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May the Fourth Be With You: It's Star Wars Day

Darth Vader walks the Earth today. By that, we mean he's walking all over the place. Fans of the sci-fi franchise are celebrating Star Wars Day — or May 4 for the less geek-inclined.

The day brings an excuse for people to dress as storm troopers and rebels and celebrate the films that first hit theaters in 1977. Star Wars Day is also being commemorated by businesses offering deals — discounts on videos, comics and other merchandise, from backpacks to Vans sneakers. You can find a list of the deals here.

The franchise isn't done yet. Director J.J. Abrams is working on the new film Star Wars: Episode VII, which is slated for release around Christmas of 2015. And an animated series called Star Wars Rebels is due to air this fall.

Those projects are the work of Walt Disney Co., which purchased Star Wars creator George Lucas' company Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in 2012.

If you're a big Star Wars fan, you might enjoy this documentary that's part of Jamie Benning's series of videos that give a sort of DVD-extra take on the films:

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.
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