The Star Wars franchise is one of the biggest properties in modern pop culture. George Lucas’ timeless sci-fi classic Star Wars (1977) laid the groundwork for generations of filmmakers and fans alike, creating an entire secondary industry out of action figures and spin-offs. For almost 50 years, audiences of all ages have fallen in love with the galaxy of potential established by Lucas, and that has been expanded in all sorts of ways.
Many Star Wars stars have spoken about their love for the original movies, explaining their excitement at getting to drive the series forward in their own right. In some cases, some of the biggest stars to appear in Star Wars might have even slipped right by viewers. These cameos speak to the popularity of the franchise in the eyes of fans, many of whom have gone on to make their own beloved movies and TV shows. With even someone like Tom Cruise set to factor into one of the upcoming Star Wars movies currently in production, let’s look back at some of the biggest cameos in the series and where they appear. Boot up Disney+ to watch them now.
Sofia Coppola - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
The first of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, introduces a lot of characters and concepts to the galaxy, with plenty of room for sly cameos and minor roles. While the film still remains contested among fans over 25 years since it debuted, great individual scenes and sequences elevate its shaggier throughline.
Natalie Portman’s Padme is one of the more intriguing elements of the film, as a young leader whose handmaidens help disguise her from would-be attackers. Among the handmaidens are then-up-and-coming talent like Keira Knightley, as well as established talent like Sofia Coppola. At this point in her career, Coppola had already appeared in The Godfather: Part III (1990), making her appearance here a fun minor turn for the future director of Lost in Translation (2003) and Marie Antoinette (2006)
Simon Pegg - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
A self-avowed Star Wars fan who made sure to slip references to the franchise in his earlier shows like Spaced (1999), Simon Pegg’s brief turn in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is a goofy chance for the actor to play a memorable alien.
Pegg’s character is a largely digital construct, serving as a broker on Rey’s world who buys much of the scrap she discovers. It’s far from the only time that lifelong-nerd Pegg has gotten to play in a sci-fi setting, as he also appeared in Doctor Who (2005) and Star Trek (2009). While his turn in Star Wars is the briefest of the three, it does a good job of contrasting against Rey and leaning into the likable qualities that largely make this legacy sequel as fun as it is.
Daniel Craig - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
While Pegg has a more dialogue-heavy cameo than Daniel Craig, the Casino Royale (2006) star also has a pretty fun minor appearance in The Force Awakens. Craig doesn’t reveal his face at all, instead playing one of the Stormtroopers on the Starkiller Base that is assigned to watch over a captured Rey.
Craig’s unnamed Stormtrooper ends up on the receiving end of Rey’s first attempt at a Jedi mind trick, repeating her comments and giving Rey the chance to escape. It’s one of the sillier moments in the movie that nevertheless feels like a perfect cameo opportunity, all while giving Craig a good chance to play with the comedic tone that he’s increasingly been able to hone in films like Logan Lucky (2017) and Knives Out (2019).
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Speaking of Knives Out, Rian Johnson’s mystery series debuted after the director’s stint in the Star Wars franchise with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. More narratively ambitious and quietly subversive than almost any other entry in the franchise, The Last Jedi takes some big tonal swings but manages to ground it all with a solid bit of clever direction and compelling character arcs.
One example of that sense of charm at the heart of the film can be found in Johnson’s use of long-time collaborator Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a minor cameo role as Slowen Lo. Similar to Pegg’s appearance in the previous movie, the cameo is largely voice-only but continues a long streak of the actor appearing in Rian Johnson’s works, going all the way back to Johnson’s debut film, Brick (2006).
John Williams - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The most recent cinematic entry in the series, at least until Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) hits theaters, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker features one of the most sneaky cameos in the franchise. While the film is a tonal mess that can’t quite stick the landing, there’s a certain amount of craft at its core that makes it worth watching for fans of the series. Plus, you’ll also want to be on the lookout for John Williams, whose score for the original Star Wars film has become one of the most iconic pieces of movie music of all time.
Williams actually got to appear in The Rise of Skywalker, though, briefly showing up as the bartender Oma Tres. While it’s far from the best entry in the series, The Rise of Skywalker at least brought Williams onto screen instead of keeping him behind the scenes as usual. So, for that, it’s appreciated.
Jason Sudeikis - The Mandalorian (2019-2023)
Part of The Mandalorian’s appeal is the way the episodic nature of the show allows for new characters and actors to appear. While some notable guests like Bill Burr and Taika Waititi had more important recurring roles in the series, others like Jason Sudeikis only got one memorable sequence in the show.
Sudeikis appears as one of the Stormtroopers who briefly capture Grogu and even proceeds to punch the Baby Yoda. It’s darkly hilarious, but it makes it a lot more thematically acceptable when the Stormtrooper gets blasted during a rescue attempt to save the adorable alien. It’s a fitting beat for a show that takes the approach that made Firefly (2002) so good and fuses it with the scope and lore of the wider Star Wars universe.
Jack Black & Lizzo - The Mandalorian (2019-2023)
The second season of The Mandalorian also features some pretty fun cameos, although the best may be the pairing of Jack Black and Lizzo as a wealthy couple who encounter Grogu and his Mandalorian protector. They each play up their comedic sides for the part, bouncing off each other as a pair of out-of-touch, wealthy socialites in contrast to the more gritty and grounded lead character.
It’s one of the biggest cameo scenes in the franchise’s history, with Jack Black and Lizzo’s characters feeling important even when the brunt of the scene is about their wacky personalities and performances. While the episode might not be a favorite for every Star Wars fan, it has enough of the comic charm that Black and Lizzo have brought to films like A Minecraft Movie (2025) and Barbie (2023), respectively.
Tom Cruise - Star Wars: Starfighter (2027)
One of the biggest Star Wars cameos ever won’t happen until Star Wars: Starfighter hits theaters, but it’s set to bring one of Hollywood’s biggest stars to a galaxy far, far away. There isn’t much known about the upcoming Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars film beyond the title and Gosling’s presence, save for Wolverine & Deadpool (2024) director Shawn Levy being behind the project.
However, it has been confirmed that Tom Cruise will make some sort of appearance in the film. Given the title of the movie, it would be befitting to see Cruise briefly appear as a sci-fi take on his pilot character Maverick from Top Gun (1986) and more recently Top Gun: Maverick (2022), speaking to the likely shared tonal inspirations behind both films.
