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'May the 4th be with you:' Fans celebrate 'Star Wars' Day

Silke Wünsch sh
May 4, 2017

In the original 1977 "Star Wars" film, Jedi leader Obi-Wan Kenobi utters the famous sentence: "May the force be with you." Thanks to this play on words, May 4 has been celebrated as Star Wars Day for over 20 years.

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Star Wars' Obi Wan Kenobi
Image: picture alliance/Mary Evans Picture Library

May 4 was first celebrated by "Star Wars" fans in 1995. After all, one can easily take the film's most famous line ("May the force be with you") and turn it into a clever play on words using the date.

However, May 4 is not the only Star Wars Day - May 25 also celebrates the series. This date marks the first time the trilogy was screened in cinemas and was designated by the City Countil of Los Angeles, where the film premiered.

Does having more than one date to celebrate bother fans? It doesn't seem so, as there are plenty of opportunities throughout the entire year to pay homage to the films, from "Star Wars" conventions to fairs or even "Star Wars"-themed religious services.

A Star Wars-themed religious service in Berlin's Zionskirche
A Star Wars-themed religious service in Berlin's ZionskircheImage: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Carstensen

A new film in December

The trailer for the upcoming film "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Last Jedi" was just released. Now fans are wondering how the series will continue. Unsurprisingly, the internet is full of speculation and interpretations.

Many assume the character Rey, whose origins remain a mystery, is the direct descendent of a Jedi. After all, she already felt the "force" in the previous film, which was aptly titled "The Force Awakens." In the next part of the saga, Luke Skywalker trains Rey and leaves her his lightsaber.

Meanwhile, a group of villains gather around overlord Kylo Ren, commander of the evil "First Order." The group aims to destroy the Rebel Alliance, which includes Rey, Luke and Leia. Leia is played by the late Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016. She still appears in the role of the resistance leader in the upcoming film.

"The Last Jedi" is the second part of the third trilogy - a story that seemingly does not want to end. Perhaps there is just too much money yet to be made after 40 years. The leaps in time in the stories create plenty of possibilities for spin-offs and more trilogies, as well as merchandising.