Kevin Smith Shares Epic Throwback Photos for Star Wars Day

What would Star Wars Day be without a shout out from one of the biggest fans in the galaxy? Fanboy [...]

By Spencer Perry

What would Star Wars Day be without a shout out from one of the biggest fans in the galaxy? Fanboy turned filmmaker Kevin Smith took to social media to post a series of images recapping his frequent association with the franchise in a galaxy far, far away including references to the series in his movies and career, times he's bumped elbows with those actually involved in the franchise, and perhaps the most special, his wedding ceremony that took place at Skywalker Ranch.

"MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!" Smith wrote. "Obviously, @starwars has played a big role in my life - both as a fan and a creator. So here are a selection of shots in which you can count the ways in which things that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away impacted my life. 1) Zack & Miri poster from overseas. 2) SModcast poster. 3) With @jjabramsofficial at @comic_con. 4) The Princess. 5) Big D at the Rogue One premiere. 6) Fat Man Beyond with Stormtroopers at the @chinesetheatres. 7) A @collectdst ad. 8) Marrying @jenschwalbach at Skywalker Ranch. The #starwars folks have gotten a few bucks out of me over the decades - but I feel like I've gotten far more out of them! Happy Star Wars Day, kids!"

Fans of Smith's work no doubt know that his association with Star Wars has been present since his very first movie, 1994's Clerks. That film featured that infamous "Death Star contractor" conversation between its two leads and which started an ongoing series of references to the franchise throughout his films. Everything would come full circle as Smith would have two uncredited cameos in both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

"Ducking Stormtroopers on Kijimi, Poe passes a cyborg walking beside a bundled-up local. That local is me!" Smith previously wrote. "J.J. had me voice a Stormtrooper in #theforceawakens and then put me in Rise - two things a young Emo Kev never could've imagined happening while he fanned the flames of his fandom in the 70's and 80's! Thank you, my friend in the Force, for even making the offer in the first place, let alone following through on it! You gave me a rare sensation I haven't had since I was an action figure collecting kid in 1983 when you let me come over to your house to play #starwars with you!"

Further still the second season of Star Wars: The Mandalorian would see Smith's frequent director of photography Dave Klein serve as cinematographer for "Chapter 14: The Tragedy," season two's big Boba Fett episode.

Even beyond simply having his characters speak about Star Wars in his movies, Smith also managed to bring in actors from the series for some of his films with both Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher appearing in 2001's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Smith also had Rosario Dawson star in Clerks II, years ahead of her own Star Wars debut.

(Cover photo by Eric McCandless via Getty Images)

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