Holy Sith, you guys, Star Wars Day is upon us again.
While the Star Wars Celebration convention last month was the destination for die-hard fans who could make it to Orlando — though fortunately everyone got to see that new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer — "May the 4th" is a day for all lovers of Jedi, the Resistance, the Skywalkers, the Hutts, Boba Fett, Gamorrean guards, Maz Kanata, General Grievous, Rancor Keeper and Snap Wexley to unite and celebrate all there is in the galaxy far, far way. (Why May 4, you ask? Why, it's right there in the date, a play on "May the Force be with you.")
The franchise has remained beloved to generations of fans since George Lucas' original 1977 Star Wars, which means 40 years of various ways to get your "May the 4th" on. Here are some of our favorites:
Watch the movies. Or, more likely, watch them again.
If you can believe it, there are some people who've never seen Star Wars. So now's the time to get busy and watch all eight movies. For the rest of you nerds, revisit them any way you want. They're on digital platforms now. Blu-rays and DVDs, too. Chances are, some of you still have old VHS cassettes. To go really old school, dust off the laser discs.
And we do suggest you watch the original 1983 edition of Return of the Jedi, rather than the later special edition that took out the Ewoks' celebration song and inserted Hayden Christensen (aka prequel Anakin "Darth Vader" Skywalker) into the Dead Jedi Club at the end.
"Yub nub." Never forget.
Binge out on various Star Wars animation.
Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had blue milk on their breakfast table back on Tatooine, and you can enjoy it as well with these recipes. StarWars.com has a whole section of food-related fun for those who want to party hearty, from Yoda's root leaf stew to Kanjiklub sandwiches.
Don't sleep on the cartoons that have been busy expanding the Star Wars universe over the years. Six seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars are on Netflix that showcase a pre-Vader Anakin and other Jedi during the prequel era, while the more recent entry Star Wars Rebels focuses on the Rebel Alliance just prior to the events of the first Star Wars film. A fourth and final season begins this fall, but catch up on the previous three on iTunes, Amazon or Youtube.
Let the blue milk flow.
Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had blue milk on their breakfast table back on Tatooine, and you can enjoy it as well with these recipes. StarWars.com has a whole section of food-related fun for those who want to party hearty, from Yoda's root leaf stew to Kanjiklub sandwiches.
Read the further adventures of Han, Luke and Leia.
If the new Star Wars trilogy hasn't been exciting enough, the recent launch of various comic books — most of them pretty rad — have fleshed out stories not seen in the movies. The flagship Star Wars title catches up with our heroes between the original movie and The Empire Strikes Back, while the Poe Dameron series tells the story of Oscar Isaac's X-wing pilot before The Force Awakens. And for those who prefer prose, Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy is an excellent look at the days right after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi.
Buy something fun and extremely nerdy.
Lots of places discount their Star Wars merch on May 4, and StarWars.com has a roundup of all the coolest stuff, from Millennium Falcon pool floats to R2-D2 Build-A-Bears. If you've got time on your hands (and a lot of shelf space in your house), Lego is debuting its very large collectors' series Snowspeeder. Or get yourself a neato Poe Dameron Black Squadron helmet as part of Anovos' big sale.
Mark your calendars for Sept. 1.
That's the day when all the new action figures, Lego sets and other toys arrive for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Places will have their stuff on sale at 12:01 a.m., and the faithful will be chasing after the goods like Poe and BB-8 during a First Order attack.
Count us in for a new Rey with a lightsaber, plus one Old Man Luke.
