Happy Star Wars Day! This is the 15th year of celebrating this global yet federally unrecognized holiday for the iconic Star Wars franchise. 

Starting little by little, all with a simple pun in 1979 when a UK prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was elected, The London Evening Standard wrote on May 4th, “May the fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations,” as a play on the iconic Star Wars phrase “May the force be with you.”  In the 2000’s, fans began to coin the phrase as social media expanded. 

In 2011, the first-ever major Star Wars celebration was held on May 4th. In Toronto Underground Cinema, Ontario, Canada, a small theater from 2010-2012, hosted a Star Wars marathon, costume challenge, & trivia. It was the first fan-organized Star Wars event to gain major attention. 

Shortly after Disney acquired Star Wars from its creator, George Lucas, in 2012, they formally recognized Star Wars Day on May 4th, 2013, by hosting fun celebratory events at Disneyland and creating millions of Star Wars Day merchandise items. 

Every year, full-day movie marathons are held in theaters in major cities around the world, as well as on various cable networks. 

Why is Star Wars Day so special?

Since 1977, Star Wars has changed the face of Science-Fiction film and impacted many generations, and it still does today. It set the benchmark for Space Opera film, defeating it’s predecessor DUNE. It’s amazing soundtrack composed by the legendary John Williams, it’s eye-stunning photography directed by Gilbert Taylor, and its iconic story created by George Lucas. 

A story from long ago, about the fall of a democracy and a rebellion uniting to defeat a tyrannical empire and bringing freedom to a galaxy far away. A story resembling the past world of empires and wars & maybe even the future, some would say. Star Wars has always been relevant and deep in meaning, meanings that mold with time as it goes on. 

Star Wars Day, being a globally celebrated shows how powerful a community is and what it can lead to. Something started in a small theater by some fans, leading to unity through a fanbase to celebrate what they love, despite how bad the current state of the franchise may be in some people’s opinion.

Latest in Star Wars:

“Maul: Shadow Lord” Review. 

On April 6th, the latest Star Wars content released was the new, highly acclaimed animated series Maul: Shadow Lord. Reprising Darth Maul, a character who’s first appearance in 1999 in the prequel debut Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. He went from a silent and mysterious figure with only one line in the film and getting killed (so people thought) at the end, to a much more centralized and important character in season four (2012) of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020). He appeared again in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and the animated series Star Wars: Rebels (2014-2018), which was his final appearance and death. 

The new series takes place between Solo and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005), the final film in the prequel trilogy. It navigates Darth Maul’s journey from a fallen tyrant to rising back up as a crime lord syndicalist. 

The show brings back characters who had little attention in previous shows and a revamped animation style, as well as amazingly choreographed action scenes. The series instantly took a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes just after the first two episodes made their debut, and it has stayed at a steady rating since then, as well as an 8.6/10 on IMDb.

That’s not all, though. The Mandalorian & Grogu debut this month on Nov. 22, continuing after season 3 of The Mandalorian (2019-2023). Fans are skeptical whether the film will be worth its production, while some are simply excited since it’s the first Star Wars film in six years. 

Happy Star Wars Day to everyone, watch the marathon, play a game, or just appreciate its impact on pop culture in general!