On a day like today there was really no choice but to post a Star Wars related photo. Star Wars, like for so many, has been a huge part of my life since I was a small child. It’s my favorite film series, with my favorite film of all time, The Empire Strikes Back. I’ve been obsessed ever since my mom rented the movies for me on VHS at our local video store and sent me down a path of fandom. I became completely obsessed and had to get my hands on everything Star Wars I possibly could. Unfortunately new toys were limited and so I managed to get some of the older stuff from the original releases but eventually Star Wars came back into huge popularity and I went nuts collecting. All the while I continued to watch the movies over and over and doing marathons to watch all 3 movies in the same day. I’m sure I’ve watched the original trilogy several hundred times at this point in my life, far more than any other set of films. To say it has had anything less than a huge impact on my life would be an understatement.

Like so many I was excited for the prequel trilogy but without starting any debates I just don’t relate to them in the way I did the original trilogy and characters. A few years ago when I was sitting at my computer and saw the news come across that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm and Star Wars and were creating a new trilogy I was extremely excited if not a little worried after the prequels. As more and more information has come out from the fact the original cast are back to seeing all the new trailers I can’t help but feel excited that it seems we are on the eve of what looks to be another great Star Wars movie. I have tickets for the first showing tonight and I don’t think I’ve felt this excited since I was a kid going to that video store to get Empire Strikes Back after watching Star Wars, and even more so Return of the Jedi after seeing the shock ending of Empire Strikes Back.

I’m sure many of you will likewise be heading out to see the movie tonight and over the next few days. It seems we will have a flood of new Star Wars in the years to come. As a fan for so long I am almost in disbelief I’m about to watch a new Star Wars movie. I really thought Episode 3 would be the last. We’ll never be able to watch the original trilogy in the same way again after today as we find out what happens to our heroes in the new movie but I’m excited for the future of Star Wars. To all of you Star Wars fans out there, enjoy this day, there haven’t been many where we get to experience a new Star Wars together. Thus here are some of my favorite Star Wars photos as tribute. Enjoy and May the Force Be With You.