Saturday Night Live has been an entertainment institution since the ‘70s and has helped jumpstart the careers of some of the biggest names in comedies, from Steve Martin to Adam Sandler to Kristen Wiig. Along the way, though, the weekend giant has also given way to several films inspired by sketches and characters that have razzled and dazzled from Rockefeller Plaza's studio 8H, including The Ladies Man, Wayne's World, and Superstar — just to name a few. However, almost two dozen others could have also been given the big screen treatment. So, let’s get into what other SNL sketches could have and should have been movies.
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Gilly
NBC
Imagine it: Kristen Wiig’s Gilly just living her best life in a movie as foolish as the character.
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Stefon
NBC
Bill Hader created a pop culture mainstay when he debuted Stefon on "Weekend Update," a character that would always spill the tea about the latest what’s what when it came to New York City nightlife. A movie, though? It would be hilarious to actually get to see Stefon out and about in the Big Apple, seeing all the wild stuff he always reports back.
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"Whiskers R We"
NBC
SNL would have been smart to capitalize on the popularity of cats like Grumpy Cat back in the day with a movie that paired the viral sensation with their "Whiskers R We" sketch. They snoozed and lost out because Grumpy Cat went and did their own thing without them.
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Matt Foley
NBC
When it comes to SNL, there are very few cast members that everyone can agree belongs in some sort of Hall of Fame. Chris Farley is one of them, and that’s due to countless memorable moments and characters, but Matt Foley living in a van down by the river is a movie the world most definitely missed out on. Perhaps it could’ve been transformed into an A24-style drama where fans get the sorrowful backstory that led him to that riverbank.
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Debbie Downer
youtube.com/@SaturdayNightLive
Debbie Downer in a world of influencers and social media. Who wants to write this script?
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"Hanz & Franz"
NBC
Fun fact: There was actually a script written for this sketch with Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it never panned out. The former California governor actually talked about it on an episode of Conan O’Brien’s podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.
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Church Lady
NBC
If Dana Carvey’s Church Lady can’t have a movie, then perhaps it’s time to get that character a guest spot on HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones.
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David S. Pumpkins
NBC
Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown have had a tight grip on the family-friendly Halloween market for too long. It’s time for Tom Hanks’ iconic David S. Pumpkins to get in the mix with a full-length feature.
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Drunk Uncle
NBC
Bobby Moynihan took one of the most annoying aspects of family and spun it into gold. What could a movie starring Drunk Uncle even have been about? Not sure, but it would've definitely had to be something that revolved around the holidays. Perhaps Moynihan could have delivered the go-to Thanksgiving film.
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Spartans Cheerleaders
NBC
The least that could've happened was to have them appear in Bring It On back in the day.
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"Coffee Talk"
NBC
Mike Myers didn’t need more on his plate back in the day with Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, and then the Shrek series. However, a little one-off movie starring Linda Richman would not have hurt anyone.
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"Goth Talk"
NBC
If there was a time machine, we’d use it to go back in time to the days of Hot Topic and emo music to bring "Goth Talk" to theaters.
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"Wake Up Wakefield"
NBC
Hulu’s Pen15 sort of took a page from "Wake Up Wakefield" in that both featured obvious adults trying their best to play middle schoolers, so audiences know it works — to a degree. It’s a shame that Maya Rudolph and Jimmy Fallon never got to take their tween scenes to the big screen.
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He-Man
NBC
Chris Pratt has been a Guardian of the Galaxy, as well as Super Mario, but if he’s looking for another huge role in pop culture, he didn’t do too bad as He-Man when he hosted SNL.
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Roseanne Roseannadanna
NBC
One can never have enough of Gilda Radner in their life.
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"Hamsters"
NBC
Movies deserve to be a little silly, and "Hamsters" would be the best gateway to getting those types of movies back in theaters.
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"The Californians"
youtube.com/@SaturdayNightLive
Take the people from this skit and place them in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out universe.
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Boston Teens
youtube.com/@SaturdayNightLive
Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch were a dream team as Boston’s favorite couple, but a move about their last week during their senior year would’ve been epic.
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Target Lady
youtube.com/@SaturdayNightLive
Target Lady, oh Target Lady, let’s learn about how she managed to find her way to a gig in retail with a feature film.
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Super Fans
NBC
Because there aren’t enough sports-based movies out there already.
Kendra Beltran went to college with no game plan and found herself falling back on her love of writing soon after graduating all the way back in 2009. Since then, she's written for MTV Geek, Cosplay Central, Collider, Apartment Therapy, and many other sites that allowed her to showcase her love of all things pop culture. When she isn't writing, Kendra is either hosting her show, Crushgasm, baking all the cookies, or spoiling her fur baby, Mason.