May the 4th might just be another day for the people of Earth, but for fans of the galaxies far, far away, the day is a celebration of the Force.

“May the 4th be with you” is a play on words reminiscent of the famous phrase, “May the Force be with you.”  The day is usually followed by a celebration of the dark side, which is called the “revenge of the fifth” as a throwback to the second Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith.

Fans of the Star Wars franchise use the days to celebrate George Lucas’s renowned space odyssey, and participate in fan activities such as cosplay events and movie marathons.  Star Wars celebrations are held around the world, from America to Japan, while some fans take it even further.  LudoSport, a group based in Italy, has introduced lightsaber combat as a legitimate sport and martial art, while various enthusiasts in the US take similar or more choreographed approach to the art of lightsaber combat.

In April, the Star Wars Anaheim Convention was held, and news of the upcoming movie was released.  JJ Abrams will be directing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which will come to theaters on December 18th of this year.  Excitement over the new movie stemmed from the revealed return of the original trilogy’s cast, as well as new aspects such as the Chrome Stormtrooper (to be played by Game of Thrones actress, Gwendoline Christie).

“It’ll be awesome to see all of the famous characters back again, like Grandpa Solo,” said Chris Ludwig (10).  “It’s like getting a piece of cake after you thought it was all gone.”

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“I’m super excited,” said Ashley Jimenez (11).  “I used to watch my old VHS collection of the original trilogy over and over, so having a new movie with Disney and JJ Abrams is like a dream come true.”

The Star Wars franchise has seen many cartoon expansions over the years, from the original 2-D animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2003-2005) to the recent Star Wars Rebels (2015).  However, the return to theaters is enough to get some long-time fans eager for December’s release.

“I’m so glad to see Star Wars come back out on the big screen,” said Matthew Silva (11).  “I’m super excited for the new Star Wars.  I love the idea of a new cast and having the original cast come back.”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be the first of three new movies that are to canonically expand on the original George Lucas film series.  A spin-off anthology series has also been announced, the first of which is tentatively set for release in 2016.