James Gunn, Mark Hamill And More Pay Homage To Star Wars For May The 4th, And I'm In My Feels
This is a May 4th to remember.
May the 4th has come yet again, and everyone seemed to celebrate the annual holiday a little differently. Some watch the Star Wars movies in order, and others might hop on social media and post a message or meme to commemorate the day. A number of notable celebrities chose the latter route, as James Gunn, Mark Hamill and more decided to acknowledge the day, and it's giving me all the feels.
Gunn showed some love to Star Wars, even though he's only hours away from the release of one of his biggest movies to date. Fortunately, we already know a good deal about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so now was as good of a time as any for him to drop some personal thoughts about how his Marvel franchise was influenced by Star Wars:
11 years ago I had a meeting with Marvel Studios about the possibility of doing a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I remember driving home & thinking I didn't want to make a movie LIKE Star Wars, but a movie that made people FEEL like Star Wars made me feel as a kid. Outlandish… pic.twitter.com/xiCnJOTf7cMay 4, 2023
Guardians of the Galaxy isn't Star Wars, but I think many readers can appreciate that James Gunn did his best to deliver something he felt evoked the same emotional response just as well. In any case, I think it's a great tribute, especially from a guy who will soon be dealing with upcoming DC movies more than any future Disney project he might have.
Gunn's response must've been appreciated by the folks at Lucasfilm, as the Star Wars account on Twitter said the following in response to his message:
Mark Hamill, of course, is going to celebrate May the 4th. The Luke Skywalker actor paid tribute by mentioning another worthy Star Wars event happening today. Today, Carrie Fisher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Along with attending the event itself, Hamill reacted on Twitter to Fisher's star news when he first heard about it and reacted again today to remind people of the reason for the season:
May The Fourth Be Carrie Frances Fisher Day As She Receives Her Richly-Deserved⭐️ On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame pic.twitter.com/vj9zvxbnEPMay 4, 2023
Carrie Fisher's Walk of Fame ceremony was extra special, thanks in part to an appearance by her daughter, Billie Lourd. She showed up in a gorgeous dress honoring Leia, and then sprinkled some of Fisher's glitter over the top of the star:
Billie Lourd sprinkles Carrie Fisher's glitter on her newly unveiled star on the #HollywoodWalkOfFame. pic.twitter.com/7l6IYPEa8DMay 4, 2023
Even the Star Trek actors couldn't help but get in on the fun of May the 4th. LeVar Burton, fresh off celebrating his reprisal as Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: Picard Season 3, used his iconic character and an assist from Mark Hamill to give fans a new catchphrase:
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Happy Star Wars Day, y’all! pic.twitter.com/TkwTRe9AuaMay 4, 2023
Lin-Manuel Miranda also had a creative contribution to May the 4th, with an assist from the one and only J.J. Abrams. The duo introduced Miranda's Cantina song, which he then performed in Hutteese:
Getting ready for tomorrow with this throwback to our Star Wars themed #Ham4Ham. #MayTheFourth be with you! pic.twitter.com/QBVsE5r5MYMay 4, 2023
Even The Muppets, currently prepping for the release of The Muppets Mayhem, took some time to show some love for Star Wars. Granted, they had Robin do the video, and he didn't even crack the list of CinemaBlend's top 25 Muppets, but I'll personally advocate for his inclusion after seeing this great video:
In honor of #StarWarsDay, we asked Robin to recap his favorite movie for us and the results were out of this world. 💫 #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/PiRi1VAOo9May 4, 2023
I'm not sure I could've recapped the movie any better myself. All of these tributes always make what would otherwise be a regular day in May a little more special, so I'm hoping that the Star Wars celebrations continue for every May 4th to come!
Snag a Disney+ subscription and stream all of the Star Wars content to your heart's content right now. I would personally suggest celebrating with the latest season of Star Wars: Visions, or something like Rebels to prepare for other live-action shows in the franchise coming up later this year.
Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.