‘May the 4th be with you” was the phrase of the night at the ‘Star Wars Night’ event at the Chestermere Public Library on, yep you guessed it, May 4th. ‘Star Wars’ has been a blockbuster franchise in our society. Spanning four decades, the ‘Star Wars’ phenomena has included everything from movies, merchandise, toys, video games… you name it, you can likely find it with ‘Star Wars’ branding on it.
‘Star Wars’ is an American epic space opera franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. It depicts the adventures of various characters “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away”. The film series began on May 25, 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars (subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981) by 20th Century Fox, which kicked off the worldwide pop culture phenomenon. It was followed by the equally successful sequels – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy.
A prequel trilogy was later released between 1999 and 2005, which received a more mixed reaction from critics and fans in comparison to the original trilogy. All six films were nominated for or won Academy Awards, and were commercial successes, with a combined box office revenue of $4.38 billion, making Star Wars the fourth highest-grossing film series.
Star Wars also holds a Guinness World Records title for the “Most successful film merchandising franchise.” In 2012, the total value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at USD $30.7 billion, including box-office receipts as well as profits from their video games and DVD sales.
In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion and announced three new Star Wars films; the first film of that trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was released on December 18, 2015. 20th Century Fox retains the physical distribution rights to the first two Star Wars trilogies, owning permanent rights for the original 1977 film and holding the rights to Episodes I–III, V and VI until May 2020.
In a galaxy a little closer, May 4th had the Chestermere Public Library celebrating by watching the most recent of the ‘Star Wars’ movies, activities, crafts and even a visit from two Storm Troopers (compliments of www.501st.com/index.php). All attendees were entered to win a special Star Wars door prize and anyone who came dressed up was entered into an additional prize draw.
So, whether you are on the light side, or if you prefer the dark side – may the force be with you!
