SNL skit aired, it has gotten rave reviews and birthed an organic movement throughout fandom that will seemingly stop at nothing until Matt is everywhere. (Hablo’s Spanglish is better than that. We paraphrased.) Fans have created custom action figures, posted terabytes of fan art and videos online — even gotten tattoos of Kylo Ren in disguise. As a result, Disney embraced the groundswell and added Undercover Ren to the current Star Wars canon.
But wait… there’s more… of Matt… on the way.
Disney has reached out to the celebrated YouTube comedy duo of Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, better known as Smosh, to create a YouTube Red-exclusive mini-series following the future exploits of our favorite Undercover Boss. In a bit of ingenious casting, Jon Heder of Napoleon Dynamite fame will don the dork frames once again, only this time as Matt the Radar Technician. The series will revolve entirely around the lovable undercover Ren, and we’ll never see him as Kylo Ren. Sorry, goths.
Everyone here at FakingStarWars is super excited by this fantastic bit of news. To that end, I will be adding a “Mattoo” of Matt the Radar Technician’s likeness to my lower back in celebration. But that stays undercover too, unless you’re lucky 😉
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments and at our new message boards.
-Falcone Audi 1000.
