There are two reasons why I enjoy May 4th.
First, this day is known as Star Wars Day because of the whole play on ‘May the Force be with you.’
There are other dates I find amusing such as 3.14 as Pie Day and 4/20 as Weed Day for reasons I never found fully convincing.
I watched the first three Star Wars movies when they premiered. They were generally referred to as Star Wars I, II, & III (1977-1983). Until they weren’t. Those first three films were renumbered episodes IV, V & VI to make room for an earlier trilogy: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005).
When it hit the cinema, I watched Episode I: The Phantom Menace and was unimpressed. I walked out during Episode II: Attack of the Clones. I didn’t bother watching Episode III: Revenge of the Sith when it debuted. I did not watch another Star Wars film for nearly two decades.
A handful of years ago, I decided to watch all of the Star Wars films in numerical order. I confess it was painful. I found the first three episodes to be awful, especially the acting and the storylines. (I suppose that only leaves the special effects.) It was a Herculean effort to watch the 2nd and 3rd installments. Then I followed up the first trilogy and watched Episodes IV-IX.
I had not done my research and did not realize some of the spin-off films were supposed to take place in between Episodes I-IX. These included Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return (2022), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), The Mandalorian (2019-2023), and The Book of Boba Fett (2021). I watched them out-of-order on the Star Wars timeline. How was I to know?
I found The Mandalorian to be a fun series to watch. Just sit back, relax and enjoy. I really liked the Book of Boba Fett and wondered how actress Ming-Na Wen manages to look 20 years younger than her actual age. She played such a neat character, Fennec Shand.
Somewhere on the internet I stumbled across a timeline of the stories. I presume this is correct. This list obviously predates Acolyte and Skeleton Crew. I also have no idea what the Battle of Yavin is that makes it year zero. I have included this timeline at the end of the column. Because of this list I learned there are several animated Star Wars series that fit in the timeline in various spots. I have not watched any of them.
Next, I watched Andor. What a breath of fresh air. I found it well-written and entertaining with some wonderful performances. I have been a fan of lead actor Diego Luna who plays title character Cassian Andor ever since I watched him as drug trafficker Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in Narcos: Mexico.
Narcos was another series I thoroughly enjoyed despite not speaking any Spanish beyond “mas cerveza por favor.” About half of the dialogue is in Spanish.
Following season 1 of Andor, Disney produced one stinker of a series after another. I made four attempts to watch the first episode of Ahsoka (2023). Those four attempts got me to the 17 minute mark where I finally quit watching for good. I have not watched it since. I believe the cancellation of the Star Wars: The Acolyte (2024) speaks for itself. Viewership evaporated and it received terrible audience reviews.
Next up was Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (2025). It featured Jude Law. That must be good if Jude Law is in it, I reasoned. I had to suffer through a few episodes of the program before Law entered the story. For some reason, Skeleton Crew reminds me of The Goonies (1985), a film I never watched because the storyline seemed obnoxious. I watched two episodes of Skeleton Crew with Law. And then I quit watching.
The only saving grace in the Star Wars series has been season 2 of Andor. According to press reports, this is the final season of Andor, and it doesn’t appear there will be a second season of The Book of Boba Fett. Will anything else good in the Star Wars genre ever be released? Or will Disney turn-out more garbage like Asohka, Acolyte and Skeleton Crew?
The second reason why I like this day is because it is the birthday of one of my many dogs. Spanish Water Dog Callie has a Star Wars Day birthday.
Star Wars Timeline:
“The Battle of Yavin” = Year Zero
· Tales of the Jedi (40-19 BBY)
· Episode I: The Phantom Menace (32 BBY)
· Episode II: Attack of the Clones (22 BBY)
· The Clone Wars movie (22 BBY)
· The Clone Wars TV series (22-19 BBY)
· Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (19 BBY)
· The Bad Batch (approximately 19 BBY)
· Solo: A Star Wars Story (13-10 BBY)
· Obi-Wan Kenobi (9 BBY)
· Star Wars Rebels (5-1 BBY with Epilogue after 4 ABY)
· Andor (5-0 BBY)
· Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (0 BBY)
· Episode IV: A New Hope (0 BBY/ABY)
· Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (3 ABY)
· Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (4 ABY)
· The Mandalorian Seasons 1 and 2 (9 ABY)
· The Book of Boba Fett (approximately 9 ABY)
· Ahsoka (approximately 11 ABY)
· The Mandalorian season 3 (approximately 12 ABY)
· Star Wars Resistance (34 – 35 ABY)
· Episode VII: The Force Awakens (34 ABY)
· Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (34 ABY)
· Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (35 ABY)
Mark Hyman is a 35-year military veteran and an Emmy award-winning investigative journalist. Follow him on Twitter (X) at @markhyman.
Mark welcomes all news tips and story ideas in the strictest of confidence. You can reach him at markhyman.tv (at) gmail.com.