May 25th, 1977. I am literally fresh off the boat from England in my new home in the United States. Okay, I arrived by plane a few months before this date, but you get the idea. This was the date that changed my life and the lives of millions more. This was the date that Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was released in theaters. My Mum’s friend Jasmine took me to see it. This was a HUGE day for me. This was the first movie, I was ever going to see in a movie theater. That alone, makes it special. The fact the movie is Star Wars, one of the most anticipated movies of that year, I couldn’t wait to get my popcorn and get to my seat.
The movie was over and little did I know I was set on a 40+ year path, a commitment, a love for universe and all of the characters in it. The Dark Side, The Light Side, Droids, Clones, Sith, Ewoks even Jar Jar Binks and all the amazing, imaginative characters in between. The worlds the stories took me to. The battles, the love stories, the failure, the heart ache, the loss, the adventure, the fear, the cliff hangers, the surprises. But, it was so much more than the movies. Talking about Star Wars with other kids was the equivalent of the old people talking about the weather. Back in the day, it’s all you talked about. “Did you see the movie”, “Did you get the action figure”, “Did you get the trading cards in the Wonder Bread”? (Remember that?)
This universe was my life. The action figures…..
My very first, ever, Halloween costume after moving to the U.S. from England was C-3PO. You remember those old costumes. You could just smell the nasty chemicals you were breathing in but didn’t care.
As I became a teenager it was time for Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I remember waiting in really long long long lines. Yes, before the days of apps and being able to reserve a seat and your concessions from your phone, you had to wait in line with cash in hand in hopes you’d get a ticket. Sometimes, to your horror, you got turned away and had to come back another day. But you waited in those lines with your friends. You made new friends. You talked about all the movie(s) that had come before and speculated on what was going to happen in the new movie. The excitement level was off the chart.
Fast forward years later. I’m an adult and there is something missing in my life. 1999 is going to be a big year. May 19th, 1999 the first of the prequels hits theaters. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It was confusing for some to understand this was the story of how Darth Vader came to be. Many to this day don’t like or even recognized these movies. I say they are wrong. Yes they are a little goofy, but they tell the story. Yes they are too polished but remember this was a different time, post Clone Wars and prior to Episode IV A New Hope, where in my mind they are rebuilding from scraps of what used to be shiny and polished. (Phantom Menace was followed by Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith). 1999 was also a big year for me because I became a father. On August 5th, 1999 Darla Mae Horne changed my life. I would never be the same again but I knew one thing, some day I was going to sit her down and make her watch (what I thought) would be 6 films in order so she can experience the Star Wars story. That moment came for me when she was a teenager. It was 2011 if I remember and Darla had NEVER seen any of the movies. When I told her I wanted to spend the weekend watching all 6, she rolled her eyes and humored me. She wasn’t a sci-fi fan, but played along. We watched all 6 in a weekend, from Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi and when Jedi had finished with that closing scene of Anakin, Obi Wan and Yoda in ghostly force from and I looked over and Darla was crying, I knew that despite my many short comings as a father, I had done something right that weekend. All was right and good in my Universe.
So is that where the story ends? NO. We started hearing rumblings and rumors that 3 more Star Wars movies were coming. These movies were going to tell the story of what happened to the lives of our heroes after Return of the Jedi. On December 18th, 2015 J.J. Abrams gave us Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. We were introduced to Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe and all of a sudden our Star Wars Universe grew with new friends and foe. As an adult, my excitement for the release of this film was probably even greater than when I was a child. Thanks to social media, we were worked into a Force Frenzy. We also knew this wasn’t going to just be a “one and done”. No! It was a new trilogy, so we paid extra close attention to all the fan theories and our own theories. Who was Rey. Did Finn have Jedi force flowing through him? Will Kylo Ren truly stay on the dark side of the force. After “The Force Awakens”, came “The Last Jedi”, “Rogue One” (my favorite of them all) and “Solo”. And now Thursday it all ends… it really ends.
So, Michelle and I are watching them in order to get ready …and this is the order you should watch them in, and Disney agrees.
After 42 years, we know that the Skywalker Family Saga, known as this body of work of 9 films, these 3 trilogies and two stand alone projects of “Solo” and Rogue One”, “The Mandalorian” and the animated series (I’m loving Clone Wars right now). All of it….it ends. Yes it will live on and we can stream it anytime we want, but the story ends. More importantly, it feels like that part of our life is being closed and stored away and the memories we made seem that much further away. Michelle and her Mom shared special Mother-Daughter time thanks to Star Wars. Her childhood, my childhood, it feels like we’re saying goodbye to a part of it. Very few movie franchises, movie worlds, stories…..can provide the kind of escapism that these movies, these characters…..these friends have provided us over the last 42 years. You watch these films and for a couple hours you are transported at light speed to a place where the pain, the weight, the reality of life can’t find you. There’s something to be said for that.
What’s next? All we know is that a new Star Wars film is coming in 2022. It will feature some of the current characters (Probably Rey, Finn and Poe), but not much else is known. Will it be the start of another 9 movie, 42 year journey?
Michelle and I will be sad, we will cry. Honestly, I’m not sure how I’ll feel at the end of it on Thursday night. What I do know, is I will be grateful. Thank you Mr. Lucas for creating this universe that gave me so much hope and faith and belief that anything was possible. That a young boy could go on and live a great adventure and experience a life full of chaos, love, tragedy, heartache, fear, loss, triumph, conquest, laughter, friendship, temptation, internal struggle, adversity and when that 42 years story ended, he felt his life, his universe had balance.
May the force be with you…….ALWAYS!
