In honor of Star Wars day, fans will unite through a virtual convention on May 4 and 5.
As a result of global lockdowns and social distancing directives, several fan conventions have been forced to either reschedule or cancel. Arguably, this is a tough pill for devotees to swallow.
San Diego Comic-Con was recently canceled for the first time in its fifty-year history along with Anime Expo, one of the biggest anime conventions in the United States. Star Wars fans, on the other hand, refused to be stopped by the coronavirus pandemic.
Fans celebrate Star Wars Day through virtual convention
Since its inception in 2011, the fourth of May has practically become sacred to Star Wars fans, alongside Revenge of the Fifth set on May 5. Each year marks new ways of honoring one of the biggest film franchises of all time, with fans all over the world commemorating the day.
Due to the pandemic, Star Wars day this year would be celebrated through a virtual convention hosted by Reedpop. This is quiet different from how fans enjoyed the Star Wars day last year.
A virtual #StarWars convention to celebrate May the 4th (and Revenge of the 5th) has been officially announced! https://t.co/tZMgfPbgul
— Star Wars Direct (@StarWars_Direct) April 29, 2020
However, this does not mean that fans wouldn’t be able to fully relish the celebration. With the planned Star Wars convention, fans would still be able to spend as much time soaking up in seemingly endless supply of trivia, facts, and history about the Star Wars saga.
What will happen
A virtual two-day event will be held to commemorate the fourth and fifth of May, with numerous live happenings. There will be live-tweeted viewings of all three films in the original trilogy, as well as a live-tweet event of Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
In addition to that, there will be question and answer sessions and discussions with writers and voice actors associated with the franchise. Fans will also be able to take part in trivia quizzes and prize giveaways across the May 4-5 period.
BREAKING: A virtual Star Wars convention, hosted by ReedPop, will be taking place on May 4-5!
(@THR) pic.twitter.com/UsFZ9KCsJQ
— Star Wars Stuff (@starwarstuff) April 29, 2020
Events will take place across social media accounts associated with multiple ReedPop properties. This includes New York Comic Con, C2E2, BookCon, Emerald City Comic Con and Florida SuperCon, on both Twitter and Facebook.
All in all, it appears an excellent celebration is shaping up, regardless of the current global situation.
Short History of Star Wars Day
In 2011, fans begin to co-opt May 4 as a Star Wars celebration. Toronto Underground Cinema in Canada, honored the day with a costume competition, film festival and much more.
Other venues picked up on the idea, and it continued to gather momentum. The holiday got so popular that starting in 2012, the next day was jokingly called Revenge of the Fifth as a joke on the Star Wars movie entitled Revenge of the Sith.
Starting on May 4, 2013, Disney Parks have had official fan celebrations and it continued since then. Whether the date will continue to be fan driven, or corporate, only time will tell.
Image Courtesy of IGN/Youtube Screenshot