The next Star Wars film is not due out until December 2022 but fans of the franchise have turned Monday, 4 May, into an unofficial jedi festival.
The hashtag #MayThe4thBeWithYou and variations of it are trending on social media, with Star Wars fans posting clips and images of their favourite characters and moments from George Lucas’s epic sci-fi series.
But others were quick to jump on the bandwagon, like the National Trust - guardians of Britain's stately homes - which tweeted a picture of a folly which looks like the droid R2D2, and an RAF base in Scotland.
Star Wars fan Naomi Davies, from London, said: "It's a nice thing for fans to have. They can share their love for Star Wars films. When I saw #MayThe4thBeWithYou was trending it made me chuckle and it brightened up my Monday morning.”
She said: "I had to explain it to my boyfriend because he didn’t get it at first and that helps to spread the joy of Star Wars."
The last film, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, came out in December 2019 and a buzz is already building ahead of the next instalment, Star Wars: The High Republic, which is due out in late 2022, although COVID-19 may delay it further.
It is not clear if the jedi warriors’ famous “force” would protect them from COVID-19.