character Mace Windu
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have
revealed they have celebrated Star Wars Day by screening one
of the sci-fi movies.
"Just watching @starwars. In space. No big deal," Nasa
tweeted from one of its official accounts , adding the hashtag
#Maythe4thBeWithYou.
It is not the only recent tie-in. Members of a forthcoming
expedition to the ISS posed as Jedi knights for their official
photo earlier this year.
The choice of film surprised some.
"You picked the wrong one!" tweeted Angel Dominguez ,
referring to the fact that a photo sent from the satellite shows
Mace Windu's battle with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in the
prequel Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, rather a
scene from the original trilogy.
The ISS was recently fitted with a high-definition projector,
which the astronauts also use for video conferences and
displaying computer software.
Commander Scott Kelly revealed last month that the team on
board had also used it to watch the space disaster movie.
Six members of an expedition scheduled for September have
appeared in Jedi garb
The latest movie showing was timed to coincide with the
date, which references the series' most quoted line: "May the
force be with you."
Lightsaber mission
The ISS was previously linked to the space opera in 2007,
when character Luke Skywalker's lightsaber prop was flown to
the orbiting structure and back to mark 30 years of the
franchise .
Such stunts only add to the series' value by keeping it in the
public eye. Disney is set to be the beneficiary of the latest
publicity, having bought the rights to Star Wars from its
creator George Lucas in 2012, along with other movie rights,
for $4bn (£2.6bn).
Analysts are expecting that the first in a new series of films,
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will set a new box office
record when it is released in December.
Nasa previously flew a lightsaber prop to the International
Space Station
One expert quoted by The Hollywood Reporter has forecast it
could make more than $500m in its first three days in
cinemas.
However, efforts to further extend the franchise have faced a
setback with news that the director of a planned spin-off is no
longer involved.
"I've put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and I
know deep down in my heart that I want to pursue some
original creative opportunities," Josh Tank said in a statement
published on the official Star Wars site last week .
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