Star Wars SAGA
It is no secret that Star Wars is one of the biggest film franchises in history. The creator George Walton Lucas Jr made the first film in 1977 (George Lucas and the origin story behind “star wars.”). The star wars franchise is responsible for one of the biggest fanbases in the world. The Love for the star wars saga has only continued to grow since the first movie came out. In 2012, George Lucas sold his company Lucasfilm to Disney which made the movies even more popular (Yemi, F). There are currently 12 Stars Wars movies, 9 of which serve as the prequel trilogy, original trilogy, and sequel trilogy (Devarakonda, M). The star wars movies are science fiction films that take place in a galaxy far away. The movies focus on an endless battle between the Jedi, guardians of peace and the Sith, people of the dark side. The series follows the main protagonist Luke Skywalker as he ventures to destroy the main antagonist and leader of the Sith, Darth Vader (Encyclopedia Britannica, inc). Star Wars by popular belief has one of if not the biggest plot twists in the history of film making. The reveal that Darth Vader was Luke's Father was big enough to be universally known and even be used in other films.
Star Wars Comic Con
Fans go above and beyond when it comes to Star Wars and Comic Con. Comic Con is an event that welcomes fans to celebrate comics, movies, tv series, and different forms of art. Being the biggest movie franchise ever, Star Wars fans from all over the world attend these events. One of the biggest things that fans do is cosplay. Fans will often times dress up in extreme movie accurate costumes to attend these events. Some fans will even take it so far as to create their own costumes from scratch. The DIY approach to cosplay, "allows for greater customization and often results in a unique, personalized costume." (Hangyee, L). The biggest Comic Con event was In New York in 2019 and had and attendance of 250,000 people (Biggest comic conventions in US by attendance). Fans will spend extreme amounts of time creating perfect costumes to be as movie accurate as possible. To take it even further Fans will not only dress as a character, but act as the character carrying themselves with a similar demeanor. There are organizations such as the 501st legion, and the Rebel legion that have a strong presence at Star Wars events (Who we are - rebel legion). There are other fan gatherings such as an event called Star Wars Panels. Star Wars Panels are Hosted by the creator George Lucas. These events feature, directors, actors, and creators that provide fans with behind the scenes stories, announcements about upcoming movies and tv series, and sneak peaks at new projects (Mullinax, H). At these fan gatherings, fans often have a chance to get autographs, and buy limited addition collectables. There is also gatherings specific to lightsaber battles and duels. Fans from all over the world with gather and reenact battles from the movie.
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| 501st Legion gathering |
Video Games
Star Wars has made a big name for itself within the video game culture. The first star wars game was created in 1983 and was featured in arcades (O’Connor, Q). They franchise has been able to create many different games involving different platforms and play styles. Many of the games allow fans to have a chance to virtually experience the battles that occurred during the movies. For example, "If your idea of a good time is hanging out with assassin droids like HK-47 or exploring a vast galaxy that's just filled to bursting with Jedi, the Old Republic's your jam." (O’Connor, Q). There were many other concepts that fans enjoyed such as being able to fly throw space in movie accurate spaceships.
LEGOS
LEGO became official partners with Star Wars in 1999 and have been collaborating till present day (Lego Star Wars sets). LEGO has created thousands of sets with the collaboration of Star Wars. There are original LEGO sets that only a select few people were able to buy and now they are worth very large amounts of money. For example the original LEGO millennium falcon can be bought for up to "850 dollars" (Lego Star Wars sets). People spending this much on a collective item shows me how far fans are willing to take their obsession with the franchise. There are many people out there that will take their LEGO Star Wars collection extremely serious and attempt to collect as many items as possible. LEGO has created thousands of minifigures just for people to collect and keep as decoration. Throughout this collaboration there has been many LEGO Star Wars games produced. These games offer the best of both worlds where you get to experience the Star Wars world through the view of LEGO characters and various LEGO aesthetics (O’Connor, Q). This collaboration also raised the opportunity to create various different tv series for fans to watch and interact with. The LEGO Star Wars fan base is extremely big among people around the world. There are many You Tube videos made by fans about the collaboration of LEGO and Star Wars.
