Fans of the Star Wars franchise are likely celebrating today, May 4, unofficially known as "Star Wars Day." The Walt Disney Company DIS typically marks the occasion with new consumer products and content for fans of the franchise it acquired in 2012.
History of Star Wars Day: Since its launch in 1977, the Star Wars franchise has been one of the highest-grossing and most popular film and television brands. The Lucasfilm franchise, which was founded by George Lucas, was later acquired by Disney.
One of the most famous phrases in the Star Wars franchise is “may the force be with you,” which has led to the transformation of May 4 into “May the fourth be with you.”
Now an unofficial holiday, May 4 is used by Disney and Lucasfilm to promote upcoming content and merchandise.
May is a busy month for Lucasfilm as it also commemorates the anniversaries of several Star Wars movie and series releases. May 25, the date that "A New Hope," "Return of the Jedi" and "Solo" were all released in theaters, is celebrated by some as “Geek Pride Day.” May 14 is also Lucas’ birthday.
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Star Wars Movies and Shows: Disney is releasing six new episodes of "Tales of the Empire" on Disney+ Saturday, continuing a tradition of new content on May 4.
Star Wars fans can also head to movie theaters for a re-release of the 1999 film "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The film is showing in select theaters.
Some theaters are also showing all nine Star Wars movies in the Skywalker saga in theaters today.
"The Acolyte," a new Star Wars show, will come to Disney+ on June 4. Other upcoming television content for Star Wars includes "Skeleton Crew," expected in 2024, a second season of "Andor" in 2025 and an undated second season of "Ahsoka."
Disney, however, has not released a new Star Wars movie on the big screen since the 2019 film “Star Wars Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.” It grossed $515.2 million domestically and $1.07 billion worldwide, ranking fourth in franchise history domestically and third among the sequel films.
In fact, after releasing Star Wars films every two years on average, Disney has not released a theatrical film in over four years.
The next Star Wars film on the calendar is "The Mandalorian & Grogu," set for a May 22, 2026 release date.
Several untitled movies, including one featuring Daisy Ridley as Rey, are poised to expand the Star Wars universe with more content in the future.
More Star Wars Day News and Deals: Star Wars returned to the popular game "Fortnite" with a crossover event on May 3 that includes new skins, content for "LEGO Fortnite" and more.
Toy company LEGO is one of the biggest promoters of Star Wars products during Star Wars Day. The company has deals from May 1 through May 5 and released its TIE Interceptor for the first time.
Retailers including Target, Walmart and Amazon also have dedicated pages for Star Wars Day deals.
The Disney Store will also have deals throughout the unofficial holiday.
Additionally, the official Star Wars deal page has new items from Funko, Hallmark and others to celebrate the holiday.
The Meta Quest virtual reality headset from Meta Platforms META also has several Star Wars games and is offering a 66% discount on “Star Wars Pinball VR” to celebrate the holiday, taking the price down to $8.49.
For this unofficial holiday, may the fourth be with you as you shop for deals and enjoy Star Wars content.
Image: Shutterstock
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