The force will be with you, always, but it’s especially strong today. Star Wars Day is upon us once more, and “May the 4th Be With You” began trending almost immediately on Tuesday. While there are some pretty great fan tributes on this day, it’s the posts from the actual “Star Wars” cast members that pulled on heartstrings the most.
Unsurprisingly, the O.G. “Star Wars” crew were on top of their game early in the day. As always, Mark Hamill was a bit self-deprecating in his tweet, saying, “I’m beginning to accept the fact that I’ll probably never do another movie that gets its own day.”
Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian, was a bit more sincere in his Star Wars Day tribute.
Anthony Daniels, our beloved and socially awkward C-3PO, took an earnest and somewhat somber approach to celebrating the day. As he pointed out, this is the second consecutive Star Wars Day that falls during a pandemic. So as a bit of comfort, Daniels shared a video of him reading a chapter from his book “I Am C-3PO,” just as he did last year.
Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, who went on to have her own minor role in the franchise, channeled her mom for Star Wars Day. In a post to her Instagram, Lourd showed off pictures of her newborn son, dressed in a Princess Leia onesie and a beanie knit in the style of Carrie Fisher’s famous buns, watching his grandma on-screen.
She captioned the photo “May the 4th” but spelled it out using various emojis, as Carrie Fisher used to do.
Fisher’s on-screen mom posted her own Star Wars Day tribute as well. Natalie Portman posted a throwback picture to her Instagram, from back when she was shooting “Attack of the Clones” in 2001. In it, she’s hugging Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy.
Though Best himself did not post, he did comment on Portman’s photo saying “Love you my sister.”
And speaking of the prequel trilogy, we also got a shot from Samuel L. Jackson, who played Mace Windu. In honor of the holiday, the actor donned a t-shirt with a design of his famous purple lightsaber. He captioned the photo with a simple but excited “MAY THE 4th BE WITH YOU‼️‼️” accompanied by the fist bump emoji.
Of course, over the years, “Star Wars” has welcomed a slew of new members to the cast, and they also got in on Tuesday’s celebration.
Joonas Suotamo, who took over the role of Chewbacca as a body double for Peter Mayhew in 2015 and became the lead Wookiee in 2017, posted a few tributes for Star Wars Day, including a picture of himself using a Chewbacca mug.
“Star Wars has always been about family, friends, and fans. I’ve met so many outstanding people, married my incredible wife, and helped raise our two beautiful children while playing Chewbacca,” Suotamo wrote. “Here’s to many more #StarWarsDay celebrations ahead!”
And last but certainly not least, there’s Pedro Pascal, one of the newest inhabitants of the “Star Wars” universe, who plays the eponymous hero in Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.” For this special day, he broke his code and removed his helmet.