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Twitter celebrates Star Wars Day with tributes to Mayhew, Fisher, and more
Just a few days ago, Star Wars fans were shocked to hear of Peter Mayhew's passing. Unlike the citizens of Alderaan, however, they did not cry out and then become silent forevermore. Instead, they used Star Wars Day today (aka May the 4th) as a touching way to pay tribute to the likes of the original Chewbacca actor, Carrie Fisher (Princess/General Leia Organa), and Kenny Baker (the original R2-D2). All we need is a full-blown Gungan parade thrown in their honor on Naboo.
"May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca," wrote Mayhew's family from the actor's official Twitter account.
Several Star Wars celebrities made posts about May the 4th, including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), and Ben Schwartz (he helped create the voice of BB-8). Fresh off his mysterious laugh in The Rise of Skywalker trailer, Emperor Palpatine himself, Ian McDiarmid, joined in on the mass revelry.
Hamill, who had a different tweet for every day of May last year, wrote on Twitter that he wasn't going to try and think up brand-new material for this year, as it was just too much work to do again. Nevertheless, fans overwhelmingly voted for him to repost what he had done last year, something that may well become an annual tradition.
Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) joins the galaxy far, far away as one of the directors for Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian, which will premiere on Disney+.
But obviously, A-listers weren't the only ones celebrating Star Wars Day today. As always, fans from across the galaxy and Outer Rim put their own unique spin on the annual cosmic soiree surrounding the franchise. For example, the state police of Nebraska used stormtrooper imagery to assure citizens that their "troopers use the Force for good." In other places, digital road signs used Yoda's patented out-of-order way of speaking to warn drivers not to text while behind the wheel. Other fans had simpler tastes: enjoying the resemblance of a walnut shell to Chewbacca's furry face.
And actress Billie Lourde paid tribute to her late mother, Carrie Fisher, on Instagram in honor of the Star Wars-centric holiday.
There are still a handful of hours left to May the 4th. Take advantage of all the cool deals and events, which we've rounded up for you in one convenient place right here.
