May 2024 marks the 25th anniversary for the release of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, the film that effectively kicked off the modern age of Star Wars films, TV series, games, and more. Lucasfilm already planned on celebrating this anniversary by bringing the film back to theaters, but the studio has taken things a step further to celebrate the entire Skywalker Saga on the big screen once again for May the 4th.
The Force is strong
It was announced Saturday that Alamo Drafthouse and select AMC theaters across the U.S. would be celebrating May the 4th, also known as Star Wars day, by bringing the Skywalker Saga back to cinemas, according to Gizmodo. The theater chains will play all nine of the saga films in a massive 20-hour marathon that will begin at 8 PM on Friday, May 3, and will run until the end of The Rise of Skywalker on Saturday, May 4.
Festivities won't just focus on the Skywalker Saga, though, as those in attendance will reportedly get a sneak peek at Lucasfilm's next Star Wars series for Disney Plus, The Acolyte. However, no details were shared about what from the series will be shown at the screenings.
In addition, the films are set to be played straight through with no planned intermissions and costs will vary depending on theater locations.
The last time a marathon of this scale was done for Star Wars was in 2019 as part of the build up to The Rise of Skywalker's release and celebrate the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga. It began on December 18, 2019, with participating theaters playing all eight previous saga films before leading directly into the premiere of The Rise of Skywalker on December 19 to cap off the marathon.
It also marks five years since Star Wars graced movie screens, in any fashion, with the release of The Rise of Skywalker. The preceding five years saw a Star Wars film released annually, with the releases alternating between the sequel trilogy films and the spin-off films Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Star Wars' future
However, fans won't be waiting much longer after that for Star Wars to return to the movie screen. The next Star Wars film reportedly set to release will be The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is targeting a 2026 release window.
As the title says, The Mandalorian and Grogu will see the two characters audiences got to meet in The Mandalorian on Disney Plus make the jump from streaming to cinemas. It will reportedly serve as the conclusion to what fans refer to as “The Mando-verse,” which also includes series The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, set during Star Wars' New Republic era.
Popular fan theories suggest the film will pit The Mandalorian and his allies against Grand Admiral Thrawn, who made his live-action debut in Ahsoka alongside Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Hera Syndulla from Rebels.
Lucasfilm also confirmed a Dawn of the Jedi film to be directed by James Mangold and a New Jedi Order film that will mark the return of Daisy Ridley's Rey.
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