Fan conventions and film festivals all over have been pushed back or canceled entirely, but that’s not stopping Star Wars Day celebrations from happening on May 4th (as in “May the 4th be with you,” for the uninitiated).
ReedPop, the company behind New York Comic Con and Star Wars Celebration, has decided to move the festivities online and throw the party digitally, instead. An Online Revelry: May the 4th Be With You and Revenge of the 5th will be a two-day celebration on May 4-5. The celebration will include a number of virtual events:
- Watch parties and livetweets of Star Wars movies
- Watch parties and livetweets of TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels
- Q&A sessions and discussions with writers and voice actors
- Trivia quizzes and prize giveaways
- And more
May the 4th Be With You (Monday, May 4th) Schedule
Revenge of the 5th (Tuesday, May 5th) Schedule
The festivities will be streamed on the Facebook and Twitter (and likely Instagram) accounts of ReedPop properties, including New York Comic Con, C2E2, BookCon, Emerald City Comic Con and Florida SuperCon. Fans participating are encouraged to use the hashtags #Maythe4th and #Revengeofthe5th to join in and be eligible to win prizes.
With the Online Revelry happening, it’s uncertain whether or not ReedPop’s actual Star Wars Celebration, which is scheduled for August 27-30 in Anaheim, will still take place. Considering it’s only a month after San Diego Comic-Con, which was already canceled, and it’s exactly the sort of large event that most medical experts are saying won’t be able to be held until at least next year, it’s likely that it will be canceled. But, still, if the Star Wars Day celebrations go well, perhaps it means they can hold an even bigger digital event in August. It could be kind of cool, if you think of all the things that could be done remotely. Maybe merchandise vendors can get their own channel or streaming event, or cosplayers could hold a virtual cosplay contest. The possibilities are endless, and Star Wars fans are always creative. It will be interesting to see if any other fan-driven events organically pop up around the events of An Online Revelry.
In any case, get your lightsabers out and mark your calendars for Monday! And, as always, May the 4th be with you.
