Darth Vader Endorses Exxon In Bizarre Video From Don’t Look Up Director
Darth Vader stars in a new video by Adam McKay, the director of Don't Look Up, that mocks Exxon for concealing information on climate change for over 50 years.
In case you didn’t notice the obvious parallels, the disaster comedy Don’t Look Up was a movie about climate change. Specifically, it was about how climate change is an incoming disaster that could have devastating effects on society, and yet it seems like much of the world is choosing to ignore the issue. Now, director Adam McKay has created a similarly heavy-handed piece of work, a 2-minute YouTube video in which Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader endorses ExxonMobil for some treachery that they performed, specifically involving a BBC article on their knowledge of how their fuels would affect the climate.
“Recently, I have become aware of deeds so treacherous that I became envious,” Darth Vader says at the beginning of the video.
Darth Vader then goes on to describe a story that came out in January about studies that ExxonMobile scientists did regarding the effects carbon dioxide emissions would have on the temperature of the globe. From 1977 until 2003, these scientists determined that temperatures would rise to the point of causing “dramatic environmental effects” before 2050. However, the company continued selling its oil without warning about the potential hazards its continued use would have for the earth.
“I have murdered dozens of Jedi Toddlers with my own hands, but Exxon, that is some ‘unlock the secret bonus level cheat code evil sh*t you pulled,” Darth Vader said. “Mad respect.”
Then, Darth Vader went on to describe what he called the “Moldy cherry on top” — the fact that Exxon went out of its way to claim that public climate projections were “bad science,” despite their internal studies showing much the same results.
“Exxon’s current CEO Darren Woods is doing exactly what I would do,” Darth Vader said. “Cashing checks and murdering life 24/7.”
The video featuring Darth Vader is part of a promotion for the website exxonknew.org (though it mistakenly writes exxonknew.com at the end of the video). The site gives a brief overview of the above-mentioned story, describing how Harvard researchers determined that Exxon’s internal reports accurately predict how the climate would react to continued carbon dioxide emissions. It also shows how multiple cities and states are suing the company for covering up their knowledge about oil’s effect on climate change.
In addition to repeating the message in the Darth Vader video, the site also states that oil companies are profiteering from the war in Ukraine by driving up gas prices. It calls for creating a “Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax,” which they say will be used to help those who cannot afford the high prices. The site also includes an embedded online petition that calls on the Department of Justice to investigate oil companies.
It doesn’t appear that ExxonKnew.org has any affiliation with any actual Star Wars properties, meaning there’s a chance Disney could force the site to take down the promotion. Whether they decide to take any action regarding the video still remains to be seen.
