While it makes sense to celebrate Star Wars Day on May the Fourth, it still amuses me that this holiday falls so close to the original release date of A New Hope, the one that started it all. This May 25th will mark the 49th anniversary of the movie, and I’m most excited for its 50th next year! But until then, here are four underrated pieces of Star Wars media for May the Fourth!
1. This Jedi Master sign
A work friend of mine surprised me with this lovely JEDI MASTER sign that she picked up for me at the thrift store. I was delighted to obtain it, and I still remember her fondly every time I notice this addition to my bookshelf.
2. Galaxy of Adventures
This is a webseries showing key moments from Star Wars in a cute animated style. The lightsabers are especially great in here. Most of the short videos are remakes of movie scenes, using canon music and dialogue to great nostalgic effect. The first handful, however, are fun ads for Galaxy’s Edge, featuring some cameos from Vi Moradi!
The best videos in this series are the ones that use their scenes to deliver emotional arcs. There’s Obi-Wan on Tatooine reminiscing on his life, Artoo and Threepio across the movies, Kylo Ren mirror Vader, Chewie and Han’s friendship over the years (though I don’t like to be reminded of Solo), Obi-Wan and Anakin across the years, leading from Luke and then ending at Rey with a killer final shot of everyone from before, Vader as a pilot (using dialogue from Rebels!) with a slower down Imperial March at the end, Leia being a badass during her own rescue mission, Palpatine’s speech about everything working according to his plan paired with prequel shots of Padme, and Leia doing cool rebel stuff over dialogue of her lying to Vader.
3. Battle Tales
This is a great Clone Wars-era comic featuring a collection of stories shared by clone troopers about their Jedi. It’s centered around Rex, Cody, and Wolffe specifically, providing a great look into each of their personalities.
The first story is about Rex and Anakin, and it definitely felt like an event that took place in the early days of them meeting. Both Rex and Anakin are sort of getting a feel for each other and understanding how their dynamic will play out. And it’s also just cute watching them work together and have each other’s back.
The second one is about Plo Koon and the Wolfpack, which made me so ridiculously happy. I adore clone dad and his kids so much, and reading about them going on their own missions and being so fully trusted by Plo is amazing.
The third volume is about Cody on a mission from Obi-Wan. It really, like the previous one, shows the faith that the clones have in their generals and vice versa. It’s also more focused on the clones themselves, which was nice.
The fourth one in here is a spectacular one – might be my favorite, even though I loved the first volume so much. It’s about a clone named Heater and his squad, focused on the brotherhood-bonds between the clones and the tensions that can rise from that, as well as how much of a choice they have in their lives. It’s so, so good.
The fifth and final volume is a conclusion to the overarching story, really solidifying the bonds between the clones and their Jedi. It’s stuff like this that I love to read to forget about Order 66 ever happening. And so many lines hit hard: Rex’s “he always comes back for his men” about Anakin, “and Wolfpack leads the hunt,” “us clones stick together,” SO good. I love clone-Jedi content tremendously, and this comic scratches that itch.
4. Viva La Vida
I discovered this fan-made TCW edit to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida back in 2021. Every May the Fourth since, I’ve always come back to rewatch it. The gorgeous use of music and devastating scenes always gets me, so much so that I get emotional listening to the song for the rest of the year.
Viva La Vida is one of my all-time favorite songs, and I’ll argue it’s one of the best songs ever written. And the way this edit pairs so many beautiful shots of TCW season 7, interspersed with dialogue at the best moments to go with the lyrics, is masterfully done.
Cut’s voice throughout, his “can you understand that, Rex” over Fives’ death, “sweep the streets I used to own” for Bo-Katan during the Siege of Mandalore, “feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes” for Anakin going full Vader, “listen as the crowd would sing” for Death Watch being cheered on, “now the old king is dead, long live the king” for Maul killing Vizsla and taking the throne, Rex saving Ahsoka as the clones close in, the gorgeousness of the audio of the fight scenes over the chorus, Ahsoka and Rex at the end of their fight in the end of the chorus, “sound of drums” and “people couldn’t believe what I’d become” for Ahsoka sensing Order 66 and Anakin’s vision on Mortis and turning on Obi-Wan, “oh who would ever want to be king” for Vader assuming Ahsoka’s death, and Ahsoka and Rex’s survival over Tup’s final words… utterly heartbreaking. If you feel like re-experiencing the devastation of season 7 all over again, I can’t recommend this video enough!