Disney World
After Disney bought Star Wars, they were able to expand their amusement parks for the fans. Disney built Galaxy's Edge which is a designated part of the park that is a simulation of the planet Batuu from the movies (Disneyworld.disney.go.com). Disney offers various different attractions for fans such as rides, workshops, and food options. The rides offer fans a chance to take a ride as the pilot on the millennium falcon. The other ride gives fans a chance to experience storytelling while being on a coaster. There are many different workshops throughout the parks which allows fan interactions. One of the workshops at Disney is called Savi's workshop where someone is able customize their own lightsaber to take home (Disneyworld.disney.go.com). Another called droids workshop allows people build their own droid that is actually interactive. During fans trip through Galaxy's edge, it is mandatory to stop at the various food locations. The food locations make movie accurate food and give fans a chance to eat food from the movies and feel like character's apart of the movie. There is many people that will go out of their way to go to Disney world just to visit one of the many attractions that is Galaxy's edge
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| Star Wars Galaxy's Edge |
Conclusion.
Star Wars has one of the biggest fan bases of all time and continues to grow with each day. I am personally a huge fan of Star Wars. I have a collection of legos and have visited galaxy's edge more then once. Star Wars has expanded their brand to give fans more chances to interact, collect, and live throughout the star wars world. Fans take star wars extremely serious and will take their obsession to extreme measures. some of these people spend extreme amounts of money on LEGO products, and traveling just to interact with aspects of the movies. The fandom of Star wars is extremely extensive and will continue to grow as new tv shows and movies are created.
Biggest comic conventions in US by attendance. 2024-2025 Con Dates. (2024, August 21). https://comic-cons.xyz/biggest-comic-cons-us/
Celestino, M., & Mike Celestino Mike serves as Laughing Place’s lead Southern California reporter. (2024, October 18). New York Comic con 2024: All of the star wars books and comics news coming out of today’s Lucasfilm Publishing Panel. LaughingPlace.com. https://www.laughingplace.com/w/disney-entertainment/new-york-comic-con-2024-lucasfilm-publishing-panel-news/
Devarakonda, M. (2023, July 17). Star wars movies in order: Watch according to chronology, release date or “machete.” USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/08/08/how-many-star-wars-movies/10207734002/
Disneyworld.disney.go.com. (n.d.). https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/hollywood-studios/star-wars/
Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (2024, December 6). Star wars. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Star-Wars-film-series
George Lucas and the origin story behind “star wars.” (n.d.). https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/george-lucas-star-wars-facts
Hangyee, L. (2024, July 18). How to cosplay star wars?. CrazeCosplay. https://www.crazecosplay.com/blogs/questions/how-to-cosplay-star-wars#:~:text=Star%20Wars%20cosplay%20offers%20fans%20an%20exciting%20opportunity,bring%20your%20favorite%20Star%20Wars%20character%20to%20life.
Lego Star Wars sets, minifigures, Millennium Falcon, AT-at & more. Brick Fanatics. (2022, December 23). https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-star-wars/
Mullinax, H. (2024, September 21). Every star wars panel at new york comic con 2024. Dork Side of the Force. https://dorksideoftheforce.com/posts/every-star-wars-panel-at-new-york-comic-con-2024-01j87z4h1wvy
O’Connor, Q. (2023, October 7). Every star wars video game in chronological order. TheGamer. https://www.thegamer.com/star-wars-games-chronological-order-timeline-canon-legends/
Star wars. Fandom. (n.d.-a). https://www.fandom.com/universe/star-wars
Star wars: Galaxy edge de orlando, La Guía para visitarlo de la mejor forma " Miami tour. Miami tour. (2021, March 9). https://miamitour.es/orlando/parques-tematico/star-wars-galaxy-edge/
What is the 501st?. Garrison Titan. (n.d.). https://garrisontitan.com/what-is-the-501st/
Who we are - rebel legion. Rebel Legion - Costuming. Community. Charity. (2024, March 20). https://rebellegion.com/who-we-are/
- Wookieepedia. Fandom. (n.d.). https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
Yemi, F. (2024, May 26). George Lucas reveals why he sold Lucasfilm to Disney and retired. CBR. https://www.cbr.com/george-lucas-why-he-sold-lucasfilm-disney-retired/
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