When it comes to debating Star Wars, the prevailing thought is that all opinions are equal. Where that changes ever so slightly is if you’re 7 foot 4 inches tall and were just drafted number one overall in the NBA.
Victor Wembanyama is a 19-year-old French basketball phenom who the San Antonio Spurs chose as the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft back in June. Sports experts think he could be a generational talent along the lines of Michael Jordan and LeBron James both because he’s really, really good and also really, really tall.
His never-before-seen blend mix of height and skills instantly made Wembanyama a massive celebrity for both sports fans and non-fans alike. And for those non-sports fans, a podcast interview this summer revealed that not only is Wembanyama a massive Star Wars fan, his ranking of his favorite movie is something you have to hear to believe. Here’s the clip, which starts at 57:18 of the Old Man and the Three podcast.
Yes, you heard that right. One: Revenge of the Sith. Two: Attack of the Clones. Three: The Empire Strikes Back. Then, almost most importantly, he doesn’t even want to acknowledge the new movies.
There is so, so much to unpack here. The first thing is that Wembanyama, as he reminds us, was born in 2004, before Revenge of the Sith was even released. So it makes perfect sense that Sith is the one he may have seen first and therefore became his favorite. From there, which movie leads right into his favorite? Attack of the Clones. And then what’s the most universally beloved one? The Empire Strikes Back. So that wild, totally bonkers ranking, at least makes some degree of sense. Some.
The super hot take here though is that the 19-year-old doesn’t even want to count the Sequel Trilogy of The Force Awakens. The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. Those movies, released when Wembanyama was 11, 13, and 15 respectively, should have been right in his wheelhouse—the target audience if ever there was one. But he hates them. Is this just a new case of prequel syndrome where the movies he was presumably excited about failed to live up to expectations and are now reviled? Will he, or will perhaps one day his kids, watch those movies later in life and adopt them as their prequels, reevaluating the critics’ consensus? Time will tell.
And yes, we fully acknowledge this clip is four months old, but it just made its way into our Twitter feed—right as the NBA season is starting—and we hadn’t seen it before, so maybe that goes for you too.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
