May the 5th is often referred to as the “Mexican Independence Day,” but Cinco de Mayo just celebrates the Mexican victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. For the record, Mexico didn’t drive out the French, who went on to establish the Mexican Empire under the Austrian Emperor Maximilian I. That’s a story as nonsensical as it sounds, but Maximilian was later deposed and then sentenced to spend the rest of his life in front of a firing squad! Cinco de Mayo remains a big holiday, at least in the sense that Americans celebrate at Mexican restaurants. But the day prior, May the 4th, is taking on a life all its own around the globe.

May the 4th – A Star Wars Holiday Around the World

Yet, in recent years, at least in the world of international geekdom, Cinco de Mayo is entirely overshadowed by a far more commercialized holiday – namely, May the 4th, or May the Fourth, which has become the de facto “Star Wars Day.” According to StarWars.com, which we must accept to be a reliable source for all things related to the fictional galaxy far, far away, the earliest use of the phrase “May the 4th Be With You” occurred in 1978, just a year after the original film was released. It is likely a few fans celebrated the day in jest, but in the era before social media, it was far from a widespread phenomenon.

We need to remember that today films hit the theaters and then move to various home video channels, but that wasn’t the case in 1978. Star Wars (as it was known before being rebranded as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) was still making the rounds in theaters, but there is no evidence that May 4, 1978, saw a bigger turnout than usual.

Political Leanings & May the 4th

Then a year later, “May the Fourth Be With You” became an official slogan, but in the UK, when it was used by the British Conservative Party a day after Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister. It has been suggested it was used in a political ad, but that’s not correct. Even today, the UK doesn’t quite have the same level of over-the-top political ads as the USA, and more importantly, Thatcher was elected the day prior.

Rather, the Tories celebrated Thatcher’s victory with an ad in The London Evening News that read, “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations!”

Linking May 4 to Star Wars took a long, long time. It wasn’t until 2008 that Facebook Groups began to link the phrase “May the Force Be With You” to the fourth day of May. After Disney acquired all things Star Wars from George Lucas for literally billions of dollars, in 2013, it announced it would celebrate the franchise on May the 4th.

The Influences of Star Wars

The original Star Wars almost didn’t happen, and May 4 would just be the day before Cinco de Mayo. That’s because George Lucas actually wanted to remake Flash Gordon, the comic book turned 1930s movie serial. But Lucas was unable to secure the rights and opted to create an “original” science fiction series instead.

There is the old saying that good artists borrow and great artists steal. 

In the case of Star Wars, that may have been literally true, because by “original” we mean a story that seems strikingly similar to not only Flash Gordon, but Frank Herbert’s Dune, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, Hollywood Westerns, and Japanese samurai films. Much of the story has the same beats as Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress. The original plot bore an even greater resemblance to the 1958 samurai film, and some of the elements were later reused for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

That’s Looks Familiar

It wasn’t just other works of fiction that inspired Lucas and the various visual artists. As is often the case in filmmaking, the real world influences set design, costumes, and even locations.

In the cases of the Galactic Empire’s look, it isn’t hard to see the Third Reich influence, with their gun metal gray or black uniforms, black boots, waist belts, and kepis that feature a round insignia that look similar to the cockades that Prussian and later German soldiers wore on their headdress. The officer uniforms may also be inspired by European lancer or “Uhlan” jackets, while the caps may have been influenced by another Imperial Navy, just that of Imperial Japan!

It wouldn’t be the only example of imagery from the Far East. 

Beyond the fact that the Jedi and Sith engaged in samurai-style fighting, Darth Vader’s helmet was greatly influenced by the samurai kabuto helmet, while it also has elements of the infamous German “Stahlhelm.” In what is not a matter of coincidence, during Saddam Hussein’s rule of Iraq, his sons (reported to be huge Star Wars fans) issued the “elite” Fedayeen paramilitary troops with a black jumpsuit and fiberglass helmet that closely resembled the one worn by the Dark Lord of the Sith.

“Ship Shape” Star Wars Style

Star Wars attempted to create a unique look from the spaceships that had been seen in past science fiction movies, and that included vessels that were far from the streamlined rockets and saucers that had become staples of the genre.

However, Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon, the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, was originally supposed to have more of a rocket shape, but it was deemed too similar to the Eagle Transporter seen in the British TV series Space: 1999. Model maker Joe Johnston was given just four weeks to completely redesign the craft, and one story said it was inspired by a hamburger with an olive to the side.

Another now-infamous craft had even more basic origins.

During the making of The Empire Strikes Back, designer Nilo Rodis based Slave 1, Boba Fett’s spaceship, on street lamps outside the Industrial Light and Magic building in Marin County.

One claim has also been debunked, however – namely that the Oakland container cranes served as inspiration for the AT-AT walkers that were used in the attack on the Rebel base on Hoth, also in The Empire Strikes Back. In a 2008 interview with The San Francisco Chronicle, Lucas said it is a myth that the cranes were an influence. Phil Tippett, who was the stop-motion animator who oversaw the production, also said, “Everyone would pretty much disavow it.” The original design called for wheeled vehicles, but wheels aren’t generally seen in the series. It isn’t clear how it evolved into the now infamous walkers, apart from the fatal weakness that they could be tripped by tow cables!

Lock and Load Up

Though Star Wars may have taken place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the blasters certainly do seem familiar. Whereas many previous sci-fi films and series opted for futuristic rayguns, lasers, and phasers, a more grounded path was taken with the weapons.

One of the first small arms seen in the original Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope was the Drearian Defense Conglomerate Defender carried by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). In actuality, it is a dressed-up Vostok Margolin .22 LR target pistol with a muzzle attachment.

Arguably the most famous “sidearm” in the Star Wars films is the one seen carried by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and, at times, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). The BlasTech DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol is based on the Mauser C96 with a heavy barrel, mounted scope, and the muzzle cone from an M3 “Grease Gun.”

The Stormtroopers may not shoot all that straight in the series, but that could be because they too often fire their BlasTech E-11 Blaster Rifles from the hip. The weapons are modeled after the British-made Sterling L2A3 submachine gun equipped with Sherman tank gun sights and a faux battery pack. Two different heavy weapons are also seen, the BlasTech DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle, which is a German MG34 general-purpose machine gun painted a solid black with added rails; and the BlasTech T-21 Light Repeating Blaster, a mocked-up World War I-era Lewis Gun.

Though the Imperial forces carried a British-made weapon, the Rebels were armed with cast replicas based on the German StG44 assault rifle, fitted with modified stocks and redesignated as the BlasTech A295 Blaster Rifle.

May the 4th be with you!