At the time, Lucasfilm allowed the adult animated series Family Guy to fully parody Star Wars, with the only condition being that character designs must faithfully replicate those from the films. Previous works such as Spaceballs, Community, Robot Chicken, The Simpsons, and Phineas and Ferb had parodied the franchise in various ways, but having Family Guy produce a full episode adaptation was quite rare at the time.
Titled "Blue Harvest," this episode aired on September 23, 2007, as the premiere of Family Guy's sixth season. The title was taken from the working name used during the filming of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, and the plot closely followed Star Wars: A New Hope, incorporating Family Guy-style humor into the movie's story and scenes.
Seth MacFarlane revealed that the team also discussed parodying Indiana Jones and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but believed it would be difficult to obtain permission from Paramount. Since many crew members were Star Wars fans, they subsequently contacted Lucasfilm and accepted the requirement that character designs must match those in the films.
The animation still featured Family Guy characters playing the movie roles: Peter and Lois corresponded to Han Solo and Leia, Brian played Chewbacca, and Stewie transformed into Darth Vader. To accommodate Stewie's unique head shape, Vader's helmet was resized, but the rest of the design details remained faithful to the film. George Lucas later watched the episode with his son at his ranch alongside the production team and expressed his enjoyment of the final product.
The "Blue Harvest" broadcast attracted over 10 million viewers, leading to two sequels. Released during the holiday seasons of 2009 and 2010, "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" and "It's a Trap!" parodied Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, respectively. They later aired on television and were jointly included in "Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy."
More than a decade later, Family Guy returned to the Star Wars theme in 2026. In May, the two sides released a crossover short featuring The Mandalorian and Grogu to promote the film, focusing on Stewie meeting Grogu and attempting to learn how to use the Force. It is currently available to watch on Hulu.