The 'Shards of the Past' controversy centers on the high-quality Star Wars fan film produced by YouTuber Star Wars Theory. Despite Lucasfilm's historically lenient stance on non-profit fan projects, the film's music was hit with a copyright claim by Warner Chappell on behalf of Disney shortly after release, sparking massive backlash from the Star Wars community. Memes surrounding this event often highlight the discrepancy between the passion of fans and the perceived corporate greed of rights holders, or simply use the film’s cinematic shots of Darth Vader to critique the quality of official sequel content. It has become a symbol of the ongoing tension between independent creators and major franchises.